Often, drivers forget the water in the car for several days in the summer. Is it worth it to apply?During the summer heat, every driver keeps a bottle of water in the car. During the trip, you want to drink, and often quench your thirst right from the neck. Then the bottle remains in the cup holder or in the door pocket and stays there for several days. A car in the sun turns into a greenhouse. Is it possible to apply to a plastic water bottle after such temperature tests?
Bacteria colonies
It happens that after a day spent in the open sun , the car interior cannot immediately receive people. The torpedo heats up to 50-60 degrees, as does the air inside the cabin. You have to open the doors, turn on the ventilation and expel the heated air. Moreover, the heated interior plastic exudes unpleasant odors that disappear only after turning on the air conditioner and prolonged cooling. Experienced drivers by that time save a wet rag to moisten the hottest plastic panels with it.
- A bottle of water left inside the cabin is also warmed up. It happens that its temperature rises to 35 degrees. At first glance, there is no danger from this water, but it only seems.
- If the bottle was opened, then for several days and nights dust and other microparticles that were scattered in the air could get into it. Dust particles contain microorganisms that thrive in warm and humid environments.
- Microorganisms also get into the water while drinking. The person takes the neck into his mouth, touches it with his hands, then wipes his lips and again holds on to the bottle. The greatest number of bacteria is in the water if several people drank from the bottle.
- Thus, a number of bacteria, viruses and protozoan pathogens of intestinal infections, including shigella, salmonella, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, begin to multiply in the bottle. Sometimes staphylococci spread in the water, some fungi – aspergillus or candida. Most often, their colonies accumulate under the lid and next to the neck.
- It is especially dangerous to leave drinks with added sugar in the car. Despite the fact that there are preservatives, the development of bacteria in them is most active.
- Symptoms of an intestinal infection usually appear suddenly and acutely. First of all, the disease is evidenced by diarrhea, accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and then you can expect an increase in temperature. The disease develops gradually, within a week. The vast majority of infections go away on their own, but in severe cases, bacterial infections require antibiotics.
Chemical substances
But bacteria isn’t the only danger of a water bottle left in a car. When heated to 40-50 degrees, the plastic container begins to release harmful chemicals.
At room temperature, food-grade plastic is harmless, but in the heat, the chemical oxidation reaction intensifies and chemical elements — bisphenol A and phthalates — get into the water. Their effect on the body is not as transient as with infections, but more persistent.
In general, it is best not to leave water in the car for long periods of time, especially in an open container. Before a long trip, it is better to stock up on a new bottle for each family member.