Reusable water bottles on campus

If your kid takes his phone into the restroom with him, you can be sure he’s getting exposed to a LOT more dangerous stuff than in his water bottle. My neighbor the infectious disease specialist says that at his hospital, cell phones and other devices are called “poo sticks”. People take them into the bathroom, are either meticulous or not about where they put them down, and then sit in restaurants with their phone on the table eating, scrolling, showing their companions a funny photo, etc.

I’m calling this one a non-issue unless your son has a compromised immune system due to chronic illness or similar. Tell him to wash his hands frequently, never touch the door handle of a restroom with his bare hands (since most men do not wash) and rinse out his water bottle every night.

Widemouth plastic or stainless steel portable bottles are easy to clean with dish soap and a brush/pad.

Not too much of an issue with me as I only carry portable water if the weather’s very hot and I know I won’t have access to water/food for 4+ hours. Considering that’s very rare in NYC where I live, that meant I rarely bring bottled water/liquids. Some of my friends have likened me to a camel as a result. :slight_smile:

Reusing store-bought water bottles is not a good idea as the type of soft plastic used(PET) is only meant to be used once for water only as prolonged use and exposure to light/heat/scratches can cause the leeching of unhealthy chemicals which could affect hormonal levels. Some of those bottles specifically have small-print saying “Do not reuse” or “Do not refill”. And the leeching effects are worse if one gets the bright idea to refill it with more acidic liquids like fruit juice or sodas.

Best to use a harder grade of plastic(i.e. Nalgene) or metal(stainless steel seems to be the most common) rather than reusing store-bought water bottles which were meant to be used only once.

Two issues involved here. One, I think we have sometimes gone too far in terms of hydration. If you have access to water at all times during the day, you will tend to feel thirsty if you go even a few minutes without drinking. But you don’t need to drink every few minutes. Or even every hour or two. Particularly if you are healthy and sitting in a climate controlled classrooms.

The second is an anti-bacterial craze. Some people would live in Purell filled bubbles if they could. As noted, bacteria are all around us. And that is not a problem.

That being said, noting the number of folks here who can’t live without a mattress topper :wink: I am sure there are people who want their kids to clean their water bottles. I would think soap and hot water on occasion would do the trick. Dorms may well have dish soap available in kitchenette areas. Though my expectation is that in general college kids will clean stuff in general at college less often than many of their respective parents would like to see (or want to know).

One can go a few hours without drinking water even with moderate physical activity on hot summer days provided one is in reasonably good health and has trained him/herself to adapt.

Just be sure to have a refreshing drink at some point…especially at the end.

As the parent of dancers (who were required to bring water bottles to class), I don’t think having a water bottle in class is the sole reason for taking a water bottle to college. I would think kids are using them for more active pursuits - or at least I hope they would.

That being said, every member of our family has (1) a Yeti cup for hot and cold drinks and (2) a water bottle exclusively for water. One has a Nalgene water bottle and one has a S’well. I drink flavored sports water and recycle the bottles. Out of the three, I have to give props to the S’well. It’s expensive as all get out, but it keeps cold water cold and it’s easy to clean even though it’s not supposed to go into the dishwasher. Just soap, water, shake and rinse. A brush keeps the seal on the top clean.

I probably shouldn’t mention the water bottle that tends to live in my soccer bag and only gets taken out when I need to refill it…

Other water bottles in our house get a quick rinse once or week or so.

I much prefer seeing kids with water bottles than clutching soda pops or energy drinks to be honest.

Swell bottles make great gifts, hint, hint.

I bought a 30-ounce Ozark Trails insulated cup that keeps ice (even small cubes) frozen for about 24 hours! It cost under $10. Easy to rinse/wash, too. :slight_smile:

There’s one that both the top and bottom screw off for easy cleaning. Does anyone know the name of it?

I don’t because we pretty much just rinse our not so expensive bottles until they are gross enough to replace. We seem to be in good health…

"Swell bottles make great gifts, hint, hint. "

IKR - I think I’m putting one on my own Christmas list. Maybe it will induce me to drink more water.

Check out the Contigo bottles

Heh. I still feel it’s exceedingly absurd to pay for bottled water considering it’s actually less well-regulated than tap water and it’s another item to keep track of when it’s not necessary.

Especially on many college campuses where a few hours hence, one can easily get topped off thirstwise in the dining halls, water fountains, etc or wait until one has a chance to get back to their off-campus apartment/home.

I use a commuter coffe mug every single day. It’s stainless…but I just rinse it out. I haven’t gotten sick yet.

Dish soap and water is all you need to clean a Camelbak bottle. The’chute’ style with the twist off cap lets you drink more and the cap doesn’t smell bad if you don’t clean it. You can also get more water flow than with the bite cap. Many universities have the elkay style combo drinking fountain and water bottle refill station.

OMG! I never even gave a moment’s thought to how S17 will clean his water bottle. I am serious. I once read a study that said that children raised in overly cleaned homes were more prone to illness. I took it to heart. However, you raise a good point and I will talk to S17 about it. He has a metal water bottle.

Haha I forgot to do the special water bottle cleaning training session with my kids even one time! But one of them can change a tire and the other one can tune a piano.

This was posted in another thread today, should be available by fall semester :slight_smile: https://www.clearlyquartz.com/

IDK. Vodka would probably disinfect it pretty good. :slight_smile:

I agree on both of these topics:

We over-worry about germs, and we over-worry about hydration. This carrying water everywhere habit still seems puzzling to me. No one walked into college classes when I was in college with a drink, except maybe coffee at an early class.

I know a while back there was that eight-glasses-of water-a-day mantra which was based on exactly no science, but it seemed to have changed people’s habits permanently.

And added millions of tons of petroleum-based plastic to landfills, so I am glad to see that all your kids are using refillables!