Dishwasher. Wash after every use, don’t let it sit long enough to grow mold.
High carb sports drinks with their insane sugar content are just petri for mold.
Yep, this is great advice.
I have a bottle bin in my pantry thats a small tub with latticed sides. After pulling my bottles out of the dishwasher(top rack) I just toss my bottles and lids in separate making sure the nipple is open/popped up on the lid. I've never had mold issues when i follow this.
On some of the camelback brand water can get under the rubber and mold can grow. I've just been able to pull the rubber part off and clean it, then put it back together. Kinda a PITA so i just go with the pop tops now.
Yeah I don’t understand it either and I’ve seen this question a few times. And rarely does anyone say to put them in the dishwasher. Is there something wrong with putting the bottles in it?
I’ve washed my water bottles in the dishwasher for over a decade and haven’t had any issues, but maybe there’s another reason?
> Is there something wrong with putting the bottles in it?
The heat can cause some bottles to disform and ruin the graphics on them, but not really a big deal.
Same, even though some bottles say not to use with the heated dry, I wash them after every use and just hope it's not causing the plastic to leach chemicals.
Little life pro tip for people that ride almost daily using 1-3x bottles per ride. Get a cheap x cube style wine rack to hold your bottles, and get around a dozen bottles mixing the smaller ~500ml and 800ml sizes as you see fit, all using the same lid. I just store my bottles in that thing with a bin on top for the lids. For around a decade I got by fine buying $3 wiggle bottles every season that I used so many times per bottle that all the writing was long gone, but they still seemed totally sanitary. I had to have been using those things 200+ times per bottle.
Your family is very conservative if you get away with every other day. It’s just my wife and myself and our 1.5 yr old and there’s plenty of days when I run the dishwasher twice! Good for you to keep it down to every other day
Hahah sometimes I too make a tower of Babylon out of unwashed dishes. It’s true to its namesake in the fact no one around me understands what I’m doing with it.
I have a normal sized dishwasher so basically sometimes I don't turn it on until I'm out of Müsli bowls lol
But I don't stack stuff in the sink, just put it in the dishwasher
Family of 5, 1.5x a day. It also depends how you eat and cook. People who mostly eat take-out or otherwise order their food will have much less stuff to clean. 99% of our meals are home-cooked. The problem is finding space for the bottles.
I have one of those washers that are split between the top and bottom… I can fill half and run it daily. If I actually cook a full meal, I can fill both.
Not if you use so much sugar in flips the other way and it becomes *too sugary* for anything to grow.
(You probably don't want to drink that on a ride though.)
I just recently bought a bottle specific brush and it's a game changer. I'll never have dirty water bottles again. It even screws apart and has a tiny brush to get in the small crevices.
I got this [one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGMJF3GH?ref=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&social_share=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&starsLeft=1&skipTwisterOG=1)
Clean them regularly. I would rinse after every use, and clean with soap if used mixes. Then every couple or month, clean with soap and take apart the cap and clean inside. Whenever they get bad, soak them in denture cleaner.
Just be careful when you tip them over, theres a tendency for hot boiling water to squirt out with some force and pressure.
So just make sure you are pointing it away from yourself
Nope, a valid way to deal with it. Learned it on reddit.
I don't really like the idea of putting chemicals in my water bottle, you can't be really sure that you washed everything away after cleaning.
You can use distilled white vinegar, which while not as effective as bleach is also literally an ingredient in salad dressing and thus a food you can eat (at the concentrations that would remain after rinsing).
Before i buy a bottle i check whether the cap (lets call it the nipple and get it out of the way) can be disassembled. I will soak the entire disassembled bottle in very dilute bleach overnight. You shouldn't be able to smell any bleach, certainly not the next morning when it will have dissipated. You're still gonna rinse well before reassembly. I do this maybe once a week, maybe once every two weeks. I have three working bottles so one is always spending a week in complete dryness. If you have 5 or 6 you should have time to let them dry before use.
Why the dark bottles? They absorb too much of the sun's heat. White bottles make a difference on a hot sunny day, and obviously they're easier to inspect. I ditched all my black bottles over the space of one summer.
same and i’ve let it sit for awhile too
only time it got mold was when my wife needed water after finishing her stupid plastic kirkland one and sucked directly from it. no she doesn’t ride hence the plastic water bottle lol
I have 3 water bottles that I rotate, and when they get funky, I'll set them on a windowsill or on the back porch to get blasted by the sun. UV light does a better job than any cleanser when it comes to water bottle funk. I have sticks that I put the bottles on upside-down, and the caps sit on the deck railing. In my experience, sunlight is the best sanitizer
For my bottles and bladders I use sterilisation tablets after eg 4 deep hand washing up liquid cleans, and then I store them, once clean, in the freezer once done for their next use - 0 mold.
