Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I am a plastic water bottle aholic. I'm never without a bottle when I leave the house. I also have a few back ups in my car. Since Earth Day I've been rethinking my usage and considering the idea that I may be drinking toxic chemicals from those bottles that are sitting in my hot car. I can't say that I will give up my disposables completely but I can certainly cut back. I've checked out the aluminum bottles at Target etc. but can't get over the thought that they will get HOT to the touch. I also know about the different kinds of plastic bottles and the numbers in the triangle. Son's girlfriend is very into the whole water thing so we had an educational conversation on Mothers Day So, have any of you made the switch? Aluminum, plastic or whatever? I'd like something about the size of the typical Crystal Geyser or whatever water bottle so it will fit in my purse. I'd really appreciate recommendations for my bottle shopping. Thanks!
Originally Posted By LuLu I wouldn't recommend aluminum. Aluminum is implicated in Alzheimer's (chuck your anti-perspirant too). I haven't bought water bottles for years. I wouldn't worry *too* much about the plastic in reusable bottles (I don't remember the proper numbers off the top of my head, I know Nalgene is no longer on the "safe" list) b/c you get much more plastic "poisoning" from other sources. If you eat canned foods you're getting mega-doses (they're cooked at high temps in plastic-lined cans). But you should try not to let your bottles reach high temps in your car. Let me look up some info on ewg.org and get back to you.
Originally Posted By LuLu I have to run out and haven't found the reusable bottle info yet. But here's the scoop on canned foods: <a href="http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola" target="_blank">http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola</a> Also be sure not to microwave in plastic, or put hot foods into plastic storage contaimners. Just have to get on my soapbox before someone posts "snopes says water bottles are OK!" Sorry
Originally Posted By peeaanuut Never heard of any of this before. My boss and I go through a case of water every 2 days. She recycles all the bottles and uses the money to get more water. Im not sick but I guess I could be getter there. hmmmm......
Originally Posted By mawnck Snopes says water bottles are OK. <a href="http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp" target="_blank">http://www.snopes.com/medical/...tles.asp</a>
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP I've bought a re-useable water bottle, but then promptly left it some where. I do a good job of keeping track of youngerP's bottles, but not such a good job of my own. I still think that re-usable bottles are the best way to go, but need better "keeping track of" habits!
Originally Posted By mele I have a SIGG bottle. I don't have this color but it cracks me up: <a href="http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=592" target="_blank">http://www.mysigg.com/index.as...odID=592</a>
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 peeaanut, I don't think there is a problem with the cases of water bottles other than the issue of too many bottles ending up not being recycled Sounds like you and your boss are doing fine I also recycle like a maniac but now I'm thinking that I can switch it up with something else. There is evidently an issue with the bottles "leaching" chemicals into the water IF the bottles get hot (like sitting in my hot car.) LuLu, I forgot about the aluminum. Thanks for the reminder. I didn't notice what was on the inside of the bottles. I'll also check out the can link, thank you mele, thank you for the link It looks like the aluminum is on the outside and "safe" plastic is on the inside. Am I right? The bottle on the link cracked me up too Mrs.ElderP, you sound like my daughter The bottles and sippy cups were never forgotten but her things often were. Too cute
Originally Posted By mele I think it's got an inner enamel coating, like on cookware. They're expensive but cool looking. ;-)
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Mele, how do you wash that bottle? Can you put it in the dishwasher? We recently got one with the Luxo lamp from Pixar, and I washed it by hand, but I'm wondering if I could do it an easier way!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss My opinion is that it is an urban myth that plastic water bottles leach toxins into water. Even if the bottles do leach anything, the amount is very, very small... so small that if you think those few molecules are going to hurt you, you probably ought to wear a mask to filter the air you breathe as well. I also think that it is better for the environment to use a reusable bottle and filling it with tap water than buying individual bottles that get tossed, even if they get recycled. Don't like the taste of your tap water? Buy a good filter, and drink the water well chilled.
Originally Posted By mele I haven't had it for too long and have only rinsed it w/hot water and a little soap. I found these directions online: Rinse with clean warm/hot tap water Let dry This process can be repeated with a small amount of liquid dish soap to remove sticky spots from juice or carbonated sodas. For exceptional cleaning, use a Sigg Cleaning brush set. They are shaped to reach inside and clean all areas of the bottle with ease. (I think you could get a generic baby bottle brush instead.) Using a DISHWASHER is not recommended because the narrow mouth of the bottle may not be permit a thorough cleaning. High heat and pressure from a dishwasher may dull the outside paint over time.
Originally Posted By mele We bought a filter pitcher and a faucet filter. It definitely helps. Our local water isn't that bad when it's ice cold but at room temp, it's not that great. Every once and awhile it gets this really weird taste and smell, kind of oily (but w/o the oil slick). Blech.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA We were buying cases of water at the store [between $3.95 and $4.95 for a 24 bottle case], and it just got to be ridiculous. Bottles all over the place. In my office. In the garage. In the car. In the kid's room. And many of them half-drunk. We recycle, yes, but it's a pain. So about a month and a half ago, we started getting bottled water delivered. The cooler and the 5-gallon bottles are very convenient, and we fill up using re-usable sport bottles. It's actually very affordable. We've found some good sport bottles at Starbucks, that apparently don't leech toxins into the water. For us, it was more about the purchasing of the cases of water [kind of a pain], storing the cases of water [kind of a pain], recycling the empties [a pain], and so for the and so on... I think the fewer bottles that have to be manufactured and recycled the better. Maybe they'll go 'back to the future' and start making glass bottles again, and re-using the glass bottles.
Originally Posted By JohnS1 I agree with trekkeruss and Jim in Merced about using fewer plastic bottles. I always have to laugh when I see the "I really care for the earth" type people buying up all this water in plastic bottles made from petroleum products. Use a glass, people. Drink from a drinking fountain. People need to stop using all this plastic, or at least if they do, they need to stop pretending they really care about the earth because their actions contradict their greener-than-thou sentiments.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains We bought a Brita water cooler - it has a 3 gallon bottle and two filters - it uses the same filters as the pitcher - so we just refill the bottle as needed - and change the filters when the water starts to taste off! The cooler is plugged in so the water is always cold!
Originally Posted By mele My husband loves to have lots of water bottles around but all of the empties would drive me crazy. A couple of months ago I finally said "no more" and we've been using the filters ever since. I also bought some really pretty drinking glasses. (I also bought new plates and silverware to go with. LOL)
Originally Posted By LuLu EWG had a metal water bottle on their website but I can't find it now. There's tons of info there on plastic baby bottles and how bad they are for babies. I don't know why people keep insisting this leaching thing is an urban myth. The science is there, go read it. They've even measured that the leaching increases as bottles are washed and reused over 20 times, if they get cracked, etc. Glass is really the way to go if the weight and possibility of breakage isn't a problem. Stainless steel is good. Plastic 2, 4 and 5 are the safest. And yes, you have to check what the metal ones are lined with. I used a friend's metal bottle once and they do taste funny. I want to find a reusable bottle with a wide-moth! We're currently still using our Lexan bottles but I want to replace them with something safer. Narrow-neck bottles are too hard to get really clean. Recycling one-use water bottles really isn't the answer. I'm glad to see a lot of people are cutting down or eliminating bottled water. It's incredibly wasteful.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad You said cut down, not cut out... Why not just reuse the same plastic water bottle for say three days, toss it, get a new one? You will still have the same "washing" and "cleaning" issues with a non disposable one.
