Why Does Your Water Bottle Smell Like Crazy? How To Clean?

Some of you might wonder, “why does my water bottle smell?”.We think, “why does my water bottle smell weird like rotten eggs, fish, plastic, metal, chlorine, and so on?

Even sometimes, you might have been disturbed because of the plastic smell and the weird smell coming inside of bottles.

Well, the fact is, it’s normal to smell bad when using reusable plastic bottles for a longer time. So, what could be the reason behind it? 

Today, in this blog we will figure out why do water bottles smell bad after a while even after washing.

And, to cope with that we also are presenting you with a few tips to remove the smell from plastic water bottles easily.

So let’s start without wasting your time.

Why Does My Water Bottle Smell Bad After A While?

Reusable water bottles are great because they are environmentally friendly and help to limit the use of single-use plastic water bottles which is a very better option.

But utilizing it for a long time and not washing them properly becomes the issue for you to get sick.

Why reusable water bottles smell mostly because they contain odor-causing bacteria which smell bad faster if stored in a wet area, or with a sealed lid.

Usually, reusable plastic water bottles smell bad mainly because of poor cleaning. Factors like bacteria growth, soap mold, sulfur compounds, chemical reactions, and breakdown of the plastic in the water, etc lead to the development of a weird smell and bad taste in water. But still, cleaning it properly on an occasional basis with a few advanced tricks will help solve the problem easily.

Why Do Water Bottles Smells Bad?

1. Bacteria: After every use, it’s normal that most of us don’t clean the water bottle because water is the only thing we keep in it. However, there are chances bacteria presented in your saliva from your mouth could enter the inside of the bottle and start budding creating a bad smell.
2. Soap Mold:  Whenever the water bottle smells terrible, one of these two things is done; either throw it and replicate it with a new one or wash it. It removes the smell for a while but the leftover soap that remained unintendedly inside the bottle or on the lid could make a mold and smell bad.
3. Sulfur Compounds:  Whenever the water is obtained from sources like well, sulfur compounds included in the water create a sewer-like smell in most cases.
4. Chemical Reactions and Breakdown of Plastic:  It’s normal whenever salt and minerals presented in the water react with plastic, breaking it down and causing a lingering smell. Indeed, reusable plastic bottles tend to poor out when used for a certain amount of time.

How to get rid of the smell of water bottle

1. Washing with soap and lukewarm water: Cleaning diligently with soap along with warm water from time to time will help to prevent odor-causing bacteria from multiplying rapidly. Especially, the lid and the bottom of the bottle tend to mold; a challenging area to clean up.
2. Dishwasher: For dishwasher-safe plastic bottles, you can place your bottles to get cleaned in the dishwater. Just make sure every nook and corner of the water bottle gets top-notch clean-up treatment.
3. Soak in boiling water: It sounds unusual but yes a good nightlong treatment in boiling water is a cold sweat leaving a bottle for almost more than a day. The next day washes the bottle with soap and warm water, do check whether the smell still lasts or not. Head on to the next option if the bottle still smells.
4. Soak in baking soda solution: The most common method to deodorize the smelling water bottle. Add 2 scoops of baking soda to your water bottle and fill it with warm water for hours/overnight. Please clean it up and check if the water bottle still smells! Hop on to another method if not working.
5. Treating with white vinegar: Load your bottle with white vinegar and leave it for at least a night. The next morning rinse with warm water. If there comes the vinegar smell leave the bottle in a hot water again to get the smell out.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Why do plastic water bottles smell bad after a while?

There’s the probability the dust particles in the air also could contain microscopic organisms. As air replaces water in the bottle bacteria find a way to get into the bottle, and if it is not cleaned, it smells bad after a while.

why does my water bottle smell like metal?

If you are new to water bottles, they may smell like metal because of bacteria or because of metal leaching and issues with the stainless steel. All you need to do is rinse with vinegar/soap and lukewarm water to fix the problem.

why does my stainless steel water bottle smell?

Smells metallic? for sure then you should rinse it with vinegar with warm water. It usually smells like metal when the bottle is brand new.

why does my water bottle smell like chlorine?

Chlorination is actually a part of water treatment. To purify drinking water, water sources are treated with chlorine. Sometimes It smells similar to bleach, you might have experienced this smell in a pool as well.

why do water bottles smell like rotten eggs?

This rotten eggs smell in water bottles is usually caused by dissolved hydrogen sulfide in the water supply. However, the underground decaying is often termed as a source of it. So whenever the groundwater comes to touch with bacteria left over at the lid or bottom of the bottle it smells like rotten eggs.

why does my bottled water smell like plastic?

Yes, Plastic leaches into the water if the bottles are filled with heated water, the plastic bottles are not tolerant to more than 45°C. This is the most common reason why water bottles smell like plastic after a while.

why does my water bottle smell like fish?

The fish-like smell can be caused by some elements like Barium or Cadmium metals which are used to disinfect public water sources. Unfortunately, when they are stored in water bottles for drinking you are most likely to smell water fishy.

why does the inside of my water bottle smell like dirt?

Geosmin is the chemical compound found in the dirt, they are the most probable cause found in soil along with bacteria. Unfortunately, they are also produced by algae in some water sources but they are considered harmless.

why does my steel water bottle smell like marijuana?

There’s a chemical compound called TCA in wine lids left after the sterilization process which smells like wet musty newspaper And that is why some folks smell the cork after pulling it from the bottle.

This chemical can also be found in bottled water. So that’s why your water bottle smells like a kind of weed.