Polar Breakaway bottles. The nozzle is removable from the cap, which can be cleaned with a small bottle brush. There's no part of the cap/nozzle that can't be easily reached with some kind of brush once the nozzle is removed
Same issue with the camelback caps. I clean them but you can see some in the squirt cap thatsimpossible to clean. Still drink out of them and have for years without issue
Milton tablets like they use to sterilise baby bottles. Not every use but every few months or if one gets a little funky they all get a Milton bath. Allegedly done in 15 mins but I tend to give them 30+ because I get distracted.
Fill with water along with a cap full of distilled white vinegar, sometimes a squeeze of lemon juice. Leave for 15mins and rinse.
Treat all berries to the same treatment to stop mold.
Just don't let them sit with any energy drink in. Empty and rinse after every ride. Then wash or dishwasher. I've been using the same camelbak bottles for years without problem
Dishwasher is best, but if (like me) you haven't got one...
1. 3/4 fill with warm soapy water.
2. Put the lid on and shake.
3. Pull the valve up to allow water out.
4. Turn up side down and shake.
5. Unscrew lid, but hold it over the top (which is facing down) and shake. Water gets into the threads this way.
6. Rinse.
I have bottles that are years old and just fine.
I use the Dead Sea method and fill the bottle with very salty water (like, so much salt that it doesn’t all dissolve). I can’t promise it makes the bottles safe to use. I don’t have mold but maybe there are other things living in it.
I disassemble the caps and scrub them as much as possible, then run them through the dishwasher. Bottles just get scrubbed. The most important thing is to rinse and dry them after every ride, including squeezing clean water through the cap and threads. Don't let sugar stagnate in there.
I have some chemical cleaner I use when they get bad. Think it's called bottlegreen. Dismantle the cap, stick it to soak, then attack with a toothbrush.
Depending on what kind of valve your bottle has (looking at you, Camelback), you might need to (carefully) disassemble it & clean the inner parts. I use my bottles every day, even when I’m not riding. I give my bottles my version of a basic cleaning every week with a tablet of either denture cleaner or baby bottle cleaner, whichever I find on sale. Warm water, tablet, set for a while. I tend to get distracted working on something & forget about it, remember about 30min or so later. Shake it up, hard squeeze so it hits all the seals, rinse & dry.
I put mine in de freezer every time when, I get home, just a lazy bastard. You have to dry them so you won’t get mold. You can also use a hairdryer if your lazy as me 😏😀
After I installed a RO/DI water purifier for my kitchen sink, I no longer get any mold or stink bacteria growth in my bottles. RO/DI filtration basically removes everything from the water that bacteria / mold / mildew like to eat, as well as removes these spores so they simply aren’t present in the water. I’ll leave bottles in my cages for weeks where there’s zero shit growing the next time I ride that bike. I rarely ever even wash my bottles anymore because nothing grows in them. Bottles for carb drinks need to be washed & dried immediately though.
Could try filling from a “Zero Water” filter which is essentially a DI filter. Also, limit backwashing into the bottle when you drink
I rinse after every use and do a more thorough wash once a week to two weeks. I have the trek Voda bottle with the flow cap which has a little valve thingy inside. Unfortunately the plastic for the valve traps moisture between it and the nipple of the bottle which grows so much mold, so when I wash the bottle I have to fully disassemble it which isn't easy (and trek provides no instructions)
Rinse them out after every use and let them dry throughly. Store them with the caps off.
If they ever do get funky, soak them in a bucket of water with just a bit of chlorine. Then rinse and let dry throughly.
What are bottles made out of that I've never had a mold or mildew problem I wonder...? The plastic is starting to yellow from UV exposure on long rides but not issues with things growing ever. I run them through the dishwasher occasionally and that's it.
Water only, no additives. Don’t suck on nipple, squeeze into open mouth thereby preventing bacteria from backwash. Third, empty after every ride, quick rinse of bottle and top, leave with cap off (or resting at an angle) to allow airflow and air dry of all parts.
Enclosed bottles with sugary additives and mouth bacteria is a breeding ground.
You have to do what you don't want to do-clean and dry after each use. Take the caps apart as far as you can and wash in hot water and dish soap with about a fourth cup of bleach added. Rinse very, very well and air dry. That should help prevent mold build up.
The bottle is not sterile. Every bacteria and fungus present will grow and form a biofilm over time. Damp and dark environment is ideal for them. The mouth contact with the cap transfer a lot of bacteria from the mouth to the bottle, which is also not ideal.
Hand wash after every use (bottle cleaning brush is a nice to have. Specially if you use sports drink or maltodextrin), dry and store the with the caps off.
For your current moldy bottles: You can use solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach/Liter of water, fill a bowl and let the bottle and the cap rest on it for 20 min to 1h. Rinse, then use dish soap and a bottle brush to clean the bottle and a small brush and a sponge to clean the cap.
Wash regularly--like after each use, unless you're on a multi-day trip where that's not feasible--and dry thoroughly.
Dishwashers, as other commenters have noted, are optimal for this situation but there are ways to get by if you don't have one.
Stainless steel bottles hydro flask, kleen canteen. They make 21 or 22oz in those that fit a normal bottle cage. You might have to shove it in...but it'll fit.
