I love to drink water at home (from the faucet) and have been refilling the same water bottle. I have read a little bit about how chemicals can go from the bottle into the water and this is not good for you. Does anyone know of a safe water bottle (that can be refilled)? I'm sure someone sells them, but I'm just not sure where to look. Thanks.

I bought this water bottle from Linens and Things and it is 64oz. I fill it up every morning and know that I need to finish that by the end of the day. (on days that I workout after work, then I drink all of it before 5 and fill it up 1/2 way to drink during and after my workout).
I forget what the name of it is but you can't miss it...a big water bottle with a handle on it either blue or pink plastic.

Could you use a sports bottle instead? I would hope those would be okay to refill since that's what they're used for.

Something like this: http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/upimg3/500Ml-Sports-Bottle15454.jpg

:D hope I helped.

that brings up another question--I would assume that all water bottles that are meant to be refilled would be safe to refill and refill and refill. Does anyone know that cheap water bottles (such as those sold at Walmart) are safe to refill and refill even though they may not say that they are polycarbonate free. I guess what I am asking is: is it safe to assume that all waterbottles (sports bottles) that are sold are safe to refill?

I saw a report somewhere that said that plastic bottles are labeled with a number on the bottom and the number 7 bottles have been found to be unsafe. I did not know this when I bought the water bottle I mentioned above but luckily it is a # 1.

I just looked at the bottle of water I am drinking now and it is a #1. I went to the cupboard and looked at a water bottle (similiar to a Nalgen (sp?) bottle) and it is a #7. So now I am confused.. any help?

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

Claim: Plastic water bottles have been proved to break down into carcinogenic compounds when reused or frozen.

Status: False

Origins: The first bit of plastic bottle scarelore quoted above was based upon a master's thesis from a University of Idaho graduate student, one which was unfortunately reported upon by the media despite its lack of peer review. According to The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA):
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water as a packaged food product and, for bottled water and all other foods and their packaging, FDA has determined that PET meets standards for food contact materials.

The basis for [the e-mail was] a college student's masters thesis that was not subject to peer review and did not reflect a level of scientific rigor that would provide accurate and reliable information about the safety of these products. Fortunately, FDA requires a much higher standard to make decisions about food contact packaging. DEHA, as mentioned in the email is neither regulated nor classified as a human carcinogen. Further, DEHA is not inherent in PET plastic as raw material, byproduct or decomposition product. DEHA has been cleared by FDA for food contact applications and would not pose a health risk even if present. DEHA is a common plasticizer used in many plastic items, many of which are found in the lab setting. For this reason, the student's detection (see comment above) is likely to have been the result of inadvertent lab contamination.

Also note that PET plastics used for bottled water containers are not unique to this product type and is the same as PET plastics used to package other common foods and beverages.
(Note that the e-mail misidentifies the DEHA used in production of PET plastic as diethylhydroxylamine. The plasticizer used in the production of PET is
actually diethylhexyl adipate.)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at one time included DEHA on the list of toxic chemicals maintained under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), but they have since removed it from the list because DEHA "cannot reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer, teratogenic effects, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, gene mutations, liver, kidney, reproductive, or developmental toxicity or other serious or irreversible chronic health effects." And, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), diethylhexyl adipate "is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans."

More recent studies have claimed that some plastic products (including plastic baby bottles) leach miniscule amounts of bisphenol A, a substance that has been linked to reproductive problems and cancer in lab rats, into liquids. However, whether bisphenol A poses the same risks to humans, and whether the small amount of bisphenol A that might be ingested through the use of plastic bottles is sufficiently large to be of concern, are still subjects of considerable debate:
[Environment California's] report is the latest rebuttal in the debate between environmental researchers and government bodies who disagree on the health risks of bisphenol A. While some reports, such as the study released by Environment California Research & Policy Center, conclude the chemical is hazardous at low doses, American, European and Japanese government agencies conclude the exposure to most people is negligible.

"I think that some of the things (Environment California) say are based somewhat on their political views," said David Weiss, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, who reviewed the report and other studies on the topic.

He said the concentrations of the chemical are so low that they are below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "levels of concern."

The acceptable intake established by the EPA is .05 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. The study's findings are noted in "parts per billion," making a comparison difficult, though the study notes that the amount of bisphenol A found fell below the government standard.
Some cities, such as San Francisco, have enacted bans on toys and other plastic products containing bisphenol A for children under three years old.

As for the claim that freezing plastic bottles releases dioxins into the water they contain, Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. Rolf Halden says:
Q: What do you make of this recent email warning that claims dioxins can be released by freezing water in plastic bottles?

A: This is an urban legend. There are no dioxins in plastics. In addition, freezing actually works against the release of chemicals. Chemicals do not diffuse as readily in cold temperatures, which would limit chemical release if there were dioxins in plastic, and we don't think there are.

