Cleaning 5 Gallon Water Bottles

Beemerboy

Beemerboy

Just One More Coat
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?
 
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-53 said:
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
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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
 
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.
 
Beemerboy said:
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
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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
 
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.
 
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.
 
Mr. Clean said:
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.
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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 - 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.
 
Mr. Clean said:
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.
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I was thinking the same thing...but then I thought, well bleach comes in plastic containers.
 
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).
 
Mr. Clean said:
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).
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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.:bigups
 
jlift said:
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. ...
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More specifically if it is a 2, pretty unlikely for bottled water, then you should re-cycle, not toss. both HDPE 2 and PETE 1 (more likely for bottled water) platics are very common packaging materials and just as commonly re-cycled.
 
Mr. Clean said:
More specifically if it is a 2, pretty unlikely for bottled water, then you should re-cycle, not toss. both HDPE 2 and PETE 1 (more likely for bottled water) platics are very common packaging materials and just as commonly re-cycled.
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I thought I was getting a good deal at the swap meet for $6 each for the plastic ones. My daughter and wife took the plastic bottles to the recycler center at the supermarket, and they refused them. They had to donate them to the second hand store! Go figure? I wonder why they wouldn't take them?:confused:
 
Good question, I know I don't know. In my community #1 and #2 plastics are the only two currently being recycled. I don't know what I will do when it comes time to retire the #7 bottles I'm currently using.
 
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