It is interesting to discover how the benefits of stainless steel extend beyond personal cookware. Many home kitchens understand the advantages to cooking with this metal and that is why it is a preferred material for cookware and utensils. It’s durable, corrosion-resistant and has unsurpassed hygienic traits that other materials do not exhibit. But did you know this extends to commercial industries too? I have extensively discussed the uses of this metal in the marine, oil and gas, and environmental clean-up settings but what about the presence of stainless steel in the dairy and food processing business?
Prevents the Contamination of Johne’s Disease in Dairy Cows
Scientists have learned that when farmers use stainless steel water troughs then Johne’s disease within dairy cows is prevented. According to the USDA, this may save a dairy business as much as “$200,000 per year in a herd of 1,000 dairy cows.” These financial fatalities mainly consist of a production decrease/profits loss and cover the necessary removal costs of infested animals.
Prohibit Food Contamination through Stainless Steel Tanks
Stainless steel plays a vital factor in the food production industry. Stainless steel tanks are essential to the effectiveness and success of this business.
Stainless steel does not corrode and is highly rust-resistant meaning when chemicals and food acids come into contact with this material the tanks stays intact. This preserves the food nutrients and tastes while excluding any undesirable toxins and/or chemicals from entering the mixture.
You Want Reliability!
Operators working at these types of industries always refer to the vital aspect of consistency and how it relates to profits and production. If a company buys stainless steel from a supplier and the product is not the same quality for each order then profits and production is affected. This is why you need to find a distributor with a proven track-record. Find one that is able to show you testimonials from other clients. If they are as good as they claim then that should be a simple task for them to accomplish.
Choosing the Best Stainless Steel Water Bottles
For starters, understand that you’re going to want more than one. You’ll need one for every member of the household, then maybe 1-2 more for hiking trips, guests, replacements for a lost or dirty bottle or just to have on hand.
These reusable water bottles will cost a little bit more, in terms of initial investment, but they pay for themselves very, very quickly. However, you might be looking at the price of a stainless steel bottle compared to a commonly found reusable plastic water bottle and be tempted to pick up the cheap plastic version at the store. Let’s look at why that’s not a good idea:
- Stainless steel lasts longer: Reusable plastic wears out too fast. It gets dropped and cracked easily, is prone to damage by heat, or sun and can be scratched easily. As soon as plastic shows any signs of wear it’s no longer safe to use. But steel is durable, and doesn’t wear out over time, making it one of the ways you can reduce your grocery budget.
- Stainless steel is healthier: Plastic contains chemicals, such as BPA mentioned above, which is known to cause severe health risks even in very small ‘doses’. These chemicals are leached all the time (by off-gasing) but most especially anytime they are in the heat, like being left in the car. Stainless steel? Totally safe, no risk of leaching or off-gasing.
Be aware, however, that just because the bottle is metal, does not make it stainless steel.
Many metal water bottles, even popular companies such as SIGG, are actually aluminum, which has been linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Because you are not suppose to use aluminum in food grade products, it must come with a plastic liner, which can contain BPA and/or other harmful chemicals.
Unlike aluminum, stainless steel will need no liner to keep you safe and healthy, so look for smooth metal inside your bottle. You can still find an insulated stainless steel water bottle; just make sure the inner liner is also stainless steel.
Quality stainless steel water bottles will also list the material used on the bottle. Look for #304 or 18/8 food grade stainless steel. Skip anything else.
Caring for and Cleaning Stainless Steel
Keep your bottle out of the heat (such as a hot vehicle) since it may cause the shape of the bottle to distort. Also never use hot liquids in your steel bottle unless you have an insulted one, otherwise the metal will get too hot to handle.
The best way to clean your water bottle is with warm, soapy water and a soft bottle brush as often as needed.
You can use the dishwasher, but it’s generally not recommended, especially if your bottle has any sort of label or design.
Save Your Money
The average American buys an average of 167 disposable plastic water bottles, costing you $266, a year. Want to cut the costs? With our average life span soaring to 80 years old, you could theoretically save $17,290 in your lifetime with a reusable water bottle.
Save Your Environment
When you save a dollar, you also save around a quarter of that water bottle’s volume worth of petroleum. That’s how much it takes to produce each disposable plastic bottle. It’s estimated that 17 million barrels of oil, which could fuel up to 100,000 cars, are needed to supply the demand of water bottles worldwide.
But with all the bottles we buy, a low average of 23% of plastic are recycled each year. The rest ends up in our oceans, landfills, and communities—polluting the environment and killing thousands fish, dolphins, whales, turtles and birds every year. It is estimated that 10-20 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans every year, costing up to $13 billion a year in losses from damage to the marine ecosystems, clean-up costs, financial losses to fisheries and ocean-based tourism.
Health and Happiness
Most disposable water bottles contain a chemical called bisphenol A., more commonly known as BPA. It predominantly enters your system by seeping into your food and liquids leading to damages to the immune system, digestive system, brain, behaviors and prostate glands. Although safe in moderation considering you can pick up BPA through air, dust and water, if you are consuming it in excessive amounts then you are at a higher risk of health issues.
While PET is nearly indestructible and takes many, many years to decompose – Drop a ketchup bottle on the floor, and you’ll be thankful for polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, the nearly indestructible plastic used to make most containers and bottles. Drop the same bottle into a landfill, however, and you might have second thoughts. Why? Because petroleum-based plastics like PET don’t decompose the same way organic material does.
Steelmor has been delivering quality products to the stainless steel industry for over 40 years. We are proud of our levels of service and dedication, and would love to show you what we can do for you and your next project. Contact us today and let’s chat.