is it safe to reuse plastic bottles?

It depends on the plastic. Some plastics will degrade in daylight and release chemicals into the water. One of the chemicals to watch for is Bisphenol A but there are a number of others called phthalates. Certain types of plastic are now banned from use in babies' feeding bottles. The first thing to do is to know which kind of plastic you are using. Many plastic containers now have a number enclosed in a recycling triangle which tells you what kind of plastic you have. There are several handy guides which tell you which plastics are safe to use and which are not: http://www.badplastics.com/safe-plastics.html

Isn't there a number system located at the bottom of your plastic bottle that states how many times it can be reuse? I think the number 1 is for one time use and 2 for two times and so on and so forth.

I wouldn't use the same water bottle for a long period of time. Chemicals do release into the water especially if the water you put in it is out of your tap. One way to get cured of reusing the same bottle constantly is to leave the bottle in your vehicle for a day or two and then try the water! I did that and did an official "spit take"!!! The water was terrible. The bottles that you purchase the purified water in are not really meant to be reused for long periods. The plastic does release chemicals whether you taste it or not. The numbers on the bottle DO NOT SIGNIFY THE NUMBER OF TIMES YOU CAN REUSE THEM!!! The numbers are for recycling companies and people who recycle their bottles and cans. Depending on these numbers can lead you to problems. Your best bet is to purchase a bottle meant for reuse for drinking water. I bought the Brita bottle that has the built in filter. It is made out of safe plastic that doesn't contain the same chemical formula that the bottles that are sold already filled with water. I am far more happy with the water from the Brita bottle than I am from purchased bottled water. It also cuts the price of my water to under a nickle a bottle.

hi i like to drink from plastic bottles, why not safe i mean companies already use it for filling the bottle with water, then why reused is not safe i dont understand, if its not safe then tjhey should now use it from the beginning right or wrong what you think

I don't think its dangerous. You only need to sterilized it.

i've been told that it is not really advisable to reuse plastic bottles because there might be some sort of reaction that would occur to the plastic material when used over and over again.

We buy bottled water regularly and I reuse the bottles. It's safe as long as the bottles aren't used for a long period of time. The plastic breaks down. What I do is drink the bottle of water, add tap water about half way and then put the bottle in the freezer. Once it freezes I add tap water to the top and have ice water for hours and hours. I also do this when I make Crystal Light. Just to be safe, I recycle the bottle after about a week or less and use another new bottle.

It depends on the type of plastic used. They say there are numbers at the bottom with the recycle symbol pertaining to what type of plastic was used to make it. There are some that can only be used once then some can be used several times.

They say you should switch it up every few uses. Or just invest in a baby bottle brush (with the foam end) a dab of dish soap and wash it out easy peasy. I won't say I'm not guilty of doing the same when you don't have a way to wash your bottle or a new one handy but need to keep up your water intake.

Plastic bottle? Hmmm. That is also what I heard about ‘plastic bottle’. Not just ‘plastic bottle’, but other ‘plastic’ that can be harmful. Maybe not all of them, because like what you said, you did not feel anything weird about using plastic bottle for your water jug, and so, it maybe depends on the situation. Maybe ‘plastic bottle’ can be harmful if it was not clean properly. That I would say its dangerous.

No dangerous if you are using your plastic bottles for long time but it should be clean. You can wash it from surf I think if bottle is closed for long time then smell is changed inside the bottle and water taste also changed. But wash the bottle and put in hot and then put it in safe place then no problem to reuse the plastic bottle.

if you clean that with boiled bottle daily then will not bad to use.

Hi, I don't think there is wrong in reusing plastic bottles. We always use plastic bottles for water. In our fridge also we keep water in plastic bottles. But they should be cleaned time to time so that there would be no infection problem.

It really depends. Some are made of thin plastic. So when heated or exposed in daylight, they melt a bit. You would not notice this but it actually does happen. I reuse plastic bottles too when i was younger. When I found out that it was not so healthy, I stopped and I used waterjugs. I suggest you use waterjugs to be safe :) happy mylotting. Take care.

Hi there, I think it is practically safe to use the same water bottle for many months. The only thing that may arise an issue here is when you heat up the bottle. Plastic water containers my contain dangerous chemicals but basically these chemicals won't be immersed in the water if there is no heat. So if you want to avoid from drinking dangerous water, perhaps what you can do is avoid from pouring hot or warm water into the bottle. Let it cool first and then pour the water in. I have been keeping my drinking water in the same bottle too. And my daily water supply is also kept in a plastic container, but I never put warm or hot water in it. I guess it is pretty safe to drink. I am not a doctor, so if you are no sure perhaps it is better to ask a chemist. A pharmacist, I think, can answer your question as well. Actually I have never thought about this issue in the past, and now that you have brought it up, well, I am kind of thinking about it as well. Thanks for the information. Have a nice day!

Yes, I have never had any problems using the same pastic bottles for our filtered water over and over again. I think the ones we are using now, must be a at least a month old. Been doing that since we first started filtering our water about 25 years ago. They do get washed out when they are empty.. _Derek

I believe its true that re-using plastic is unsafe to use. When i first heard these reports a few years ago i became concerned. I used to keep 2 gallon milk jugs in the frig. for cold water. When one became empty there was still a cold one there. I'd refill the empty and put behind the full one. The same 2 jugs were used for a very long time. I began to notice i would still be thirst even after drinking. A visitor made a remark about her throat burning. Then i heard that report about the plastic. After that i got rid of the jugs and bought 2 glass jars for making sun tea. I kept one for tea the other water. I cleaned out all the plastic drinking containers and glasses in my house and replaces with glass or stainless steal. I use a alumin water bottle for when i go out.

Reusing plastic bottles will require some considerations before you can say it is safe to reuse the container again. Just like what your friend told you plastic bottles should be replace after few months. Try to experiment. If you place a bottle with half water contain visible to the sun. Stay it for at least 2 hours. And compare it to the bottled water found on refrigeator. You will notice the color and the taste changes. Meaning as the plastic bottle use very much often most of the composition of this bottle will might add up to the taste of the water. Companies also give caution if you will notice at the bottom of the bottle. You will notice a triangular recycle symbol with number. The number means the symbolizes the only times you will use that container. The very best to invest for water container is glass, rocks and earthen pots.

Do you mean to refill a plastic water bottle? I heard that is dangerous to use always the same bottle because after some times plastic release dangerous elements. It's better you change bottle frequently or you buy a flask.

It is not safe. plastic bottles has toxic lead chemical components which is really bad for our health especially for our brains.