Can bottled water become stagnant?
Asked by
Milk (
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March 13th, 2010
Yesterday I was hanging out with a friend and he noticed how I had a lot of half finished bottles of water all around my room. None of the bottles were left open. He advised me to throw them out because he said they were probably stagnant by now. But I thought this was ridiculous, because they haven’t been there for more then 2 weeks and I bought the case of water probably 3½ weeks ago. He still made me throw them all away. So my question is can bottled water become stagnant? And if it can become stagnant, how long would it take and under what circumstances?
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8 Answers
Once opened and partially consumed, the water could be contaminated by bacteria from your mouth. So yes, pour them out on your plants or wash your windows with it.
Why have “a lot of half finished bottles of water all around my room.”?
Finish one before you open another.
Think of the money, plastic and energy it took to get that water to your room.
What a waste.
Yeah it does seem like a waste, perhaps i should just stick to tap water…But bottled water is convenient. I just grab one when ever i’m in the kitchen or when i come back from a run. Wow now i feel bad.
Even sealed water in the fridge contains bacteria and should be emptied and refilled regularly.
Buy a filter that you can attach to the spout in your kitchen and get a reusable water bottle made from stainless steel or aluminum. You can keep refilling that and you won’t be filling landfills with plastic bottles that will take lifetimes to decompose. Bottled water is such a money drain also…you’ll save so much money with the filter and reusable bottle.
i have the same habit. i’ll carry home a bottle of water from work and it’ll end up on the bedside table, kitchen counter, piano bench or floor beside the couch. i’ve tried to use a nalgene, but they’re not ergonomically friendly around the office/house.
to answer your question, open bottled water can absolutely go stagnant. i can’t give you a time frame, but i’ve rolled over in the middle of the night and grabbed a half-empty from my bedside table and taken a swig of slightly sour H2O. so your pal is right, toss those half-empties and try to finish one before opening another.
@Milk I refill my bottles with tap water before I go out. Imagine that!
Hasn’t killed me yet.
Water will keep fresh in a bottle no more than a couple of days. After that it’ll be a bacteria breeding ground.
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