Household Tip: Cleaning the Water Bottle

I have a purple water bottle that I bring with me to the gym, to school, to sit on my front porch, to just about anywhere. Since it does sit out sans refrigeration, sometimes I worry about the contents.

In the aftermath of my headache situation, I have sworn off artificial sweeteners. Specifically: I no longer fill my water bottle with artificially sweetened beverages and then down the whole container over a short period of time. Now I am making brewed iced tea and drinking that. I hate plain water. Tea seems to be the most mold-o-philic beverage ever. Now I am worried about the black dots on the side of my water bottle. Mold? Possibly.

Here's how I clean mine: I fill it halfway with warm water and toss in two denture-cleanser tablets. Once they've done their thing, I rinse out the bottle with water. If any gunk is still stuck to the sides of the bottle, I put in some table salt and enough water to form an abrasive slurry, and I swish it around until the inside is scrubbed. Then I rinse again.