Mindy Brooks

I wash mine as soon as it starts to smell - I try to remember to wash it before it smells ;-) Personally, I don't worry to much about the water needed to wash it, because not only does it take less water to clean it than to make a new bottle, it also uses less materials and energy. Check out this webpage - https://pickwaste.com/2019/02/15/plastic-bottle/

For me, the important thing is reducing the waste:

"More than just PET (plastic) goes into making the bottle. It takes 3.4 megajoules (MJ) of energy to produce one bottle, which is just under a kilowatt of energy (1 kW=3.6 MJ). The source of this energy is often oil, a fossil fuel that produces greenhouse gases when burned. Fossil fuels and GHGs are a whole other issue worth discussing, but to keep it short and sweet, they damage our ozone, cause ocean acidification and yes, intensify climate change. Water bottle production uses about 17 million barrels of oil each year, which is enough oil to fuel 1 million cars for a year. Don’t forget about the energy it takes to power the production factory, run the machinery, package the bottles, ship the bottles to consumers, run the stores that sell the bottles, and even recycle them. It takes 22 gallons of water to produce one pound of plastic, and double the amount of water found in a standard 500 mL bottle. "

It's a good question. Truth be told, I only wash mine once a week at most. I haven't been any more or less sick since switching. 

Me too! I find that the prettier the reusable is, the more likely I am to use it.