Ever find a plastic water bottle in your car and wonder if it’s still safe to drink?

The temperature inside a parked car can rise by about 40°F in the first hour (even if it’s only 70°F outside!). Here’s what can happen:

Most single-use water bottles are made from a plastic called PET. Even under normal conditions, tiny microplastics can get into the water.

Scientists found that heat alone didn’t increase the amount of microplastics in the water. However, sunlight did.

When a PET bottle sits in direct sunlight, the plastic starts to break down and releases more microplastics into the water. This effect is even stronger with drinks like soda.

Heat can cause a chemical called antimony to increase in the water by up to 100 times. However, this only happens in extreme heat (hotter than 150°F).

Bacteria growth 🦠

A bigger question is whether the bottle has already been opened.

When you take a sip, bacteria from your mouth can enter the water. A warm car helps those bacteria grow quickly.

Scientists found hundreds of types of bacteria, yeast, and mold in unfinished drinks. Whether they can make you sick depends on the germs and how warm the bottle gets.

So, is it safe? 🦺

If the bottle is unopened and sat in the car for only a few hours, it’s probably safe. But it’s still better to keep it in the shaded trunk.

If the bottle has already been opened and someone drank from it, it’s safer to throw it away.

Source: ZME Science