For those in the bottled water industry, it is obvious why bottles must be properly washed before they pass through the filling and capping processes.

Throughout manufacturing, empty bottles are vulnerable to a variety of airborne contaminants, from the instant they leave a customer’s water cooler to the time they are filled with water.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) industry standards require that all bottles be washed to strict specifications.

Bottling production lines must be located within clean rooms — controlled-atmosphere rooms that reduce or eliminate dust, insects and bacteria from the areas in which bottles are washed, filled and capped.

Some high-performance bottle washer/filler units have built-in, self-contained clean rooms that isolate the bottle-washing process from airborne dust or bacteria.

To comply with government and industry standards, bottle washers must be capable of thoroughly cleaning bottles using an effective cleansing agent and water solution heated to a minimum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit for at least one minute.

Pre-wash and wash cycles
Quality systems include monitored, internal water heaters, automatic detergent and sanitizer injectors, automatic feed water and product water controls, and automatic bottle loading/unloading features.

Look for bottle washers that provide pre-wash features that reduce or eliminate heavy external debris prior to entry into the detergent-washing phase.

When the pre-wash and detergent wash cycles are complete, the sanitize cycle kicks in. All surfaces of the bottle must be exposed to a 2.5 percent caustic solution for at least one minute before moving into the final rinse cycle. During the sanitizing cycle, the bottle is given a final internal rinse using operations water or product water. This rinse will wash away any carry-over of sanitizer solution that may still be within the bottle. No temperature requirement is stipulated.

Pick the right system
There are five primary factors that bottling operations should consider when shopping for a bottle washer. Choose a washer that…

1. Fits your plant’s production requirements.

   You can choose from manual and semi-automatic models that wash 60 bottles per hour, one or two hours at a time. For higher volume requirements, operators can choose from a variety of fully automatic washers that can handle 900 bottles or more per hour.

   From a cost-accounting standpoint, you do not want to buy a washer designed to handle far more bottles than you need.

2. Integrates well with the rest of your bottle-filling production line.

   It is best to buy a production line from a single source to ensure the equipment has been designed and manufactured as an integrated production line. Equipment from a single manufacturer can guarantee service and spare parts availability.

3. Follows IBWA and US FDA regulations.

   A washer should have precision electronic controls, and be designed by a company that understands the bottled water industry. To choose otherwise can leave you with serious regulatory challenges as your business grows.

4. Is manufactured from stainless steel designed for easy cleaning.

   Stainless steel is paramount for the bottled water industry. To use any other material is cutting short the operational life of your equipment and invites metallic contaminants that come from raw steel-based materials.

5. Is designed for efficient recycling of rinse and product water.

   A well-designed unit will use no more than 1 liter per bottle for washing and rinsing. Make sure you thoroughly investigate the amount of water that is discharged during the entire process.

   In particular, look for systems that use final product water as rinse water to supply wash and sanitizer tanks. This will minimize water waste and help to conserve both detergent and sanitizer fluids.