PSA: Clean your water bottles

[Deleted User]

Okay, so I'm sure I'm not the only person around here who owns one of these (Camelbak Podium Chill bottle):

It's a great bottle, and I basically use it all the time for my rides. I usually wash it out after use (especially after filling it with anything that has sugar/calories) by filling with soapy water and squirting it out of the valve. However, I've always noticed that there's a bit of black gunk in the valve that I can never seem to get out.

So I tried my hand at disassembling it. It's apparently not very difficult. First you remove the rubber bite piece by twisting it and pulling it off:

There's a clear white plastic ring that attaches the blue valve onto the top. I used a knife's edge to pry it off (but careful not to break the plastic). After taking that off, I made a pretty traumatic discovery:

UGGGGGHHHHH WTF??? I've been drinking out of that valve for months too thinking it was clean . I think it ends up that way because the way that the valve is designed ends up trapping water inside it, so it's easy for it to get moldy. Time to invest in a Clean Bottle?

John Withrow

Ugggghhhh! Thanks for posting Anson. This is the only type of bottle I use for my outdoor rides. Looks like I'll be taking mine apart this weekend!

[Deleted User]

... I've been very happy with my 'Clean Bottles' ... and we get a cool EN team discount :-)

carls10

I had the same discovery after using my Speedfil for a year. The bite valve was pretty gross. I am extra careful to take it all apart after use!

mgraffeo

I just checked my camelback bottle which I've used for over a year. No problems at all. I do the same rinse out after any sports drink, and always wash in the dishwasher. I think the key is taking it out of the dishwasher, shaking out the lid vigorously, and setting it in the dish drainer tilted sideways to air dry.