does anyone know for certain if refilling plastic water bottles is dangerous?

[surprise]

I can't seem to find any definitve info out there on the www. I'm always refilling water bottles, as I hate the plasticky taste that you get from the reusable ones. Does anyone if it's safe or not? (hoping there are some scientific MNers out there!)

I reuse all the time. Never ill...Dread to think how many bottles of water the world gets through in a day and will still be here in 500 years time (like plastic bags)...

We always re-use water bottles, have done so for years. I never use soap, just rinse them, unless they've fallen spout-down in mud, for example. We've never been ill as a result, AFAIK, and this is with a 6yo and a 3yo using the bottles as well, ever since they would have been about 18m or less.

But there is a risk that these bottles will eventually leach out certain chemicals that are not to be found (or at least should not be found) in bottles designed to be reusable. I believe that phthalates are among the chemicals that may leach out as the bottles age. Phthalates are added to certain plastics to improve their elasticity and are banned in toys aimed at under-3s. They used to be used in teethers, for example, but not any longer. So we tend to replace our bottles every 6m or so. I have no idea of the timescale of the leaching, so have no idea whether we should be replacing them more or less often.

The phthalate issue is also why I use the less clingy non-pvc clingfilm, rather than the cheaper conventional pvc clinfilm.