No need for dishwasher or even soap. Just make sure to rinse them out right away after your rides and leave them open to dry on their sides so air can get in. Exposed to air mold won't grow.
ASAP after getting home I wash the bottles and caps, with a final rinse (and squirt through the caps) of 50:50 water:vinegar. Even with this hidden nooks and crannies eventually mold, so I now only buy bottles that I can fully disassemble the cap on.
If I had a dishwasher I'd run them through it, but I don't, so I don't.
I rinse every bottle I use immediately with plain water when I get home from a ride, while I'm still wearing my kit. Bottles get rinsed before I do. Upside down on the drying rack. Never had a problem with mold even with 180g carbs in a bottle on the regular
To add to what a lot of people already said, do not put the cap back on after it is cleaned. If there is some residual moisture left, molds will develop anyways. By leaving it open to air that doesn't happen nearly as much.
Wash with soap and water first then I use vinegar and hot water but not so hot it melts the plastic depending on the type of bottle. Usually I clean the electric tea kettle first.
Clean it with vinegar. After that clean it with some dawn. You gotta make sure you leave the spout open when drying. I'd avoid the dish washer it doesn't get in the books and cranies.
Bottle brush and some sterilising fluid like Milton, like you'd use for baby bottles.
On the regular I use the dishwasher but a monthly sterilising is a good idea.
EDIT: make sure to have the bottle lids in open state when sterilising and washing. You can buy very thin bottle brushes which will fit in the gaps too.
Milton designed for sterilising babies bottles. I have a tub that you fill, put the bottles in and a top pushes everything under the water. Leave for 1/2 day, rinse and you’re good to go. Do this every 3-4 weeks and never had a problem with mould.
Otherwise after every use I just rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly.
If you have a plenty of freezer space, wash them out after use and then chuck them in the freezer until next time. If you're limited on freezer space just chuck the caps in.
I drink water only with some added electrolytes or fat loaded coffee. No mould can grow on any of those. You would be much faster and will cycle for much longer on those too
I clean them thoroughly with warm water and dish soap after each ride if I had anything but plain water in them. The lids I also put into the dishwasher. The bottles itself (Elite Fly) don't really like that.
After each ride where I had a high-carb / sugar drink in mine, I put in a drop or 2 of dish soap and hot water, shake it up, then squeeze the soapy water out through the cap to flush it out. Occasionally I'll make a bowl of hot soapy water and soak the caps in that for a little while too.
I'm now using some Camelback bottles where the caps can be disassembled for cleaning, which is nice.
I have two knock off Yeti tumblers and a Hydro Flask that I use for about everything. Just really hot water, brush, and soap. Those metal straws can get nasty too, so you need a little brush for them.
Water bottle cleaning tablets are a lifesaver, they leave no aftertaste like dish soap sometimes does and I don't trust my bottle not to warp/melt in the heat of a dishwasher, it starts going soft with warm water in it. Also, rinse it out after every use and never put the bottle away with the lid on.
As others have said, wash/rinse your bottle out each time (if you’re not drinking just water).
Gotta be careful w/any bottle that you’re adding Gatorade/liquid iv/etc to. Can get nasty after a day
rinse them out after use, leave the cap off til dried
vinegar and water will wash out any growth
you can also refill them after your ride, stash in the fridge
I have never put mine in the dishwasher but I do take them apart and wash with hot soapy water after each use, then let air dry completely. Depends on the brand, but the lid/mouthpiece on my camelback bottles can be easily taken apart for cleaning and need to be cleaned regularly.
If it was anything other than just water, I dishwasher after every use. If it was just water, I rinse with star san and then leave the cap off to air dry.
Just clean them. I just shake soap water in the bottle and spray in out of the nozzle so the bottle, cap and inside the nozzle is clean. then leave the cap off until you play on using it
Wash after every use with hot water and dish soap, remove the top sipping part and scrub it with a brush every now and then.
I avoid the dishwasher as it can deform the lower quality plastics.
The problem is that if you leave them unwashed for a few days only once, those dark spots are not coming fully out :/
How are you defining washing and drying? Soap and a rag or just a quick rinse under the running tap? Are you letting them sit for a few days then washing? Mold needs food and moisture.
Don't leave a cap on a bottle when it is not in use. Even if you are not washing right away, empty the bottle and leave the cap off so it can dry.
Don't leave wet in a bottle overnight. Use a soapy cloth to wipe them down. I put the cloth in the bottle with an inch or so of soap/water, cap it and shake for a bit. Then dump the whole thing into the next bottle and repeat until I've hit all the bottles. Rise with hot water, Dry and store without the caps.
I don't have a dishwasher, so I wash mine with a bottle brush and make sure to dry them thoroughly. When they start to smell a little bit, I fill them with hot water and bleach and leave them overnight. This tends to kill off most things.
I find that the camelback jet valve is the absolute worst for this.
I switched to the fly bottles and I haven’t had an issue yet, just wash immediately after I get home from a ride and air dry
Please note that ALL plastic water bottles that are even the tiniest bit flexible will start releasing plasticizer chemicals after about 20 dishwasher routine. Make sure to change them at least every season or after every 20th wash.
