I looked inside my water bottle and found mould

In my 20s I cohabited with a man who thought you didn’t need to wash towels because you used them when you were clean. He had graduated from both Oxford and Cambridge and went on to a very high-powered job, which did nothing to stop me teasing him mercilessly. Now I have a confession of my own.

About a year ago I swapped a trusty clear plastic bottle, easy to clean, for one of the trendy stainless steel and silicone designs everyone at my gym seemed to have. With a gasket, a straw and bits you couldn’t pop in the dishwasher, it became a faff to wash, so I wasn’t diligent.

After all, it was just water inside, and water is clean, right? I’d put flavoured electrolytes in it a couple of times, not thinking they’re a tasty meal for bacteria. Until last week, when I decided to do some deep-cleaning. I stared into the abyss of my water bottle and a terrifying amount of mould stared back — in the straw, in the bottle and, as I dramatically announced to myself, in my insides.

United Kingdom, Oxford and Cambridge

mould, water bottle, stainless steel, silicone, gasket, straw, dishwasher, electrolytes, bacteria, deep cleaning