What to put your water in

Glass

Glass is the ideal choice but who wants to lug a milk bottle around in their bag? It breaks too easily and would be pretty dangerous in a school environment. However, for babies who need a bottle for expressed milk, formula or water, you shouldn’t be using anything else.

The safest glass baby bottle on the market is the Safe-t-Baby bottle, made from the same type of glass used in laboratory test t ubes. TuxanTM glass is a form of borosilicate glass used in laboratory situations because of its anti-bacterial nature and ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures.

Plastic 

Never use a BPA-containing polycarbonate (recycling #7) bottle to feed your baby. BPA(Bisphenol A) is a chemical that mimics the female hormone, oestrogen. Developing babies are most at risk from the effects of BPA and must be protected at all costs. They are also exposed to it through canned formula and canned foods, which contain BPA in the epoxy resin lining of the cans.

Drink bottles made from polycarbonate are usually rigid and transparent. Cloudy coloured plastic does not contain BPAs. The safest water bottles are made from polypropylene (PP or recycling #5). Polypropylene bottles such as Safe-t-Bottles are very durable but inflexible, so don’t freeze liquids in them. High-density polyethylene (#2 HDPE) is also safe.

Stainless Steel

18/8 or 304 stainless steel is regarded as hospital grade. It’s a steel alloy containing chromium to help protect the steel from corroding.  The higher the ration of chromium to nickel, the higher the grade of stainless steel. 18/8 refers to 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Unless you’re sensitive to nickel, stainless steel makes an excellent water bottle.

There are so many stainless steel bottles on the market, with pretty colours and designs, but are they all the same? They’re all made in China, often out of the same factories. The majority contain no epoxy lining but many do have aluminium thread in the neck. With constant screwing and unscrewing of lids, the aluminium is eventually exposed and comes into contact with your mouth. It’s difficult to know if your bottle has aluminium in its neck. Watch for wear and tear on the neck of your drink bottle and look for signs of oxidation (whitening) of the metal.

To get rid of the metallic taste from a new bottle, soak it in vinegar and water overnight.

Aluminium

All aluminium containers must be lined with epoxy resin. This goes for canned foods as well. Epoxy resins are known to release hormone-disrupting BPAs. Sigg (the cool-looking expensive aluminium bottles from a Swiss company) have recently admitted to the fact that their water bottles do contain BPA, after denying it for years. They’ve announced that they are now using a safer, BPA-free liner they call “Eco-care”.

They’re not the only company to be caught telling untruths. Gaiam, the brand sold in fitness stores, has been found to have even more BPAs in their epoxy linings than Sigg bottles. BPAs are released when the lining is scratched, comes into contact with detergent, when the bottles are subjected to heat or when acidic liquid (sports drinks) is carried in them. If you buy canned tomatoes, you might want to think about buying bottled next time.