Here's mine. Easy to wash with hot soapy water. Never bleached.

I reuse these sorts of bottles, I just use hot soapy water with a bottle brush.

Go buy some wide-mouth Nalgene bottles. They can go in the dishwasher and are basically indestructible (they also make a nice neck pillow if you're napping on a rock in the Grand Canyon). We have many from years of hiking and outdoor activities.

I don’t “get” uninsulated water bottles, and I find “BPA free” only mildly reassuring when it comes to plastic. I’m a fan of S’Well bottles except that I wish the openings on the ones I gave were a couple millimeters bigger. But aside from that, put in ice and water and enjoy ice water all day. Didn’t finish it? Enjoy ice water tomorrow.

According to the FDA they are fine to re-use for a while by washing with soapy water. Especially if they are firm. Not squishy plastic where they can get bended folds.

I have a couple stainless favorites. One for coffee, one for water with a wide mouth that accepts ice. DH has a different favorite for coffee. They go in the dishwasher daily. He has four of his and I have two each of mine. We also have a half dozen different size Swell bottles he uses for seltzer or water.

A podcast recently pointed out the gaskets in leakproof stainless lids that don't get clean in the dishwasher and should be removed when washing. Same for the fridge food storage containers that have snap-down lids with gaskets. They also addressed the plastic issues and confirmed the re-use is fine unless showing wear. Common sense I suppose.

I purchase a case once every two years or so and keep a dozen in the freezer to use as cooler ice. Great for road trips and is potable water if dying of thirst on the road. Usually just re-freeze over and over. But have re-filled on occasion with my filtered revere osmosis tap.

At home I use quart glass ball jars for water. But do have a couple hundred square juice containers I store my homemade juices in the freezer. They go through the dishwasher fine. A pretty hard plastic.

So, hot soapy water is fine. A good rinse, and dry completely. Or fill immediately and store in the fridge. It is the manufacturers that say to not re-use. That makes sense not wanting to take blame for mis-use.

I’ve been hand washing and refilling drink bottles with water for years (and some of the same bottles all that time) and am still here to tell the tale.

I dislike the flavor that plastic bottled water develops.

I reuse the Powerade and gatorade bottles for about a week. Then I use them to water plants. I place a big 'X' over the label to denote do not use. I also cut the very tops off and use the bases to start plants ... or cut to just the hard bottoms to use as 'coasters' for the smaller clay pots ...

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, links, cautions, etc. BTW, we don't have a dishwasher but it's good to know options for using that appliance--if we ever get one.... which I doubt we will (washing dishes etc by hand is therapeutic!).

I just rinse them out and refill with water. None seem to stick around for more than a couple weeks anyway.

For more permanent bottles, I use stainless.

Actually, wait, that's not true. I also use soft plastic bicycle water bottles, more correctly called "bidons". Those make no claim to safety and definitely impart a plasticky taste to water. They can't ever be discarded, because they have cool logos or sentimental value. I even use vintage plastic bidons from the 70s and 80s because the logos are even cooler. Heaven knows what is in 50 year old plastic and how much of it is breaking down and leaching out. I could boil them, I suppose, but that might hurt the cool vintage logo. Well, who ever said cycling was healthy?

I love my insulated stainless steel bottle. It keep my drinks nice and cool and is very easy to clean with a bottle brush.

Ditto on not reusing plastic. I don't think it's very healthy.

I think I'd just wash them with soapy water and a bottle brush and then rinse with a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water once a week or so. Don't forget the lids. We used to use that bleach solution on glasses when we owned the bar/restaurant, although we used it after each use, for obvious reasons. I'd probably sanitize with bleach daily if I had a cold or the bottles are used by multiple people.

I do have insulated stainless bottles, a couple of them, and a Thermos travel mug for coffee, also stainless. My water bottles will keep ice frozen all day, even when I'm working in the garden and my bottle is sitting in full sun. I could go just get a drink out of the garden hose, and I have done that without apparent harm, but it's a long walk to the faucet when I can have those bottles sitting right at the end of my row, although I often drink both of them and still have to get water from the hose.

I never drink that kind of sports drink, so don't have empty bottles. I do drink too much Diet Coke, but Michigan has a 10 cent deposit on bottles, so those go back to the store for my deposit back.

Ice Mountain has a facility less than 10 miles from my house. I tell my kids how foolish we are, allowing a foreign company to pump our water out of the ground, package it in non-biodegradable plastic bottles that will end up in our landfills, and then sell our own water back to us, when the water from our taps comes from the same aquafer. (sigh) I don't buy bottled water unless I'm travelling and have not filled my water bottles, having either forgotten or having only had access to water that was unpalatable to me.

Annie

I’ve got some of the stainless steel bottles for ice water and coffee. At night I often take ice cold water to place on my nightstand. Schwepp’s sell tonic water in thick glass 10 to 12 Oz. bottles. Easy to clean daily with a small bottle brush and soap water. Okay to use a bit of bleach. Caps get washed. After rinsing, I fill bottles with deep well water and put them in a refrigerator. If I forget one someplace, no great loss.

I like the clear clean glass because I like to view the clear water. For long trips or garden work, I use on of my insulated, stainless bottles.

BTW, I too have been tempted to drink from a garden hose, but I don’t believe the soft plastic or rubber is “food safe.” I use the hose for the birds after cleaning the birdbath out w the sun warmed water, then fill the basin cold water.

Wanted to add that I have no problem reusing plastic containers for dry food items, but plastic's permeable, so not airtight for long term.

We like copco bottles, because they are shaped like water bottles and have that same "feel". But they can be separated (near the colored hand grip) to add ice and for thorough cleaning. For those that might be wary about the separating body leaking, we use them daily and have had some for years without them developing leaks.

http://copco.com/product/hydra-bottle/

There is a liquid disinfectant you can buy for just this purpose. You may find it at a restaurant supply store and definitely at places that sell supplies for home brewing and such. People who reuse glass bottles for bottling their own beer, cider and wine use it.

I do not use plastic for food serving or storage. . I recently bought this 17 oz. insulated stainless steel bottle and love it. By SimpleModern: