Life Hack: How to wash a reusable water bottle or travel cup — and how often
Cups What About Washing Reusable You To And Istock Picture: Know Bottles Need
As we strive to make more sustainable swaps in our daily lives, many of us are opting to use travel cups for our teas and coffees and filling up reusable water bottles to cut down on single-use plastic. However, some styles and materials are unsuitable to wash in a dishwasher or may have parts that are tricky to clean. Whether you’re using your reusable bottle or cup for water or other liquids, you will need to wash it daily when in use — even if it’s only ever been used for water. Your cups and bottles can easily gather bacteria and mould if left unwashed between uses. Here are some tips on keeping your reusable cups and bottles as clean as possible
The best cleaning products for water bottles are your usual washing up liquid that’s probably sitting under your sink and a long-handled brush. Use the washing up liquid with hot water and scrub with the brush. Rinse the cleaning mixture away. For deeper stains, mix equal parts of bicarbonate of soda with water and soak it inside the bottle for half an hour. Rinse and wash the bottle as usual. Alternatively, drop a dishwasher tablet into the cup, add boiling water and leave it until it cools. Give it a quick scrub, rinse and allow it to dry.
For the lid of the bottle, if there are any removable parts, like a straw, remove those and wash each part separately. Use hot water and washing up liquid here too, with a sponge or brush to scrub. For straws, a narrow brush can be used to clean the inside. Rinse with warm water and allow to air dry or use a clean towel.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB
Like your water bottle, a travel cup will need cleaning daily when you are using it. They generally have wider openings when the lid is removed so cleaning the cup itself should be fairly straightforward. You can use the same washing up liquid and hot water method as for the water bottles, though you might not need a long-handled brush if you can fit your hand inside the cup, a sponge or cloth will do the job.
The tricky part is cleaning the lid and those small moving parts that can be difficult to clean under. If there’s a part that slides on the lid to drink through, you should be able to remove it if the sliding groove is wider at one end. Move the slider to line up with the wider opening and it will pop off easily. You can then clean around the lid and slider easily. If it does not come off, fill a bowl with hot water and washing up liquid. Drop in the lid and let it soak for 10 minutes. Remove it, rinse, and dry.