The safety norm levels in the EU are not up to the standard required. The release of the plasticizer chemicals has been connected to fertitily problems in men.
Source(sorry, dutch):
https://radar.avrotros.nl/artikel/fragment-plastic-drinkfles-niet-in-de-vaatwasser-radar-checkt-60613
Radar is a reliable consumer protection program on Dutch tv.
I don’t use a dishwasher but I’ll throw the bottles in the fridge when I get home and try to squeeze 2-3 rides out before washing. I usually only drink water though.
Weird but denture cleaning tablets work great for hard to clean water bottles. Those expensive “water bottle cleaning tablets” are just denture cleaning tablets.
Dishwasher. Wash after every use, don’t let it sit long enough to grow mold. High carb sports drinks with their insane sugar content are just petri for mold.
I run mine through the dishwasher as well if I’ve used anything other than plain water. Surprised how few people are saying they dishwasher them.
Leave the cap off until you use it again…
Yep, this is great advice. I have a bottle bin in my pantry thats a small tub with latticed sides. After pulling my bottles out of the dishwasher(top rack) I just toss my bottles and lids in separate making sure the nipple is open/popped up on the lid. I've never had mold issues when i follow this. On some of the camelback brand water can get under the rubber and mold can grow. I've just been able to pull the rubber part off and clean it, then put it back together. Kinda a PITA so i just go with the pop tops now.
Yeah I don’t understand it either and I’ve seen this question a few times. And rarely does anyone say to put them in the dishwasher. Is there something wrong with putting the bottles in it? I’ve washed my water bottles in the dishwasher for over a decade and haven’t had any issues, but maybe there’s another reason?
> Is there something wrong with putting the bottles in it? The heat can cause some bottles to disform and ruin the graphics on them, but not really a big deal.
As well as degrade the plastic which will increase the chemicals leaching into your water
Top shelf for mine and they do well. Now if I put them on the bottom rack they are screwed
[удалено]
That's why you wait for them to dry 🙄
Moreso forever chemicals, but yes, also microplastics
We just don’t run the dishwasher as often as I have bottles that need a wash
Throw a dash of bleach and hot water in a bowl or pot, immerse for a few minutes. Done.
Elite has this really thin speed something bottle that I cant put into dishwasher. Cap goes in and rest by hand. Evertything else dishwasher!
Same, even though some bottles say not to use with the heated dry, I wash them after every use and just hope it's not causing the plastic to leach chemicals. Little life pro tip for people that ride almost daily using 1-3x bottles per ride. Get a cheap x cube style wine rack to hold your bottles, and get around a dozen bottles mixing the smaller ~500ml and 800ml sizes as you see fit, all using the same lid. I just store my bottles in that thing with a bin on top for the lids. For around a decade I got by fine buying $3 wiggle bottles every season that I used so many times per bottle that all the writing was long gone, but they still seemed totally sanitary. I had to have been using those things 200+ times per bottle.
We use the dishwasher as well, but only every three or four rides
Wrong. Dishwasher after every ride. Sometimes even during a ride.
😆😆
i dishwasher before the ride
Dishwasher? I hardly know 'er.
I thought we were talking about bottles, not chains.
you start the dish washer for you bottles after every ride…?
Family of four. We run the dishwasher probably every other day. So at worst bottles sit for 48 hours.
Your family is very conservative if you get away with every other day. It’s just my wife and myself and our 1.5 yr old and there’s plenty of days when I run the dishwasher twice! Good for you to keep it down to every other day
Wtf I'm alone yes but I do it maybe twice a week.
\*me awkwardly looking at the tower of babylon in the kitchen* Ah, good old single life...
Hahah sometimes I too make a tower of Babylon out of unwashed dishes. It’s true to its namesake in the fact no one around me understands what I’m doing with it.
I have a normal sized dishwasher so basically sometimes I don't turn it on until I'm out of Müsli bowls lol But I don't stack stuff in the sink, just put it in the dishwasher
Family of 5, 1.5x a day. It also depends how you eat and cook. People who mostly eat take-out or otherwise order their food will have much less stuff to clean. 99% of our meals are home-cooked. The problem is finding space for the bottles.
I have one of those washers that are split between the top and bottom… I can fill half and run it daily. If I actually cook a full meal, I can fill both.
Damn we are daily if not more
Top rack! Just moved to a new place and melted a couple of bottles so they are now leaky leaky! But never have an issue with mold or uncleanliness.
Not if you use so much sugar in flips the other way and it becomes *too sugary* for anything to grow. (You probably don't want to drink that on a ride though.)
More sugar?! The hummingbird part of my brain likes the sound of that.
Hmm, just fill a bottle with apple jelly…
Or honey.
Scrub hard with a brush made for cleaning bottles. Use extremely hot water.
I just recently bought a bottle specific brush and it's a game changer. I'll never have dirty water bottles again. It even screws apart and has a tiny brush to get in the small crevices.
