Clean Your Water Bottle To Be As Good As New With These Two Inexpensive Kitchen Ingredients

Available in myriad brands, styles, colors, and sizes, having a reusable water bottle is eco-friendly, convenient, trendy, and even cost-effective as many public buildings today have refill stations. With that said, one part of having a reusable water bottle that's frequently overlooked is disinfecting it. If you use your water bottle every day, you'll definitely want to consider using these two simple kitchen ingredients to freshen up your reusable water bottle and keep it clean. The ingredients? Salt and vinegar.

Using these two ingredients to clean your water bottle is super simple. What's more, you can use them either together or separately. If together, add a few inches of coarse salt to the bottle and follow it up with ½ cup of white vinegar. Cover the bottle and shake vigorously. After, empty the bottle and clean it with soap and water to remove any/all traces of the mixture. Rinse with water and allow it to dry.

If using the two ingredients separately, first fill your water bottle halfway with vinegar and the rest of the way with water. Give the bottle a few shakes and then allow it to sit overnight. The following day, empty the solution and replace it with a mixture made from ¼ cup of coarse salt and warm water (or hot water if your reusable is made from glass, aluminum, or stainless steel). Cap the bottle and again shake vigorously. As with the salt-vinegar method, the salt acts as a scrubber to ensure the surface is clean of remaining residue.

Salt and vinegar are versatile cleaning tools, and they're effective cleaners for reusable water bottles due to their natural and non-toxic properties, as well as their ability to eliminate various contaminants. Vinegar, primarily composed of acetic acid, acts as a powerful disinfectant and deodorizer. Its acidic nature helps to dissolve mineral deposits and stains that can accumulate in water bottles over time.

Additionally, vinegar's antimicrobial properties make it highly effective in killing bacteria and germs, ensuring a thorough sanitization of a bottle. When combined with salt, which acts as a mild abrasive, the cleaning power of this method is further enhanced. The coarse texture of salt works to scrub away grime and residue while the vinegar dissolves any remaining impurities. This combination not only cleans the visible residue inside of a bottle but also targets unseen substances.

Furthermore, vinegar and salt offer a safer alternative to harsh chemical cleaners. Many conventional cleaning products contain chemicals that might leave harmful residues or emit fumes that could contaminate the water or pose health risks. In contrast, vinegar and salt are environmentally friendly and pose no threat to human health, even if trace amounts remain in the bottle. Lastly, the kitchen ingredients are easily accessible, affordable, and simple to use, making them an ideal solution for regular cleaning and keeping reusable water bottles in hygienic condition.