You might be very proud of how environmentally conscious you are with your reusable water bottle - but have you ever stopped to think about how clean it actually is?

It turns out, if you’re not regularly cleaning your bottle, there could be a whole host of bacteria living inside it.

Microbiologist of UCD Doctor Amalia Scannell told The Pat Kenny Show that water bottles pick up bacteria and viruses from their owners.

“If you’re drinking out of the bottle, it all comes down to your hygiene; so how clean is your mouth, what bacteria have you in your mouth?” she said.

“As you put that bottle up into your face you’re putting all your mouth bacteria on it, as you’re holding it in your hands you're putting your hand bacteria on it.

“So, did you wash your hands? If not, all of the bathroom bacteria – things like e-coli, salmonella – you could be putting them onto your little bottle and be drinking them and putting them back into your gut."

Dr Scannell said, “potentially one virus particle can actually cause an infection”.

However, she noted that no one has dropped dead yet due to a water bottle.

You can listen back to the full interview here:

Main image: Female wearing warm clothes holding opened reusable water bottle on knees while sitting on bench on sunny autumn street. Image: ADDICTIVE STOCK CREATIVES / Alamy. 31 December 2020