# Sealed water container left in a hot environment **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845 "2008-07-01T01:41:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/1 "2008-07-01T01:41:50Z")
I get those 5 gallon watercooler drums delivered to my house. They come in sealed plastic containers. I wasn’t here to take the delivery, so the guy left them by my door. Living in Vegas, they were exposed to about 110-115 degree heat all day before I brought them in. Would there be any risks to drinking them, in as far as maybe bacterial growth or the plastic partially melting into the water or anything like that? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/2 "2008-07-01T01:47:55Z")
I doubt it - they drive around all day long with them on the truck, exposed to the same temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/3 "2008-07-01T04:30:59Z")
The most I’d be concerned with is them taking on the taste of the plastic container. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/4 "2008-07-01T10:38:35Z")
Someone developed a method of sterilising water using clear plastic disposable beverage bottles and sunlight for those lacking potable sources in Africa, so bacterial concerns in the OP are likely moot. Given recent concerns of bisphenol leaching one wonders whether the solution is worse than the problem. What material is the carboy made of? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/5 "2008-07-01T18:30:57Z")
I’ve got emergency water stashed in my jeep and I’ve drank it after a full summer of those temps. I’m still here. I’ve read that there can be some toxins leaching out of the bottles, but it is minuscule; like say standing next to a busy street for some number of hours. I figure that the harm from being dehydrated is worse. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/6 "2008-07-01T18:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=chacoguy420] I’ve got emergency water stashed in my jeep and I’ve drank it after a full summer of those temps. I’m still here. I’ve read that there can be some toxins leaching out of the bottles, but it is minuscule; like say standing next to a busy street for some number of hours. I figure that the harm from being dehydrated is worse. [/QUOTE] There’s been a UL floating around here lately that a plastic water bottle left in a car will eventually give you cancer if it got hot enough. Sigh. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/7 "2008-07-03T02:27:01Z")
That’s true about the temperatures in the truck - but that doesn’t account for the ridiculously scorching Las Vegas sun. It’s probably alright, but I’m especially paranoid about what I consume - I don’t want to be drinking partially melted plastic or something. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/8 "2008-07-03T03:32:47Z")
Call the company and ask for their accelerated stability study data, specifically the microbiological and total VOC/semi-VOC data. Or just ask for the temperature of their accelerated stability studies; it should be lower that the temperature to which the material & container would reasonably be expected to experience. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sealed-water-container-left-in-a-hot-environment/454845/9 "2008-07-04T01:09:19Z")
If I remember right, you can effectively kill off most microorganisms in water by exposing it to intense direct sunlight (I seem to remember in Africa people putting clear bottles of water on their roofs with a black plastic background) for several hours. Maybe if you just regularly rotate it out of the car and into direct sunlight (the car’s window glass will block most of the UV that will kill lots of microorganisms) every once in a while? I’d probably look it up too - my memory may be shaky on this. Anyone else have memories or information about this?