Posted By Debbie S At the infant school where my 6 year old daughter goes they have changed the way in which the children are allowed to get drinking water. Once upon a time we gave them a bottle of water ourselves each day or they had plastic cups with their names on which they could fill at the tap. Now they insist that if our child wants drinking water (other than whats in their lunch box which they aren't allowed to have until lunchtime) we have to purchase a bottle of water (the mineral kind) at the beginning of term for 50pence (not a great deal and the school makes money for school funds), but the concern is that the bottle is emptied at the end of the week and refilled from the tap. This bottle is then used for the whole term Am i right to be concerend about bacteria etc growing on the bottles or in the water if it just sits there and how do they wash the bottle tops etc to prevent spread of infections etc. Having read the thread last week on 'deadly plastic bottles' I was just a tad worried.

Posted By Mark Talbot The conclusion of the last thread was that so long as the bottle was in good condition, there was no worry with re-use. As far as bacteria, a bottle is no worse (maybe better) than an open plastic cup *IF* it is properly, and regularly cleaned. One area of concern could be the cap - they are not designed for long term use, so may degrade through wear and harbour bacteria. Advice could be sought from the original manufacturer / supplier. We had a study done here and found that cross-contamination was possible if successive water bottles touched the tap during refilling. Have you asked the Head to explain the change of policy? Maybe there is something that has forced a change?

Posted By John Webster Remember that, under normal circumstances, the chlorine residual in the water is intended to destroy low level contamination which might find its way into the water. So provided basic hygiene precautions are followed the risk is small, (and certainly no worse than that faced by the average child who puts pencils, rulers and anything else in its mouth with no guarantee of recent handwashing!)

Posted By colin I've asked the children,they now use plastic cups which the teacher/assistant washes instead of bottles, (which were also washed daily).