After the tour, you clean and maintain your bike, empty and rinse your water bottle or hydration bladder. This is as much a part of biking as brushing your teeth before going to bed. But after long laps in particular, the doldrums are in full swing. The bike is slammed into the corner, along with the half-full bottles in which bacteria, mould and yeast thrive. The sugar in the drink is the ideal breeding ground for germs. "Under perfect conditions, a drink will go off within two to three days and become undrinkable," says Dr Mareike Wenning from the Technical University of Munich. This is quickly noticeable: the odour of a wetland smells from the bottle, or the drinking bladder puffs up like yeast dough. "The broth is not acutely toxic," warns Wenning, "With the rather acidic pH value, most pathogens hardly stand a chance." So no need to panic. But it's still not nice. Before your drinking bottle becomes a microbiotic test laboratory, you should intervene. If it starts to rot, you need to bring out the big guns, because the mouldy taste is persistent. If residues of bacterial cultures remain in the bottle, the drink will go mouldy even faster next time. Normal emptying, rinsing and dry storage of the bottle is no longer enough. We'll show you how to get rid of the germs - without harsh chemicals. But please don't overdo it here: drinking bottles are not suitable as heirlooms. If you're not sure whether you'll be able to clean the plastic part again, buy a new bottle. This is always the cleanest solution.
CLEANING GROUP
BOTTLE EMPTY?
You're guaranteed not to dry out with these pouches...
Photos: Daniel Simon
