Are steel water bottles better than BPA free plastic ones? / myLot

Australia

September 30, 2018 2:42am CST

We've slowly been switching over to steel water bottles from BPA free plastic ones. Is it worth the switch. The steel ones are more expensive. I still seem to get a faint smell from them. What do you use?

5 people like this

7 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43897)

• Cambridge, England

30 Sep 18

Stainless steel contains chromium, nickel and iron and water in contact with it will inevitably acquire ions from the metal in very small amounts. This will affect the taste and contribute to the mineral content of the water. The smell you detect may simply be because it smells different to what you have been used to. If you are filling your bottles from the domestic water supply, that will change depending on the treatment it receives at the source.

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Pitstop

@pitstop (15551)

• Australia

30 Sep 18

Thanks for the info.

1 person likes this

pgn

@pgntwo (22405)

• Derry, Northern Ireland

30 Sep 18

Mineral water is eminently preferable to plastic water

2 people like this

Pitstop

@pitstop (15551)

• Australia

30 Sep 18

@pgntwo that sounds sensible. We used to use plastic bottles in our car, but often used to get very hot. Felt very unsafe about hot plastic. Hot metal seems safer.

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pgn

@pgntwo (22405)

• Derry, Northern Ireland

30 Sep 18

Steel yourself - a glass too leaves small deposits of silicate in the water you sip from it...

2 people like this

Pitstop

@pitstop (15551)

• Australia

30 Sep 18

I didn't know that about glass. Is it unsafe?

1 person likes this

Just an Ordinary Owl?

@owlwings (43897)

• Cambridge, England

30 Sep 18

@pitstop ALL water that we drink contains minerals and trace elements. Have you ever tried drinking really pure - that is, distilled - water? (Even rainwater contains carbonic acid from the carbon-dioxide dissolved in it, not to mention all the things it has picked up in the air it formed in and fell through). Pure H2O tastes flat and quite horrid. It is the traces of minerals which the rainwater has collected on its way to becoming a mountain stream which give 'pure' water that character and 'zing' which we appreciate (and, of course, the temperature. Lukewarm, it loses a lot of its charm!)

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pgn

@pgntwo (22405)

• Derry, Northern Ireland

30 Sep 18

@pitstop Unlikely to harm you, as it takes a lot to make glass dissolve in normal conditions (unless you happen to have some hydrofluoric acid handy...) and it is physiologically inert in any case.

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rsa101

@rsa101 (41028)

• Philippines

30 Sep 18

I think we have been using that material for a long time but when the plastic version came to be they switched with that because it was cheaper to produce. But now we have problems with plastic being hard to decompose and becoming a problem a trash problem we’re slowly going back to metal ones again since its durability and more environmentally friendly since the chemical composition is much friendlier to nature. I prefer the glass one although a little bit fragile. Glass does not retain smell and easy to clean. Although they are a bit fragile because they easily break if not handled properly.

1 person likes this

Pitstop

@pitstop (15551)

• Australia

30 Sep 18

I find the fragility of glass bottles the main deterrent to me purchasing them.

1 person likes this

rsa101

@rsa101 (41028)

• Philippines

30 Sep 18

@pitstop i find some that are either wrapped with protection like rubber or something like it. But I agree that they are vulnerable despite some say they are made if hard glass. When traveling I would prefer the metal over glass but for short distance I prefer the glass provided i can place them in a safe bag to protect it.

1 person likes this

pinoycity

@pinoycity (575)

• Philippines

1 Oct 18

It seems nothing is safe anymore. Even the food that we eat has microorganisms that can be dangerous to our body.

1 person likes this

Pitstop

@pitstop (15551)

• Australia

1 Oct 18

There are also good microorganisms. About bottles I'm more concerned about chemicals and leeching of plastic.

Starmaiden

@Starmaiden (9308)

• Canada

30 Sep 18

I wouldn't use a metal water bottle. There could be lead, aluminum or some other toxic metals in it which could affect the water you drink. I prefer glass bottles. They are clean, clear and recyclable.