Why you should NEVER refill a plastic water bottle

Just when we thought we were feeling a bit smug with ourselves for always have a bottle of water on the Tube and that like we're told, we've been hit with the terrifying news that getting our recommended amount of H2O might be super, super unhealthy.

Yep, while most of us are guilty of holding on to a plastic bottle for longer than probably necessary (hey, there's no shame in wanting people to think you drink Fiji every day), it turns out that the containers you're refilling contain so many germs you might as well lick your toilet. 

LICK. YOUR. TOILET. What fresh hell is this?

Treadmillreviews tested refilled water bottles that had been used by an athlete for a week, and in stats provided to Metro revealed that the highest number of bacteria found on one bottle contained over 900,000 colony forming units per square cm on average - aka more than your standard toilet seat.

And worse still, researchers found that a whopping 60% of the germs found were capable of making you sick - meaning that if you've been randomly under the weather lately, you may have just found the culprit. 
But that's not all. As well as the fact it's clearly disgustingly unhygienic, Good Housekeeping have discovered there are a bunch of nasty chemicals from the plastic which get released as it breaks down with frequent use.

Dr Marilyn Glenville PhD told the magazine these chemicals "can have effects on every system in our bodies". Oh, joy.
"They can affect ovulation, and increase our risk of hormonally driven problems like PCOS, endometriosis and breast cancer, among other things," he said.

Instead of reusing the plastic bottles, it's best to drink from them once and then recycle, but if you must refill your plastic one, then Dr Glenville advises to buy BPA-free plastic bottles, and to avoid rinsing them in very hot water, because this encourages the chemicals to release at a staggering 55 times faster than normal.

Or you could just do the sensible thing and buy one of those Love Island water bottles. That would save you a whole load of fuss. - Cosmopolitan