Dishwasher and Gatorade bottles

[mtnrider]

Gatorade bottles are good for hiking.  They have a wide mouth, are inexpensive, easily available, etc...  I buy powdered Gatorade for hikes and wash the bottle in the dishwasher.  But I heard that this isn't safe - that I'm exposing myself to dioxins, chemicals that act like hormones, and other nasties.

The bottles are made of PETE (#1), so I searched around the internet for info.  After the first few pages of google hits claiming that I'll be harmed from reusing single-use bottles, I found that wikipedia and snopes say that clean bottles should be safe, although there's some question about heating them.  This company reuses PETE bottles, and says it is safe.

My dishwasher doesn't use a heating element, everything is washed at the same temperature as washing by hand (which is not very hot).

Does anyone have definitive information about the safety of putting PETE single use bottles in the dishwasher?

[Dee]

Would handwashing them be an option?

I reuse Gatorade bottles as water bottles at the office multiple times without re-washing them.

[mtnrider]

Would handwashing them be an option?

I reuse Gatorade bottles as water bottles at the office multiple times without re-washing them.

I do handwash sometimes.  I'm just lazy and would rather just stick them in the dishwasher.  :)

I also wonder if handwashing gets rid of enough of those germs in the nooks and crannies.

[fartface]

My local Goodwill ALWAYS has dozens of stainless steel water bottles for .99, many are "eco canteens" or other expensive brand names (probably $20 new in a store).  We have about 10 in our pantry. I haven't purchased Gatorade/bottled water for years. Keep refilling and using our GW bottles. Guests over? No problem, I make them an ice water (we have an RO system). Or, if someone wants water for the road, I have no problem letting one or two go here and there. Much better for the environment also.

[mtnrider]

My local Goodwill ALWAYS has dozens of stainless steel water bottles for .99, many are "eco canteens" or other expensive brand names (probably $20 new in a store).  We have about 10 in our pantry. I haven't purchased Gatorade/bottled water for years. Keep refilling and using our GW bottles. Guests over? No problem, I make them an ice water (we have an RO system). Or, if someone wants water for the road, I have no problem letting one or two go here and there. Much better for the environment also.

Well, maybe, but I think your uses case is different.  I actually don't want stainless steel water bottles for hiking.  The mouth is usually too narrow, they get really cold in the winter when you're taking icy cold water from a stream, and they're generally heavier.  I do use an AL bottle for carrying white gas.

You're purchasing into what could have been a waste stream, so that's good.  But I have to wonder how the energy and materials that are needed to create stainless steel bottles compares with plastic bottles - especially since I've seen a number of steel bottles go into the trash when someone loses the top.

Edit: Apparently once a steel bottle has been used 500 times, it's better than a single plastic bottle, for most environmental terms.

(But all of this is orthogonal to the safety issue.)

[Ricky]

Just buy a plastic bottle that was meant for re-use? Gatorade bottles are not. If it's not for the chemicals migrating from the cheap plastic into the liquid, it's the microscopic scratches housing bacteria. I wouldn't re-use a Gatorade bottle more than a few times.

Not all plastics are created equal.

Better yet, get a hydration backpack.

[mtnrider]

re: hydration packs

Not to start a religious war :) but I strongly dislike hydration packs.  I find them harder to fill, harder to manage (they are formless), the hose freezes up, and they are difficult to clean.  It's harder to know how much is left since the system is mostly hidden.  There's a slight advantage that you can quickly get a drink.  But I like to stop every once in a while.  It just seems like needless complication of a simple system.

But if they work for you - more power.  They just don't fit my use case well.

[Purple Economist]

I reuse Gatorade bottles all the time for months (years) on end.  I do not wash them in the dishwasher, however, as I can taste a soapy aftertaste when washed in the dishwasher.  When they are washed by hand, they get rinsed out well enough such that I can't taste a soapy aftertaste. 

[mtnrider]

Just buy a plastic bottle that was meant for re-use? Gatorade bottles are not. If it's not for the chemicals migrating from the cheap plastic into the liquid, it's the microscopic scratches housing bacteria. I wouldn't re-use a Gatorade bottle more than a few times.

buy plastic bottle: If I can find a relatively inexpensive lightweight bottle that matches the usability of a Gatorade bottle, I will do that, if only for peace of mind when I hand a bottle to my son.

The more I think about this, the more the lack of serious evidence makes me feel like this is something like the 80s paranoia around microwave ovens, or the naughts knee-jerk movement to "anti-microbial" soaps for home use.  If PETE were so horrible, I imagine that reusable water bottle companies wouldn't be using it.  But who knows? 

I do buy the argument about microscopic scratches housing bacteria although I also wonder how bad it could be.  Surely this happens with even glass and ceramics over time?  My decades-old Nalgene bottles have very visible scratches, without noticeable ill effects to me, which gives me some pause.  (I do wash those in the dishwasher.)

[mtnrider]

I finally found this PET manufacturers site*.

Can a PET water bottle be refilled and reused?

Yes. PET bottles are cleared for both single and repeated use by the FDA and other world health-safety agencies. It's a common misconception that refilling or reusing a PET bottle will somehow cause the bottle to degrade or to release harmful substances. PET is a stable, inert material that doesn't biologically or chemically degrade with use, and is resistant to attack by micro-organisms. Regulatory authorities have tested PET bottles and found no harmful substances in either new or re-used PET bottles.

That said - I'm going to keep hand-washing my Gatorade bottles.  Not because I'm worried about the abrasive detergents or hot water, but because the darn things don't clean that well in the dishwasher.

* they may be slightly biased

[mtnrider]

I think you hit all the bad points about the hydration packs.  I had very similar feelings when I first got my hydration pack.  I then figured out an easy way to clean it, since I read about doing it online.  They sell a cleaning kit for the hydration packs which is a pipcleaner that goes through the tubes to clean it.  It is a great thing. 

I did have one, for about a year - back about 10 years ago.  I'm starting to think that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  :)

But it is interesting about the pipecleaner thing.  (I have friends that use them, who may not know about that.)  Thanks!

[Taran Wanderer]

I'm pretty sure the plastics in Gatorade bottles are multi-layer, and they are not designed for longevity and re-use. Similar packaging in bottled water bottles (a rip-off and environmentally stupid, by the way...) are not not suitable for high temperatures even in storage, much less repeated washing. They start shedding undesirable compounds. Like most undesirable compounds, if you feed a rat a lifetime's supply every day for a year, bad things happen. Will they happen to you?  Probably not. But why not go with a bottle that doesn't carry that risk?

[Cwadda]

I think handwashing bottles is your best bet. Even a dishwasher won't any more germs than antibacterial soap. You can just let them soak in soapy water for a few hours and then you're good.

I use a blender bottle by Rubbermaid. They're $6.99 new I think. I used one for 3 months until I dropped it full of cold water on a hard surface, breaking it. Then I threw it in the recycling bin :)
I also like the idea of second hand water bottles. Just give them a good cleaning.

[TheFixer]

We reuse disposable water/gatorade/pop bottles.  If the plastic is safe enough to be carted all over in the back of a hot semi-trailer, then left in a warehouse for a year, then drinked...  It's prolly OK to put some water and corn syrup in it for a few hours.

FWIW: I am far more confident in a US made disposable plastic water bottle, than a chinese sourced reusable stainless or plastic bottle.