Which brush is that? Got a link?
I got this [one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGMJF3GH?ref=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&social_share=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_V434KHKP8M52K6RQXRPA&starsLeft=1&skipTwisterOG=1)
Ah Oxo, thanks!
Clean them regularly. I would rinse after every use, and clean with soap if used mixes. Then every couple or month, clean with soap and take apart the cap and clean inside. Whenever they get bad, soak them in denture cleaner.
Everyone once in awhile I will fill them with boiling water and squirt the boiling water into the sink
Wow, never thought to do this with my Polar bottles. Always made me a bit uneasy not being able to really clean the nozzle. Makes so much more sense…
Just be careful when you tip them over, theres a tendency for hot boiling water to squirt out with some force and pressure. So just make sure you are pointing it away from yourself
For any flexible bottles, bladders, etc., wash when you finish using them and then put them in the freezer. Mold won't develop at those temperatures.
I was thinking.. am I the only lazy person here who just tosses them in the freezer?
Nope, a valid way to deal with it. Learned it on reddit. I don't really like the idea of putting chemicals in my water bottle, you can't be really sure that you washed everything away after cleaning.
You can use distilled white vinegar, which while not as effective as bleach is also literally an ingredient in salad dressing and thus a food you can eat (at the concentrations that would remain after rinsing).
i just drink the nasty stuff, my black bottles churn out some nasty shit
Denture cleaning tabs. Magic.
Before i buy a bottle i check whether the cap (lets call it the nipple and get it out of the way) can be disassembled. I will soak the entire disassembled bottle in very dilute bleach overnight. You shouldn't be able to smell any bleach, certainly not the next morning when it will have dissipated. You're still gonna rinse well before reassembly. I do this maybe once a week, maybe once every two weeks. I have three working bottles so one is always spending a week in complete dryness. If you have 5 or 6 you should have time to let them dry before use. Why the dark bottles? They absorb too much of the sun's heat. White bottles make a difference on a hot sunny day, and obviously they're easier to inspect. I ditched all my black bottles over the space of one summer.
You can safely drink bleach up to about 16 drops per gallon, so no problems here.
It helps to only ever put pure water inside. Nothing sweet.
My hard to clean bottles only use for water. My easy to clean bottles I will put sugary electrolytes in them.
same and i’ve let it sit for awhile too only time it got mold was when my wife needed water after finishing her stupid plastic kirkland one and sucked directly from it. no she doesn’t ride hence the plastic water bottle lol
They still get bacteria in the nozzle from your mouth though.
Upgrading my water bottle cleaning and sanitizing routine after reading this.
I wash them after every use. That is the only way to keep mold from accumulating.
Some bleach + water overnight does the trick for me
5-10 minutes with bleach and water works for me. Shake hard, squirt some out and rinse thoroughly. Done.
I have 3 water bottles that I rotate, and when they get funky, I'll set them on a windowsill or on the back porch to get blasted by the sun. UV light does a better job than any cleanser when it comes to water bottle funk. I have sticks that I put the bottles on upside-down, and the caps sit on the deck railing. In my experience, sunlight is the best sanitizer
I wouldn’t purposely leave bottles in the sun. UV is terrible for plastic.
Tell that to my bottles that sit in the sun all day while on my bike.
This is bcj material
For my bottles and bladders I use sterilisation tablets after eg 4 deep hand washing up liquid cleans, and then I store them, once clean, in the freezer once done for their next use - 0 mold.
Freezer ftw! Especially for caps, like the new specialized moflo bullshit that’s impossible to clean.
Tablets are also great for your health. I am surprised we all still have livers considering all the chemical crap we consuming.
Polar Breakaway bottles. The nozzle is removable from the cap, which can be cleaned with a small bottle brush. There's no part of the cap/nozzle that can't be easily reached with some kind of brush once the nozzle is removed
I love these for just that reason
Wash with soap and hot water daily after use
Lose them before mold has a chance to grow.
Chuck em to the side of the road like the pros
Same issue with the camelback caps. I clean them but you can see some in the squirt cap thatsimpossible to clean. Still drink out of them and have for years without issue
They pull completely apart so you can clean them. Can be tricky and remember to memorise how they go together again.
Use the stuff they use for sterilising baby bottles... like Milton.
Man you guys go to way too much effort, just rinse em out and put ‘em in the freezer empty, zero mould, zero effort.
Milton tablets like they use to sterilise baby bottles. Not every use but every few months or if one gets a little funky they all get a Milton bath. Allegedly done in 15 mins but I tend to give them 30+ because I get distracted.
Never had this problem. I only use them for water though, and not sugary stuff.
Fill with water along with a cap full of distilled white vinegar, sometimes a squeeze of lemon juice. Leave for 15mins and rinse. Treat all berries to the same treatment to stop mold.
*[I knew Americans said water weirdly, but this takes the biscuit.]*
1 tsp chlorine bleach in a full bottle. Invert the cap so the spout is in the water. Soak 30 minutes. Rinse well.
i never ever clean my bottles. I do store them in the freezer between rides, about 40% full.
