Dangerous Bottles In Hot Cars

Recycling plastic water bottles is of high importance when it comes to saving our planet; however, keeping them out of your car is rather essential. I know that this might not make any sense, but I promise it’ll become much clearer further in this article. Keep in mind that these bottles have many hazardous properties which might damage your health.
A person from Idaho recently found out the hard way that not only do the empty plastic water bottles just clutter up a vehicle, but they can cause severe damage on sunny and hot days. How could something that appears so innocent- inflict so much harm?

Just like light traveling through a magnifying glass that can set things on fire when burning hot enough, plastic water bottles can do the same thing. It’s quite frightening to find your backseat or floorboard on fire all because of a seemingly innocent plastic water bottle.

Idaho Power shared such a story on Facebook from one of its employee’s scary experience. In fact, so many people were unaware of this hazard that the video has been viewed thousands of times and shared hundreds of times, too.

 

“Light was just shining through the driver’s side window and shone right through (the water bottle) and burned those two spots in the seat right there.”

There are two charred holes in Dioni’s front seat, proof that this odd occurrence really did happen. Idaho Power said that a round plastic water bottle filled with a clear liquid can actually act as a lens that concentrates the sun’s energy on one point, eventually creating enough heat to ignite and spark flames.

The ideal thing to do is to remove empty plastic water bottles from your vehicle and recycle them. But if you haven’t made it to a recycling bin yet, make sure they’re kept out of direct sunlight.

Many people have commented on the Facebook post about this odd occurrence. People hadn’t given much thought to their plastic water bottle starting a fire in their vehicles.

But Idaho Power advises all of its employees and the public to heed their warning. Could you imagine sitting in your car at a stoplight and noticing your seat on fire?

Watch for yourself how a simple plastic water bottle can cause such a big problem.