Clean Water Bottles?

[Susie570]

How do you do it?
I consistently use ACV in the water, but I've begun to notice mildew spots inside the water bottles, where I can't reach them to clean. :evil:
I don't want to put anything in the bottles that might be toxic to buns... but how do I eliminate the mildew spots?

 

[EnglishSpot]

I've noticed that also! Seems to get worse when the water is exposed to sunlight. Fortunately, I'm able to take a toothbrush to the bottles.

 

[caroline]

I have a large bottle brush that I have for years. I think I got it from a dairy supply company many years ago when we had goats. It has 2 bends in it so it works pretty well in the 64oz.bottles.
A suggestion that I have used before, but is a little messy, get about a 1/2 cup of small gravel and use a funnel to get it into the bottle. Shake & swirl with a tiny bit of water and the pour out through the funnel to the next bottle.Rinse the first bottle and repeat as needed. It should get all the inside gunk off.

 

[DBA]

It probably isn't mildew, I would think it is algae.
A bottle brush should do the trick. I use the Lixit brand bottles with a wide mouth, I clean mine with a dish cloth wrapped around a wooden spoon handle.

 

[alforddm]

Bleach! Put a tablespoon or two in each bottle fill with water and let sit for 10 minutes. Then dump and rinse well. Works well on the spouts as well.

A baby bottle brush will works as well but the handle on the one I have is a bit short. I have to really stretch my fingers to get the bottom.

 

[Susie570]

Those are all good suggestions! Thanks! Yeah, I have the big, 64oz (I think) kind of brick shaped bottles. They hold a lot and are great, but too deep to get my toothbrush down into and I would like to give them a more thorough cleaning anyway.

 

[katiebear]

I do the bleach and pebble clean..put about 2 T. bleach and a handful of pebbles in the bottle shake and swirl vigorously, dump into a strainer ( to keep rocks out of your sink ) then wash in hot dishwater, rinse thoroughly and air dry...I have had my bottles for a couple of years now and have not had any issues with this method. Washing and air drying gets rid of any traces of bleach, if you smell them there shouldn't even be a hint of bleach smell. Have not had any bunny sick or anything like that...good luck, I am cleaning bottles today..13 of them... :x

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

It's algae. Klubertanz sells a bottle brush that works great with the 32oz bottles.

I wash with regular dish soap - that brand they clean birds with. Then I rinse in water that has a little bleach in it. Then I put on a rack to air dry.

As with all cleaning in the rabbitry, the more frequently you clean your water bottles, the better.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I use the pebble method, but with white vinegar instead of bleach because we have hard water and I like to minimize the calcium buildup.

 

[akane]

You can also put dry rice in with just enough water to move it around when you shake it. I rarely do it because my bottles don't grow things. The only thing I get is purple. I was questioning if purple algae could exist in freshwater. I found out sometimes hardwater reacts with an acidic substance that is added and you get a layer of minerals. I think the site listed copper and manganese as the main culprits for making purple.

 

[Susie570]

You can also put dry rice in with just enough water to move it around when you shake it. I rarely do it because my bottles don't grow things. The only thing I get is purple. I was questioning if purple algae could exist in freshwater. I found out sometimes hardwater reacts with an acidic substance that is added and you get a layer of minerals. I think the site listed copper and manganese as the main culprits for making purple.

Purple algae?!? :x
Yeah, I'm going to give all of the water bottles a thorough cleaning. The algae spots are a new issue and barely noticeable, but I don't want the buns having to drink algae water. I guess a deep cleaning of bottles is going to be added to my weekly routine.

 

[akane]

For the most part mineral separation and algae is harmless. It can trap bacteria if it gets out of hand but drinking from a water source with algae is not usually a health hazard. Our stock tanks would grow all sorts of stuff. We had brown algae growing in columns up the 50gallon tanks and my tank for the poultry often was coated in wavy green. We did dump the tanks a few times over the warm months of the year and spray it down with good water pressure but didn't use more than some mild soap. Algae is simply a plant filtering excess nutrients (brown algae likes silicates) out of the water and may even help reduce agricultural pollution like phosphates from fertilizer. Blue-green algae and red algae which usually grow in slimy sheets not a solid flat layer(spot algae) or hairs are the ones to worry about. On rare occasion they do produce toxins and have a higher rate of collecting bacteria. This is uncommon in a water bottle though versus a stock tank or aquarium.

 

[Susie570]

Thanks, akane. I did find myself wondering if there might be some value to the algae in the water. Probably best to clean them all out though. I normally clean the bottles by just dumping them out, putting hot water in and shaking the bottle really hard, then emptying that out and refilling with fresh water.

 

[a7736100]

I leave the bottle out in the sun for a few days. The algae dies and flake offs. Water and some shaking gets them out of the bottle.