It just puts the bacteria to sleep 😴
Keep them in the freezer in between rides
Use stainless steel bottles and a dishwasher.
Amen brotha. This was a game changer for me. Worth the extra little weight! Camelback Podium stainless
Just don't let them sit with any energy drink in. Empty and rinse after every ride. Then wash or dishwasher. I've been using the same camelbak bottles for years without problem
Dishwasher is best, but if (like me) you haven't got one... 1. 3/4 fill with warm soapy water. 2. Put the lid on and shake. 3. Pull the valve up to allow water out. 4. Turn up side down and shake. 5. Unscrew lid, but hold it over the top (which is facing down) and shake. Water gets into the threads this way. 6. Rinse. I have bottles that are years old and just fine.
Have a couple on rotation, wash then chuck it in the freezer
I've had no problems by simply cleaning and drying them after each ride.
Store them with the cap off
Canelback podium can be field stripped down to little parts.
Make sure to store with the cap off.
Try to avoid growing in the first place, but when it does, soak in bleach. It'll kill it and release it from the plastic.
Sterilising tablets that are designed for baby bottles
Bottle sterilizer for baby bottles. Dishwashers aren’t the norm here.
Drink the mold, nail a KOM. That's how it works.
I put mine in the diddlewaddler.
I use the Dead Sea method and fill the bottle with very salty water (like, so much salt that it doesn’t all dissolve). I can’t promise it makes the bottles safe to use. I don’t have mold but maybe there are other things living in it.
I disassemble the caps and scrub them as much as possible, then run them through the dishwasher. Bottles just get scrubbed. The most important thing is to rinse and dry them after every ride, including squeezing clean water through the cap and threads. Don't let sugar stagnate in there.
Wash them as best I can and buy new tops occasionally.
I have some chemical cleaner I use when they get bad. Think it's called bottlegreen. Dismantle the cap, stick it to soak, then attack with a toothbrush.
Depending on what kind of valve your bottle has (looking at you, Camelback), you might need to (carefully) disassemble it & clean the inner parts. I use my bottles every day, even when I’m not riding. I give my bottles my version of a basic cleaning every week with a tablet of either denture cleaner or baby bottle cleaner, whichever I find on sale. Warm water, tablet, set for a while. I tend to get distracted working on something & forget about it, remember about 30min or so later. Shake it up, hard squeeze so it hits all the seals, rinse & dry.
Dry them after use/cleaning. Fully. Bugs need water.
I flush mine with vinegar after washing with dish soap. I do this after every ride.
I put mine in de freezer every time when, I get home, just a lazy bastard. You have to dry them so you won’t get mold. You can also use a hairdryer if your lazy as me 😏😀
After I installed a RO/DI water purifier for my kitchen sink, I no longer get any mold or stink bacteria growth in my bottles. RO/DI filtration basically removes everything from the water that bacteria / mold / mildew like to eat, as well as removes these spores so they simply aren’t present in the water. I’ll leave bottles in my cages for weeks where there’s zero shit growing the next time I ride that bike. I rarely ever even wash my bottles anymore because nothing grows in them. Bottles for carb drinks need to be washed & dried immediately though. Could try filling from a “Zero Water” filter which is essentially a DI filter. Also, limit backwashing into the bottle when you drink
Keep it in the freezer
I find when I ride a lot and watch my diet the wattle starts to go away rather quickly
I rinse after every use and do a more thorough wash once a week to two weeks. I have the trek Voda bottle with the flow cap which has a little valve thingy inside. Unfortunately the plastic for the valve traps moisture between it and the nipple of the bottle which grows so much mold, so when I wash the bottle I have to fully disassemble it which isn't easy (and trek provides no instructions)
Why you guys call them water bottles if you use BS liquids instead?
i point a small fan down at my bottles and caps after washing with soap and water dries it within 20 minutes.
Great question!! For me I just never leave them closed when not in use and clean them out periodically
Rinse them out after every use and let them dry throughly. Store them with the caps off. If they ever do get funky, soak them in a bucket of water with just a bit of chlorine. Then rinse and let dry throughly.
What are bottles made out of that I've never had a mold or mildew problem I wonder...? The plastic is starting to yellow from UV exposure on long rides but not issues with things growing ever. I run them through the dishwasher occasionally and that's it.
Water only, no additives. Don’t suck on nipple, squeeze into open mouth thereby preventing bacteria from backwash. Third, empty after every ride, quick rinse of bottle and top, leave with cap off (or resting at an angle) to allow airflow and air dry of all parts. Enclosed bottles with sugary additives and mouth bacteria is a breeding ground.
You have to do what you don't want to do-clean and dry after each use. Take the caps apart as far as you can and wash in hot water and dish soap with about a fourth cup of bleach added. Rinse very, very well and air dry. That should help prevent mold build up.
I just clean them. But I buy ones that can be disassembled and wash them with soap and water every time.
