Thursday, September 29, 2011

Money Saving Tip #167: Re-Usable Water Bottles

I highly encourage you to purchase a re-usable water bottle rather than drinking a new bottle of water every time.  When you go to purchase a re-usable water bottle, follow my personal suggestions. 

To begin with, I recommend the aluminum varities.  They hold the cold temperatures better than the plastic ones.  The drawback is that you cannot put hot liquids into aluminum containers. 

When you go to search for one, make sure that it is dishwasher safe.  When aluminum water bottles were first made, many of them were not dishwasher safe.  If you wash one in the dishwasher that is not dishwasher safe, your logo, pictures, or color will start to chip away from the bottle.  You don't want the paint getting onto other dishes.

My other recommendation is to find one that does not have a straw.  I suggest purchasing a water bottle that has a simple screw top.  In the past, I have purchased the re-usable water bottles with a straw for convenience.  What I found was that the tops were very difficult to get clean and dry.  If the components cannot get clean and dry, you could get mold to form in the top.  When this happens, you will probably have to toss it in the trash.  That is a waste.  Purchasing a water bottle without the fancy tops is easier for your dishwasher to clean.