[Eli]

Quick question before I decide. I usually don’t fill my bottle all the way, so I’m wondering if the Hewelth UVClean still cleans properly with less water inside. Does the UV light need to pass through a certain amount of water to work, or is it fine as long as there’s some? Not sure if I’m overthinking this.

[EnderWizard]

I only fill mine about halfway most days and the self-cleaning mode has been fine for me. I’ve had it a couple months and no weird smell or film buildup, so it doesn’t seem like it needs a full bottle to do its thing.

[Julia Writes]

Half full still works fine in my experience.

[Linda Morris]

My sister has this bottle and she almost never fills it past the middle. She’s been using it that way since around the holidays and hasn’t had any issues with smell or slime, so from what I’ve seen it does its thing with less water in there. I borrowed it for a weekend trip once and did the same thing, just partial fills, and it was fine. I don’t think the light cares much about the water level as long as it’s hitting the surfaces inside. If anything I’d guess more water might actually block the light from reaching the upper parts, but that’s just me thinking out loud. She did notice once that when she left it sitting with just a tiny splash at the bottom for like two days, it started smelling a little off, but she refilled it and ran a cycle and it cleared up. So my take is half full is totally fine, just don’t leave it nearly empty for long stretches. That seems to be the only time it struggles. Not sure if that’s the UV or just normal bottle gunk though.

[Mike in NYC]

UV light doesn’t really care about the water level, it just needs to hit the surfaces and whatever water is in there. Half full is fine. I’ve been doing that with mine for a while now and it still does its thing.

[Gary Scott]

UV light doesn’t care about water level, it just hits surfaces. But if it’s half full, the light’s gotta reach the entire inside including the upper walls. Mine still smelled fine after a week of half fills, so who knows.

[Susan Keller]

I usually keep mine around two thirds and it’s been totally fine, but I did notice something a little different. When I let it get really low, like just a splash at the bottom, the cycle still runs but I don’t get that same fresh smell afterward. Not bad exactly, just less noticeable. So I started keeping at least a few inches in there and it works great. I think the water helps spread things around somehow? Not sure on the science but that’s been my experience. My husband fills his all the way and honestly I can’t tell a difference between his and mine when they’re both at a reasonable level. So half should be plenty. The only thing I’d say is don’t let it sit nearly empty for days, that’s when I noticed it wasn’t as fresh.

[Carla M.]

I’ve gotten into the habit of topping mine up before bed even if it’s not full, just because that’s when the six hour cycles seem to line up best for me. I still run it at whatever level though. The only thing I’ve really noticed is that a fuller bottle just feels colder longer, which has nothing to do with the cleaning part.

[Alex Miller]

I’d probably just fill mine up normally and not mess with it. The UV thing runs on a timer either way, so I don’t think the water level changes much. If anything I’d rather have it fuller so there’s less empty space in there.

[HanSolo]

The half full thing is backwards for me. I had one of these and the cleaning was noticeably weaker when the bottle was low. Not because the light needs water depth, but because with less water the light reflects differently in there. When mine was near empty the inside still smelled a bit off after a few days. When it was mostly full, no issue. I tested this over about three weeks with the same bottle and same routine. Filled it halfway for a week, then full for the rest. The full stretches were the only ones where the odor stayed gone. So I don’t buy the idea that water level doesn’t matter. Maybe the lamp is just weak, but that was my experience. I ended up returning mine anyway because the cap started acting up after a month. Point is, half full wasn’t cutting it for me.

[Nate Harlow]

I’ve had mine about three months and I actually run it half full most days because I sip throughout the morning and never bother topping it off. What I noticed is that the smell control still works exactly the same. Like the bottle doesn’t get that funky gym bag smell even when I leave a bit of water sitting in it overnight, which is the whole reason I bought the thing. The UV cap doesn’t seem to care how much is sloshing around in there. Where I did notice a difference is when I accidentally left it basically empty for a couple days. That’s when things got a little weird, but that’s more me forgetting about it than the bottle failing. So yeah, half full has been fine for me in normal daily use. I just wouldn’t leave it bone dry for a long stretch and expect miracles.

[northshore]

Half full is exactly when I notice the smell coming back sooner. Mine does fine when it’s topped up, but leave it low for a day and the inside starts getting that stale thing going. So no, I don’t buy that the level doesn’t matter.

[Eli]

Alright, I’ll just top it up more often then.

[Author]

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