Cleaning 5 Gallon Water Bottles

[Beemerboy]

OK way off topic but I have a few 5 gallon water bottles that I buy water for drinking in the house....I had the home delivery service until I figured that I could do it myself much cheaper....the problem is washing the inside of the bottle to refill...any ideas on what to use that can kill any bacteria?

At the same time making the bottle safe to refill and drink the water from?

[vwgtivw]

White vinegar.

[AL-53]

Use bleach to rinse the bottles out.....When my well ran dry I was waiting for a driller to do another well...so I had to transport water in those jugs...I did 20 a day....

The Health Inspector told me to wash with Bleach..its just Chlorine and kills any bacteria.....I used like 4 oz of bleach and 12 oz of water and sloshed it around and then rinsed good.....

Al

[Beemerboy]

Use bleach to rinse the bottles out.....When my well ran dry I was waiting for a driller to do another well...so I had to transport water in those jugs...I did 20 a day....

The Health Inspector told me to wash with Bleach..its just Chlorine and kills any bacteria.....I used like 4 oz of bleach and 12 oz of water and sloshed it around and then rinsed good.....

Al

Al

Thanks a lot...I just read to use...one teaspoon of bleach and same of baking soda, to one quart of water...splash around and then rinse

[jlift]

If you really need a good scrubbing inside, try about 4 cups of sterilized sand with just enough water not to dissolve the sand. Then slosh it around and the sand acts as a scrubber. Rinse well either with bleach and baking soda or water and if using bleach, use vinegar as a final neutralizing rinse.

[AL-53]

Al

Thanks a lot...I just read to use...one teaspoon of bleach and same of baking soda, to one quart of water...splash around and then rinse

LOL...I guess I had no germs with my mix.....and they would never grow....but better safe than sorry....no sense spending all day on the throne...lol

Also cold water rinses the bleach out best..at least for me....

Good Luck

[cwcad]

I like all the ideas presented so far.

If you are in need of scrubbing action one could use ice cubes annd a lot of salt in case you happen to be low on sterilized sand.

[Brace1]

...a lot of salt in case you happen to be low on sterilized sand.

I was thinking the same thing, either salt or baking soda for a little abrasiveness.

[Mr. Clean]

I`ve wondered the same thing. I`ve also wondered if cleaning is necessary considering you continue to refill with filtered water. To date (over a year), I have yet to "clean" my empty bottles and I have yet to become ill, nor does the water have an "off" scent.

[Beemerboy]

I`ve wondered the same thing. I`ve also wondered if cleaning is necessary considering you continue to refill with filtered water. To date (over a year), I have yet to "clean" my empty bottles and I have yet to become ill, nor does the water have an "off" scent.

According to what I have read its a good thing to rinse them out every time you refill....I have four jugs so mine sit for a period of time before I refill....some start to get green looking on the inside...that`s why I asked about cleaning....looks like baking soda and bleach is the best cleaner

[Stephan]

I think bleach will clean anything its some pretty strong stuff.

[Mr. Clean]

Stephan - Pretty strong is correct. Add corrosive to the description. I wonder what negative effect(s) it might have on the plastic. You certainly don`t want the plastic components to begin leaching into the water.

Beemerboy - I have yet to see anything green (can we assume algae?) or any other buildup in my bottles. I have 1- 3 gallon and 2- 1 gallon bottles. Where I refill my bottles there is a "jet spray" which provides a quick rinse of the bottles.

[Stephan]

Stephan - Pretty strong is correct. Add corrosive to the description. I wonder what negative effect(s) it might have on the plastic. You certainly don`t want the plastic components to begin leaching into the water.

I was thinking the same thing...but then I thought, well bleach comes in plastic containers.

[Mr. Clean]

Yes it does, but it is a different plastic. HDPE 2 IIRC for the bleach container (I don`t have one here) and the water bottles I have are OTHER 7 (which may also be known as Nalgene -- which may present a problem of its own. Which makes me lean even farther away from using anything that might affect the material`s integrity).

[jlift]

Yes it does, but it is a different plastic. HDPE 2 IIRC for the bleach container (I don`t have one here) and the water bottles I have are OTHER 7 (which may also be known as Nalgene -- which may present a problem of its own. Which makes me lean even farther away from using anything that might affect the material`s integrity).

Yep. I kind of researched the plastics that are being made into water bottles. Look on the bottom of your plastic bottle. There is a triangle with a number inside of it. If it is a "2", you should toss the bottles. You can easily Google this stuff. I got so concerned, that I chucked all of my 5 gallon water bottles (plastic) and ordered glass 6.5 gallon "carboys" on line. I got four of them and am happy knowing that glass is pure. Of course, they were $38 each, delivered, but what the heck. Of course, one arrived with a broken neck, but they speedily sent a replacment, shipping prepaid! These are the bottles they make beer and wine in, but are also perfect for my water cooler.