Water could “go bad” if you store it improperly,
reuse dirty bottles, or fail to regularly clean your
water filtration system
If you use a water filtration system, such as
reverse osmosis, you must remember to regularly
clean out the holding tank to avoid microbial
overgrowth that may contaminate your water
Ambient temperature and exposure to sunlight and/or
your lips can introduce microorganisms into your
water glass or bottle, which can then begin to
thrive and contaminate your water
Commercial water bottles tend to wear down from
repeated use, which can lead to bacterial growth in
surface cracks inside the bottle. This risk is
compounded if you fail to adequately wash the bottle
between each use
Toxic chemicals can also leach out of plastic
bottles into the water, and is a good reason to
avoid plastic bottles in the first place
By Dr. Mercola
Water is essential for life, and we typically assume that
water is "clean" or "good" provided you're not getting your
water from a contaminated source. But can water ever "go bad"?
If you have a water filtration system in your home, it may
not occur to you that your water could become
contaminated after a while—until you go to clean out the holding
tank, that is.
If you fail to regularly clean out the holding tank of a
reverse osmosis filter, it could lead to an absolute mess of
microbial growth that is certainly NOT going to produce clean,
pure water when you turn on the tap.
And, as noted by Dr. Kellogg Schwab, director of the Johns
Hopkins University Water Institute in a recent Time
article,1
factors such as ambient temperature and exposure to sunlight
and/or your lips can introduce microorganisms into your water
glass or bottle, if left out for extended periods of time, which
can then begin to thrive under the right conditions.
Reusing disposable plastic water bottles also has its risks,
as discussed in the featured Huffington Post article.2
In short, water could "go bad" if you store it
improperly, reuse dirty bottles, or fail to regularly clean your
water filtration system.
Why It's Unwise to Reuse Plastic Water Bottles
A 2007 report titled "Bottled Water Myths: Separating Fact
from Fiction," published in the journal Practical
Gastroenterology,3
warns that "consumer reuse of commercially packaged bottles of
water is not recommended from a microbe perspective."
Commercial water bottles tend to wear down from repeated use,
which can lead to bacterial growth in surface cracks inside the
bottle. This risk is compounded if you fail to adequately wash
the bottle between each use, using mild soap and warm water. But
even with washing, these microscopic hiding places may still
allow bacteria to linger.
Perhaps more importantly, while this report still questions
the safety of the plastic chemical
bisphenol-A (BPA), we now know that BPA and phthalates can
pose serious health hazards, especially to pregnant women and
children.
BPA was identified as an estrogen-mimicking compound in the
1930s. At that time, it was used as an artificial estrogen to
fatten up poultry and cattle, and served as a form of estrogen
replacement therapy for women.
Phthalates are another group of chemicals found in plastic
bottles, which are also known to pose similar health hazards.
Phthalates are actually one of the most pervasive endocrine
disrupters so far discovered, and are associated with a number
of
developmental abnormalities.
It was only in the 1940s that Bayer and General Electric used
BPA to harden polycarbonate plastics and make epoxy resin while
phthalates makes the plastic softer. We now know that BPA and
phthalates leach from the plastic container, contaminating any
food or drink it contains.
From this perspective, I recommend avoiding bottled water
altogether. This, in my view, is a far more concerning issue
than the issue of potential microbial growth occurring as the
bottle starts to wear out.
Glass Is One of the Best Alternatives
In 2010, Canada declared BPA as a toxic substance, and BPA
has been banned in baby bottles in both Europe and the US. It's
still permitted in plastic water bottles and other plastic food
containers, however. One 2011 study4
also discovered that most plastic products leach
endocrine-disrupting chemicals even if they're labeled
"BPA-free."
Seventy percent of common plastic products actually tested
positive for estrogenic activity, and that number rose to 95
percent when the products were subject to real-world conditions
such as dishwashing or microwaving.
Heat and sunlight can also accelerate the breakdown of the
plastic, so avoid drinking from bottles that have languished for
some time in the back of your car, for example.
To avoid chemical toxins leaching into your water, choose
glass over plastic. While this article is focused on water, this
advice applies to canned goods as well, which are a major source
of BPA exposure, so whenever you can, choose jarred goods over
canned goods, or opt for fresh instead.
The Hazards of Refilling Unwashed Water Bottles
That said, it's certainly worth being mindful of the
microbial issue, regardless of whether you're using glass or
plastic bottles—although plastic is more porous and therefore
more likely to harbor bacteria. As noted in the featured
article:5
"In a 2002 study6...
researchers from the University of Calgary took 76 samples
of water from water bottles of elementary school students;
some of the bottles were reused for months on end without
being washed.
They found that nearly two-thirds of the samples had
bacterial levels that exceeded that of drinking water
guidelines, which may have been the result of 'the effect of
bacterial regrowth in bottles that have remained at room
temperature for an extended period,' researchers wrote in
the study...
"[T]he most likely source of enteric bacteria found
in the students' water bottles is the hands of the students
themselves... Inadequate and improper hand washing after
students have used the bathroom facilities could result in
fecal coliforms in the classroom area."
A previous KLTV investigation7
also found that reusing a water bottle for just one
week led to growth of bacteria that might cause illness. Dr.
Richard Wallace told KLTV:
"We actually cultured around the neck and just on the
inside, the part that would go in your mouth. All of those
grew lots and lots of bacteria that could make you very sick
almost like having food poisoning. That can cause nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea... You've got to remember that bottles
like this are not sterile and the water in them is not
sterile. As soon as you drink out of them they are
contaminated bottles."
