Reusable water bottles carry 40,000 TIMES more bacteria than a toilet seat, shows study
Researchers found that the bottles are extremely contaminated with bacteria
A new research has shown that reusable water bottles carry 40,000 times more bacteria than an average toilet seat. Researchers at US-based waterfilterguru.com conducted the study by examining four popular types of water bottles: spout, screw-top, stray, and squeeze-top.
The researchers swabbed different bottle parts and found how colony-forming units (CFUs) festered inside them. CFU is a unit used to determine the concentration of bacteria in any sample.
They majorly found two types of bacteria named gram-negative rods and bacillus. Gram-negative bacteria such as E. Coli and Klebsiella can cause serious infections such as pneumonia.
The infections caused by the bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics; meaning they are superbugs. Meanwhile, ingestion of bacillus can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal issues.
"Bacteria are known as biological drinking water contaminants. They’re just one of four types of pollutants that might be present in the water coming out of your taps and into your reusable bottles. Even though US tap water is considered some of the safest in the world, contamination can still occur," read the research.
On average, the bottles harboured as much as 20.8 million CFUs of gram negative bacteria. The spout and screw-top lid bottle were the most infected with 30 million CFUs.
For comparison, a toilet seat has 515 CFUs. Meaning the bottles carried bacteria four times that of a computer mouse, 14 times of a pet bowl, and yes, 40,000 times more than a toilet seat.
"The human mouth is home to a large number and range of different bacteria. So it's not surprising that drinking vessels are covered in microbes," said one of the scientists.
The scientists stated that to avoid drinking contaminated water, the bottles should be washed at least once a day with soapy water. Moreover, the bottles should be sanitised at least once a week.
(With inputs from agencies)
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