Your plastic water bottle could be as dirty as a toilet

We all know the magical qualities of water - it quenches our thirst after exercise, soothes a hangover after a big night and can even help us lose weight.

However - if you are glugging your H2O from a refillable plastic bottle - you best read ahead.

Drinking water from a used bottle is as bad for you as licking a toilet seat, new research from TreadmillReviews.net has suggested.

Researchers tested four types of waterbottle - screw-top, slide-top, squeeze-top and straw-top - that had been used by an athlete for a week without being washed. The bottle with the most bacteria - the slide-top type - had more bacteria on it than an average toilet seat, pet bowl or kitchen sink. Ew.

The proliferation of germs is caused by a lack of washing our bottles properly, a build up of sweat plus all the germs we encounter on a daily basis. The researchers also found that 60 per cent of the bacteria on the bottles could make people sick.

Before you go scrub your mouth out and give that bottle on your desk the ultimate side-eye, go get yourself a straw-top, stainless steel bottle. The cleanest of the bottle types tested was the straw-top and researchers also found that stainless steel bottles were healthier options.

Now where is that mouthwash?

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