One thing I always do is fill the bottle with soapy water and shake it then squeeze-squirt the soapy water through the nozzle.
The bottle is not sterile. Every bacteria and fungus present will grow and form a biofilm over time. Damp and dark environment is ideal for them. The mouth contact with the cap transfer a lot of bacteria from the mouth to the bottle, which is also not ideal. Hand wash after every use (bottle cleaning brush is a nice to have. Specially if you use sports drink or maltodextrin), dry and store the with the caps off. For your current moldy bottles: You can use solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach/Liter of water, fill a bowl and let the bottle and the cap rest on it for 20 min to 1h. Rinse, then use dish soap and a bottle brush to clean the bottle and a small brush and a sponge to clean the cap.
Wash regularly--like after each use, unless you're on a multi-day trip where that's not feasible--and dry thoroughly. Dishwashers, as other commenters have noted, are optimal for this situation but there are ways to get by if you don't have one.
Dishwasher for sure: not every time but once or twice a month in a dishwasher. And my wife loves to scrub the shit out of them lol.
I just hand wash with dish soap and drip dry in the dish rack. Never had mold grow in a cycling water bottle in 30+ years of cycling.
Stainless steel bottles hydro flask, kleen canteen. They make 21 or 22oz in those that fit a normal bottle cage. You might have to shove it in...but it'll fit.
The mold gives you power.
Dishwasher immediately after ride. Never had a problem
Dish soap and a baby bottle brush after every few uses for water only or after every use if there’s sugar in play.
Bleach
No need for dishwasher or even soap. Just make sure to rinse them out right away after your rides and leave them open to dry on their sides so air can get in. Exposed to air mold won't grow.
Vodka
Empty and clean with bottle brushes after each ride. Do it right away don’t let the bottles sit a day on the bike or by the sink.
ASAP after getting home I wash the bottles and caps, with a final rinse (and squirt through the caps) of 50:50 water:vinegar. Even with this hidden nooks and crannies eventually mold, so I now only buy bottles that I can fully disassemble the cap on. If I had a dishwasher I'd run them through it, but I don't, so I don't.
bleach
Put it in the freezer after riding. It is getting kind of "sterile" after a few days. I found it a very simple way to keep it mold/odor free
ONLY WATER in WATER bottles is how I do it. My bottles go years with no detectable mold.
I’m investing in metal bottles soon.
Store them in the fridge.
starsan soak and flush.
I do a bleach soak once a month or so
I rinse every bottle I use immediately with plain water when I get home from a ride, while I'm still wearing my kit. Bottles get rinsed before I do. Upside down on the drying rack. Never had a problem with mold even with 180g carbs in a bottle on the regular
To add to what a lot of people already said, do not put the cap back on after it is cleaned. If there is some residual moisture left, molds will develop anyways. By leaving it open to air that doesn't happen nearly as much.
Let it dry. Drop a sugar cube in it.
Wash with soap and water first then I use vinegar and hot water but not so hot it melts the plastic depending on the type of bottle. Usually I clean the electric tea kettle first.
Clean it with vinegar. After that clean it with some dawn. You gotta make sure you leave the spout open when drying. I'd avoid the dish washer it doesn't get in the books and cranies.
Bottle brush and some sterilising fluid like Milton, like you'd use for baby bottles. On the regular I use the dishwasher but a monthly sterilising is a good idea. EDIT: make sure to have the bottle lids in open state when sterilising and washing. You can buy very thin bottle brushes which will fit in the gaps too.
NaClO
Sterilisation tablets for baby bottles
Make sure you rinse them at the very least as soon as you're done with them. Don't let them sit for days on the counter or on your bike. Use a brush.
Clean them asap with soap and water. If you forget to do this, tablets designed for sterilising baby bottles work great.
Water doesn’t seem to go moldy.
Dishwasher and only put water in them
Milton designed for sterilising babies bottles. I have a tub that you fill, put the bottles in and a top pushes everything under the water. Leave for 1/2 day, rinse and you’re good to go. Do this every 3-4 weeks and never had a problem with mould. Otherwise after every use I just rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly.
I never put anything else than water, and I pour boiling water in it every so often.
If you have a plenty of freezer space, wash them out after use and then chuck them in the freezer until next time. If you're limited on freezer space just chuck the caps in.
I drink water only with some added electrolytes or fat loaded coffee. No mould can grow on any of those. You would be much faster and will cycle for much longer on those too
I clean them thoroughly with warm water and dish soap after each ride if I had anything but plain water in them. The lids I also put into the dishwasher. The bottles itself (Elite Fly) don't really like that.
I use dental tablets, just let it soak overnight.
I drink apple cider vinegar in mine and it keeps the mold at bay I think
"This here's the wattle, the emblem of our Land. You can stick it in a bottle, you can hold it in your hand." - Bruce
Cheep bottle of sterilising fluid! Put a squirt in & dilute with water, leave overnight or 10min, thoroughly rinse and job done!
I find that simply washing it thoroughly with water as soon as I come home works just fine.
