How to clean water bottles

How to clean Klean Kanteen and other stainless steel bottles

How to clean SIGG and other aluminium bottles

Whether your bottle is a Klean Kanteen or other stainless steel bottle or a SIGG aluminium bottle with lining, or a BPA free plastic water bottle, it is important to stop mould and other deposits forming inside the bottle.

Any material kept constantly wet will breed bacteria, so the number one rule is to let your bottle dry out completely on a regular basis.

Wash your bottles with warm, soapy water at the end of every day, rinse in fresh water, and let the bottle air dry upside down with the top off.

Should any mineral deposits or lime scale form inside, fill your clean bottle with Distilled White Vinegar (no other kind) and let soak for 24 hours. Then rinse the bottle with warm water and one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and let dry.

We recommend using filtered water where possible.   It tastes so much better without chlorine–but also because water contains different minerals in every area and this may affect what happens inside your bottle.   Biome sells a popular range of hand made ceramic water purifiers.  Spots inside your water bottle that look like “corrosion” are most likely a mineral deposit.

Try also SIGG cleaning tablets and SIGG cleaning brush on all drink bottles.  Please only ever use a soft brush on SIGG so as not to damage the lining.  Stainless Steel bottles can handle a hard brush.

We recommend not putting your reusable water bottle into the dishwasher.  The dishwasher can damage the external paint coating and because most dishwasher powders are caustic, they will eat into the paint and metal.   Your outer colourful coating will deteriorate much faster when exposed to the heat of dishwashers.  Tops should also not be put through the dishwasher because extreme heat expands and deteriorates the plastic.

Never freeze bottles as metal can split even with only a little water inside.   Trust us, we have seen many bottles that expanded and split.  Water does not always expand in a predictable direction!  Even stainless steel bottles are not suitable to freeze.

Water bottle under siege – movies, books, governments

Carry a plastic water bottle at your own peril; the tide of public opinion is turning against you.  From top rating documentaries, to books and political campaigns, the menace of bottled water and the waste the discarded plastic bottles create, is the hottest issue in town.

The production, transportation and disposal of water in plastic bottles consumes large quantities of water and energy and produces large amounts of greenhouse gases and waste.

Stephanie Soechtig, Director of the new documentary Tapped: get off the bottle, says “1500 water bottles end up in landfill every second – that’s 30 million water bottles a day! We want to show people just how much waste is generated by bottled water.”  With a trans-America roadshow sponsored by Klean Kanteen, the Tapped team is collecting pledges from people to reduce their water bottle use and exchange their empty plastic bottle for a reusable stainless steel bottle.   You can download Tapped from Amazon or iTunes.

Another short film The Story of Bottled Water, released on World Water Day in March was created by Annie Leonard of the acclaimed The Story of Stuff.  This animated film shows the strategy that goes into conning Americans into buying more than half a billion bottles of water every week, compared with a few cents cost for water from the tap.

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In her book Bottlemania, author Elizabeth Royte chronicles one of the greatest marketing coups of the twentieth century and gives a powerful environmental wakeup call. She investigates the questions we must inevitably answer. Who owns our water? What happens when a bottled-water company stakes a claim on your town’s source? Is the water coming from the tap completely safe? What is the environmental footprint of making, transporting and disposing of a plastic water bottle.

Politicians around the world realise they must take action – particularly as the institutions in which they serve are major consumers of bottled water.  How often do we see a politician at a press conference sipping from a water bottle?  Surely, the catering staff of Parliament House can provide a jug of tap water and a glass.    Afterall, tap water is virtually free while expensive bottled water can cost $4 or more a litre.

Leslie Samuelrich of Corporate Accountability International, said “Cities and states are spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on bottled water, and that’s not to mention what’s spent to deal with all the plastic bottles that are thrown out.”

In July 2009, the NSW rural town of Bundanoon became the first community in Australia to ban the sale of bottled water.  At least 60 cities in the United States and some in Canada and the UK have banned spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water.

No doubt these issues will be discussed at World Water Week 2010 from September 5 to 11 in Stockholm, Sweeden, the annual meeting for the planet’s most urgent water-related issues.

The Problem with Plastic Water Bottles

Bear a plastic water bottle to your own hazard; the sway of social perspective is turning against you. From top rating documentaries, to the written word and campaigns, the hottest debate in our lives is the terror that is bottled water and the waste of resources that the industry forces.

The producing, moving and waste of water in petrochemical plastic bottles requires large amounts of water along with energy, and generates ridiculous measures of greenhouse gases and waste.

Director of the upcoming documentary ‘Tapped: get off the bottle’ Stephanie Soechtig says “1500 water bottles end up in landfill every second – that’s 30 million water bottles a day! We wanted to show people just how much waste is generated by bottled water.” The team of Tapped are plugging the show with an across-America roadshow, collecting money from donors to reduce their water bottle numbers and exchanging their old plastic water bottle for a reusable stainless steel bottle. Download Tapped from Amazon or iTunes.

Another short film ‘The Story of Bottled Water’ was released on World Water Day in March. From the pen of Annie Leonard of the acclaimed ‘The Story of Stuff’, this animation shows the strategy that is behind convincing Americans into buying around half a billion bottles of water a week, as opposed to a few cents cost for clean tap water. Find this animation on You Tube.

Through her book ‘Bottlemania’, writer Elizabeth Royte investigates one of the most massive marketing cons of our century and demands a sudden environmental wakeup call. She explores the red flags we must come to deal with. Who has ownership of the water distribution? What will happen when a bottled-water factory holds your town’s source? Is the water that comes from the tap completely safe? What is really the environmental footprint of production, transportation and waste of one plastic water bottle?

Politicians all around the globe are acknowledging that they must do something – especially when the institutions in which they debate are huge consumers of bottled water. How often do we observe a politician at a conference drinking from a water bottle. They can drink from a water glass in Parliament House.

Leslie Samuelrich of Corporate Accountability International, said “Cities and states are spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on bottled water, and that’s not to mention what’s spent to deal with all the plastic bottles that are thrown out.”

In July 2009, the NSW rural town of Bundanoon became the first place around Australia to prohibited the retail of bottled water. Around 60 cities in the States and a handful of cities in Canada and the UK have lately prevented spending taxpayer money on bottled water.

No doubt this issue will be discussed come World Water Week 2010 from September 5 to 11 in Stockholm, Sweden, the annual meeting for the world’s most urgent water-related dilemmas.

Article written by Tracey Bailey, founder of Biome Eco Stores. For more information about eco-friendly water bottle choices, visit Biome Eco Stores today.