Is Alka-Seltzer Really The Secret To An Immaculately Clean Water Bottle?

More and more people are turning to reusable water bottles to stay hydrated. However, these handy little environmentally-friendly receptacles come with a significant challenge — they can be tough to clean thoroughly. Since no one wants to drink up any leftover nastiness from previous uses, this leads people to get creative with their deep-cleaning methods. One of the most highly touted involves a popular heartburn and sour stomach-relief medication. 

Most people are familiar with the stomach "cleaning" power, so to speak, of the original Alka-Seltzer, which is made up of anhydrous citric acid, aspirin, and sodium bicarbonate. This combo works by reducing the acid levels in the stomach. However, these critical ingredients are also effective cleaning agents outside of the digestive tract. 

In fact, pure sodium bicarbonate is the same thing as baking soda, itself a powerful cleaning substance that's often used to disinfect and deodorize. Citric acid is another popular household cleaning agent, so it stands to reason that coupled together, these two can disinfect a water bottle quite effectively.

Reusable water bottles are adept at keeping liquids cool and fresh-tasting but they're also typically tall, awkward, and feature lots of crevices (straw bottles, we're looking at you) that are difficult to fully sanitize. As a result, many of us are guilty of not being as fastidious as we really should be about water bottle hygiene, leaving days or even weeks between proper cleanings. This is a big mistake, as these surfaces can actually grow some pretty nasty bacteria and mold due to the naturally moist environment that they foster, exposure to the human mouth (which is full of bacteria), and so on. 

There is a lot of anecdotal chatter about Alka-Seltzer as a cleaning hack for various household chores, from the toilet bowl to the coffee pot (separate tabs, please!). So it only makes sense that the product's cleaning potential would eventually be put to the test against reusable water bottles. Fortunately, it's not a tough task, even if the science to support it is lacking.

If you're interested in trying Alka-Seltzer to clean your reusable water bottle, the good news is that it's incredibly simple to do. Simply fill the bottle up halfway with water, then drop two tabs of the good stuff in to work its fizzy magic. Let it sit for at least an hour and add additional tablets if the container is big or if the stains/odor are significant. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and leave to dry before refilling with drinking water.

This is an especially smart option for bottles that are not machine washable, have a narrow neck, or are otherwise difficult to wash. The fizziness of the Alka-Seltzer should dislodge any gunk stuck in crevices and will almost certainly help to reduce staining too. However, make sure to follow it up regularly with thorough handwashing using dish soap and warm water. 

Although the container typically only contains water, it can rapidly grow other unfortunate microbes and such, so it's best to avoid potential issues down the road with frequent and varied hygiene methods, especially since there has been no real scientific research done on the effectiveness of Alka-Seltzer to clean such a container at the time of writing.