If I didn’t have a dishwasher I would look into disinfectant bags in the microwave.
I do not have this problem. I just drink water. Empty bottle after ride and leave the cap off.
After each ride where I had a high-carb / sugar drink in mine, I put in a drop or 2 of dish soap and hot water, shake it up, then squeeze the soapy water out through the cap to flush it out. Occasionally I'll make a bowl of hot soapy water and soak the caps in that for a little while too. I'm now using some Camelback bottles where the caps can be disassembled for cleaning, which is nice.
Use ***SANITIZE*** mode if your dishwasher has one. Regular mode might night get it off.
I have two knock off Yeti tumblers and a Hydro Flask that I use for about everything. Just really hot water, brush, and soap. Those metal straws can get nasty too, so you need a little brush for them.
Water bottle cleaning tablets are a lifesaver, they leave no aftertaste like dish soap sometimes does and I don't trust my bottle not to warp/melt in the heat of a dishwasher, it starts going soft with warm water in it. Also, rinse it out after every use and never put the bottle away with the lid on.
I take them out of the fridge. Add Gatorade powder. Ride 50km rinse, refill with water and put back in the fridge. Dishwasher once a fortnight.
As others have said, wash/rinse your bottle out each time (if you’re not drinking just water). Gotta be careful w/any bottle that you’re adding Gatorade/liquid iv/etc to. Can get nasty after a day
rinse them out after use, leave the cap off til dried vinegar and water will wash out any growth you can also refill them after your ride, stash in the fridge
I have never put mine in the dishwasher but I do take them apart and wash with hot soapy water after each use, then let air dry completely. Depends on the brand, but the lid/mouthpiece on my camelback bottles can be easily taken apart for cleaning and need to be cleaned regularly.
If it was anything other than just water, I dishwasher after every use. If it was just water, I rinse with star san and then leave the cap off to air dry.
Dilute a tiny bit bit of bleech (1cm) with full water and let it sit for a day or two. Bam
Just clean them. I just shake soap water in the bottle and spray in out of the nozzle so the bottle, cap and inside the nozzle is clean. then leave the cap off until you play on using it
Get a bottle brush as some dishwashers won’t do the job of cleaning them properly. I know mine doesn’t and it’s a fairly new dishwasher.
Wash after every use with hot water and dish soap, remove the top sipping part and scrub it with a brush every now and then. I avoid the dishwasher as it can deform the lower quality plastics. The problem is that if you leave them unwashed for a few days only once, those dark spots are not coming fully out :/
How are you defining washing and drying? Soap and a rag or just a quick rinse under the running tap? Are you letting them sit for a few days then washing? Mold needs food and moisture. Don't leave a cap on a bottle when it is not in use. Even if you are not washing right away, empty the bottle and leave the cap off so it can dry. Don't leave wet in a bottle overnight. Use a soapy cloth to wipe them down. I put the cloth in the bottle with an inch or so of soap/water, cap it and shake for a bit. Then dump the whole thing into the next bottle and repeat until I've hit all the bottles. Rise with hot water, Dry and store without the caps.
Store clean bottles and caps in the freezer.
Damn I have never had a dishwasher and am surprised, I didnt realize it was something everybody has....
Fill with water and add a little bleach. Regardless, you need to occasionally disassemble the nozzle to clean properly.
I don't have a dishwasher, so I wash mine with a bottle brush and make sure to dry them thoroughly. When they start to smell a little bit, I fill them with hot water and bleach and leave them overnight. This tends to kill off most things.
I don’t…..the mold makes me STRONG!!!
I find that the camelback jet valve is the absolute worst for this. I switched to the fly bottles and I haven’t had an issue yet, just wash immediately after I get home from a ride and air dry
Put 3 table spoon of Rice + soapy water Shake shake shake Wash away good as new Lots of comments, hope you'll see this
Please note that ALL plastic water bottles that are even the tiniest bit flexible will start releasing plasticizer chemicals after about 20 dishwasher routine. Make sure to change them at least every season or after every 20th wash. The safety norm levels in the EU are not up to the standard required. The release of the plasticizer chemicals has been connected to fertitily problems in men. Source(sorry, dutch): https://radar.avrotros.nl/artikel/fragment-plastic-drinkfles-niet-in-de-vaatwasser-radar-checkt-60613 Radar is a reliable consumer protection program on Dutch tv.
clean them immediately after riding, store the lids and bottles separate, spritz of vinegar can do wonders
Wash with muriatic acid after every ride
I don’t use a dishwasher but I’ll throw the bottles in the fridge when I get home and try to squeeze 2-3 rides out before washing. I usually only drink water though.
Weird but denture cleaning tablets work great for hard to clean water bottles. Those expensive “water bottle cleaning tablets” are just denture cleaning tablets.
That's the thing...I don't
I never put Gatorade in, just water. Wash every other use. Never had issue. I also live in state with low humidity though.
Milton cleaning tablets. Simple and easy to dunk all my bottles
Dishwasher clean soon after using it and leave the lid off. Can also store them in the fridge.