Not All Water Is Created Equal
Besides the issue of proper storage, and the necessity to
maintain your water filtration system if you want safe, clean
water, there are also different types of water, and
some is healthier than others. I recommend avoiding distilled
water and opting for water that is as "live," meaning
structured, as possible. During distillation, water is boiled
and evaporated away from its dissolved minerals. The vapor is
then condensed, and the resulting water droplets are collected.
I know that there are many who have strong opinions on
distilled water and believe it is healthy, but my research does
not support that. Distilled water is an active absorber, and
when it makes contact with air, it quickly absorbs carbon
dioxide and becomes acidic. Since it is free of dissolved
minerals and other particles, it has the ability to absorb toxic
substances from your body and eliminate them. However, although
drinking distilled water may be helpful when detoxifying for a
week or two, the longer you drink it, the more likely you are to
develop
mineral deficiencies.
Exclusively drinking distilled water can lead you to rapidly
lose electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace
minerals, which can cause cardiac irregularities, high blood
pressure, and cognitive/emotional disturbances. In a paper8
by F. Kozisek of the World Health Organization (WHO), water low
in calcium and magnesium, such as distilled water, is associated
with the following health problems:
Cardiovascular disease
Pre-term births, low birth weights, and preeclampsia
Higher risk of bone fracture in children
Various types of cancer
Neurodegenerative diseases
Increased risk of "sudden death"
Motor neuronal diseases
Acute magnesium and calcium deficiency, weakness,
fatigue and muscle cramping
Distilled Water May Not Be as Pure as You Think
There are other potential issues to contend with as well.
While many believe distilled water is more pure or free of
contaminants than other water, the end result is really only as
pure as the water you start off with... The reason for this is
that any contaminant in the water that vaporizes at a lower
temperature than the water, such as volatile organic compounds
(VOC), will also be condensed on the other side. Most tap water
contains disinfection byproducts (DBPs), such as trihalomethanes
(THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), which are extremely
toxic.
DBPs are estimated to be over 10,000 times more toxic than
chlorine, and out of all the other toxins and contaminations
present in your tap water, such as fluoride and miscellaneous
pharmaceutical drugs, DBPs are thought to be the worst. Again,
the process of distilling can worsen the presence of
DBPs in your water, as they vaporize at a lower temperature than
water. Hence they're boiled and condensed on the other side. As
a result of these now common water contaminants, the distilled
water could actually contain higher concentrations of dangerous
contaminants than what you started out with. In essence, you'll
have "purified" water PLUS all those volatile chemicals that are
among the most toxic.
Additionally, because distilled water is acidic and
demineralized, it will tend to pull contaminants out of whatever
container you put it in. Many distillers on the market are made
of metal, which may add certain toxic metals like nickel back
into the water. And if you use a distiller with a plastic
bottle, you have a number of plastic chemicals to contend with,
such as the BPA and phthalates discussed above.
Your Body Benefits from Living, Structured Water
In
2011, and again in
2013, I interviewed Dr. Gerald Pollack about his truly
ground-breaking theory of the physics of water. Besides being a
professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington,
he's also the founder and editor-in-chief of a scientific
journal called Water, and has published many
peer-reviewed scientific papers on this topic. He's even
received prestigious awards from the National Institutes of
Health. He believes that structured or living water actually has
a different chemical structure and is not H2O but H3O2.
His book, The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid,
Liquid, and Vapor, is a phenomenal read that is easy to
understand. The fourth phase of water is, in a nutshell,
living water. It's referred to as EZ water—EZ standing for
"exclusion zone"—which has a negative charge. This water can
hold energy, much like a battery, and can deliver energy too.
Your cells consist mainly of EZ (highly structured/ordered)
water, and since they're composed of EZ water, they too work
like little batteries in your body.
This is what makes drinking structured water so important, as
this is the type of water your cells need for optimal
functioning. You may have heard about "structured water" before.
Many are skeptical, and some don't even believe it exists, let
alone that it has any value. But it's important when trying to
find high quality water. Water filtration processes used to
clean our water supply frequently de-structures the water, so
the question is whether or not adding structure back into the
water matters. Dr. Pollack explains this challenging concept in
the following lecture:
How to Obtain Structured, Living Water
Dr. Pollack believes that if you're able to drink structured
water, it would be good for your health. But how do you obtain
living, structured water? Water achieves its ordered structure
from energy obtained from the environment, typically in the form
of electromagnetic radiation, including sunlight and infrared
(heat). The visible light spectrum, ultraviolet (UV) and near
infrared, builds ordered water. But for practical purposes, to
add structure back into your purified water at home, you can use
the following two approaches:
Cooling it to about 39 degrees Fahrenheit (about 4
degrees Centigrade)
Stirring the water with a spoon in a circular jar to
create a vortex
Dr. Pollack is actually investigating the possibility that
structured (EZ) water may be an intermediate between water and
ice. It's possible that the real structure of EZ water is
close to ice—almost but not quite, which would explain why
cooling it helps reorganize and restructure it. Creating
vortices also works to add structure back into the water because
the agitation builds bubbles that are enveloped into the vortex.
According to Dr. Pollack, "if these bubbles contain an envelope
of structured water, then vortexing would be a very powerful way
of increasing structure." Water can also be restructured by
running an electrical current through it, but more research is
still needed to determine the exact voltage needed to be
effective.
Besides cooling and vortexing, you can find living water in
natural springs. This water also tends to be in the neutral pH
range, which would be my preference. To find a local spring
where you can collect water (typically free of charge), see
FindaSpring.com.
Ideally, use glass containers. Just be sure to take precautions
so they don't break during transport, and avoid leaving them in
the car where exposure to light and heat might promote microbial
colonization. Rain water is also structured water, which is why
lawns look so much better after a rain than they do when getting
water from the hose. However, because of pollution I don't
advise drinking rain water.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.