The Accessories That'll Make You Actually Use Your Water Bottle

Somewhere there’s a student of human behavior who can explain why, for so long, I have surrounded myself with water bottles, yet still remained dehydrated. I had several good reasons for this—which I will get to—but whatever the cause, I was determined to fix it. Fortunately for me, the solutions were only a few clicks away. Now, a month into the “stay hydrated” experiment, I can report success—and I want the same for you.

To me, all water tastes better cold. City water, bottled water—all the water. Sure, I could get refrigerate my full water bottles, but the person who does that has forethought, and I am a simple gal who stares sadly at the water faucet willing it to go below 45 degrees. Shoving ice cubes into my water bottle was far too difficult and annoying. So I looked for ice cubes that would easily fit into my water bottle—and was thrilled to find these extra-long ice cube trays that make just enough ice bars for a day of hydrating.

I have come to prefer silicone ice cube trays; the only problem is that their flexibility makes them hard to place in a freezer unless they lay flat on a shelf. This tray solves that problem—it’s got a silicone mold in a hard plastic tray. It even comes with a cover, which is handy for preventing anything from getting in your ice or your ice absorbing smells from the freezer. Pop a few bars into your bottle and fill up: They ice the water down almost instantly.

I wash my water bottles frequently, but my dishwasher tends to melt them, so that means hand washing. I never believed I was getting them truly clean; most brushes have a flat top, so I was just scraping the bottle bottom with the wire part of the brush. It was also impossible to balance upside down to get really dry and drain all the water out.

So I got a brush set specially designed for water bottles, with a bristle-y top, so you can legitimately scrub the bottom of the bottle, and it has a ring-type brush that gets the part just beyond the neck.

Then I bought a drying rack that perfectly holds my bottles upside down to drain. The best part is that I can toss the brush in the dishwasher to get it clean, and the drying rack packs away into a tiny footprint when I don’t need it.

I have enough problems staying hydrated at home—I honestly don’t know how I don’t crumble to dust whenever I leave the house. My water bottle almost never leaves the car because it means holding onto it, and I like my hands free. So I found a carrying strap for it, and now I have no excuse to be dehydrated out in the world.

As we hit peak summer in a record-breaking boiler of a season, I really can’t underscore how important it is to make sure you’re getting enough water. Your body reminds you with migraines and fatigue. It’s essential to hydrate regularly, and these tools can help.