Plastic bottles are they safe? Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 1:23 PM by Victor Limjoco

By Robert Bazell, NBC News chief science correspondent



For the past few days we have been covering an issue that is generating a lot of concern. Certain types of plastic containers can leech a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). The chemical can mimic the female hormone estrogen. Given to animals at high doses it can cause all sorts of health problems ranging from infertility and obesity to several types of cancer.

There is no question that Americans are exposed to the chemical. A study by the CDC estimated that 92.6 percent of Americans age 6 and above had measurable BPA in their bodies.

The chemical industry has maintained for years that the high dose animal experiments do not show any human effects and the FDA, which would regulate the chemicals, has said there is no danger. Many scientists have continued to look for possible danger in both animal and human studies.

On Tuesday, the National Toxicology Program, a division of the National Institutes of Health issued an alarm The agency said there was a possibility BPA could be causing brain problems in fetuses and children and prostate and breast problems in adults.

The actual quote from the draft report concluded there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures. The NTP also has some concern for bisphenol A exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females.

The designation of concern is equivalent to 3 on a danger scale of 1 to 5. You can see the report itself here. A few members of Congress have issued calls for the FDA to ban the plastics. So far the FDA has not responded.

If you want to avoid bottles with BPA look on the bottom for very tiny numbers enclosed in arrows that look like this. The number 7 indicates BPA. The numbers 3 and 6 indicates the presence of similar chemicals that some scientists and environmentalists believe could be cause for concern.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So in my opinion, it is not so much the reusing of the bottles that is the problem, it is that initial recycle number at the bottom.

THANK YOU FOR THE "SNOPES" INFO. I HAVE ALWAYS FROZE AND RE-USED OUR PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES PURCHASED AT KROGERS OR WHEREVER. I THROW THE BOTTLES AWAY WHEN THE PLASTIC GETS CLOUDY. I FEEL BETTER KNOWING IT IS SAFE AFTER ALL.
JOY

LOL...I'm a snopes addict... I'm guilty of going to snopes just to disprove some of the emails that I get from people and then send the snopes report back to them...

Well in my opinion regardless on where you sit on the plastic vs other material water bottles. Plastic is bad for the environment, so maybe using a different type of water bottle might be good for that reason alone!

I got mine from a company that makes stainless steel water bottles, called Kleen Kanteen, they come in cute colors now, I just have the plain silver one.

There was a lot of concern about a certain chemical (BPA) in the plastics, especially the hard plastics of the made-to-be-refillable water bottles, but almost any reputable company now makes them without that chemical. I know for sure that Nalgene has water bottles without it now, as they were the center of a lot of the suspicion. They almost immediately took those products off the shelves, and now have new ones out.

http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/

plus, nalgene bottles are almost impossible to break. I've had one for years and when it starts to look kind of scuffed up from my abuse I always buy a new one. I love Nalgenes.

I have been using one that is stainless steel/aluminum as well, it is a Sigg bottle. I also tell the kids to grab a glass and fill it from the refrigerator since we have a built in filter so it's FREE!!!!

I have a stainless steel/aluminum as well. Love it! It's nice being about to refill where ever I can and go. Plus it fits in my bike holder. The dis of the one I have is that it doesn't fit in the car holder. I will need to get one of those inserts that makes the hole bigger for it. But it's nice. Another thing I love about it, is that it doesn't hold the odor of other things. So if I put in a stir in - it doesn't keep that smell/taste in it once washed. Big plus!

Nalgene website has good explanations of the materials used in their everyday usage bottles.

I just went and got the new BPA free bottles from R.E.I. They weren't too expensive.

Where on earth do you get these. I've been refilling the same plastic bottle since the Reagan administration. I had no idea it was bad.

There are two sites that I know of:

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/reusable-bottles-c-19.html

or

www.kleankanteen.com

I think the actual Sigg water bottle company has stopped selling on their website due to high demand, and shortage! I got the best deal on "reusablebags.com" got mine for under $20!

I actually found mine at a local drug store. I am in Washington State, we have Bartell Drugs. They had them on the aisle with thermoses, etc.

I decided I wanted to stay away from plastic and aluminum, so I went with the stainless steel Klean Kanteen. It is great! I personally think the water tastes better than it did from my old plastic Nalgene-style bottle. It is single-layer, so the bottle gets REALLY cold when you put cold water in it - and the mouth is big enough to put in ice cubes.

http://www.kleankanteen.com

As a bonus, I also had no trouble taking it through airport security. I made sure it was empty and dry, with the cap off, and put it in the bin alongside my purse. Yay!

HAHAHA! Me too!!

I love my Camelbak bottle. It has a place to hook it onto something and has a great spout (kind of like a straw). I also like that it has a wide mouth so I can put ice in it. I Found it at a sporting goods store, near the coolers and stuff. I think they also sell them at 24hour fitness. Oh...its also BPA free...