How Often Should You Clean Your Water Bottle?

Everyone needs to be drinking water, and an easy way to hit your hydration goal is always having water on hand. That’s what a reusable water bottle offers. Of course, you have to take care of it, though.

How often should you wash your water bottle? It’s far more often than you think.

If you’re anything like me, you’re averaging a wash roughly once a week. That seems decent, right? Well, not according to the experts who say you should be washing your bottle after every single use.

Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communications at The American Cleaning Institute, told Apartment Therapy a daily wash is a must as bacteria breeds in damp, dark spaces—like your water bottle. Even if you’re only putting water inside (instead of iced coffee like me), it doesn’t matter.

The other thing that doesn’t matter? The material. Regardless of if you’re using stainless steel or plastic, all bottles will be prone to germ and bacterial growth if not washed.

As for how to clean a water bottle, if it’s dishwasher safe, add it to load and opt for a sanitize cycle. If not, you can use mild dish soap and hot water and clean the inside with a bottle brush. Remove any parts—like the lid and straw—and soak them in hot, soapy water for half an hour. When done, rinse them and let them air dry.

The next time you toss your water bottle into your bag before work, be sure you’ve cleaned it the night before.