I use sterilising powder left over from my homebrew beer kit. Fill the bottle with warm water, with a tsp of the powder - shake and squirt, job done. This is the stuff I have, I’m sure there will be an alternative wherever you are.
I didn’t even know this was a ‘thing’!
SIS or Elite bottles are what I normally use. Get back from ride, pull out nozzle, wash with warm water and dish soap, rinse, dry.
A couple of the bottles must be 4 years old now and still absolutely fine.
My backpack with hydration pack for longer MTB days is a whole different story though. Pain in the butt.
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Haha I didn’t know this was a thing either! This thread is hilarious (in a good way) 
In NorCal, there’s a lot of RR that are put on by a group called Velo Promo. They always have neutral water support and you get to keep the bottles. I just throw my used bottles on the side of the road (at the feed zone) and grab the bottles from them. Granted these bottles aren’t knew but I just use the good old-fashioned dishwasher.
Since I haven’t seen anyone post this yet. My “solution” is vinegar and water. One too many times I thought I thoroughly rinsed dish soap from the bottle only to find that during a race I get a nice taste of soap. I also didn’t like the idea of using bleach and my bottles tended to warp in the dishwasher, even on the top rack.
Even if there is a little residual vinegar in the bottle its not that bad. I fill the whole sink with a few pours of vinegar and soak all bottles at once then use a bottle brush to clean it out.
I used a teaspoon of bleach and a teaspoon of baking soda in each bottle, followed by hot water. Mine were disgusting and this cleared them up, no brushing needed. They had a funky bleach odor after so I filled them with a little listerine and shook them up, it only took a few refills of gatorade and normal use to get that minty flavor out as well.
That said, a riding buddy of mine said he uses denture tablets in his with the same effect.
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Bleach and/or boiling water
Dishwasher plus I try not to let them sit around dirty. 90% of the time they get run through the dishwasher within 12 hours of use.
The mold food factor plays a role too. For most of my rides I’m using NUUN which has virtually no sugar in it so those can sit out forever and not grow mold. When I need liquid calories on longer weekend rides, i use Skratch and I’ve never had any issues with mold in those bottles even when I accidentally let them sit around for a few days.
If I was using something high sugar that could substitute for petri dish food, I’d wash the bottles immediately after a ride.
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This thread just reminded me that I need to get a few new bottles.
I rinse them out straight after use and put them in the dishwasher every few days but they do get a bit discoulored after maybe a year or so.
Time to treat myself.
In the UK, Milton Sterilising Fluid.
Dash of that in a bottle with warm water for 15mins. Put lids in a big mug for the same time. Works well. Any mould in the nozzle, neat milton for 10mins. Rinse well.
For what it is worth, I drop bottle caps into a kettle full of water with a spoonful of vinegar and boil. Then rinse bottles with that boiled water. Then flush the kettle to get rid of vinegar smell and deposits. I do this once in a while. Keeps the kettle clean as well.
Best to clean bottles right after rides if possible.
I use baby bottle sterilising tablets, very cheap and just drop them in, leave then rinse. Easy peasy.
take the caps off and put them upside down so they dry out properly.
clean with bleach water occasionally.
My water bottle strategy is three-fold:
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I store our water bottles in the fridge: the low temperature strongly inhibits fungal growth.
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And every once in a while we use baby bottle disinfectant to try and kill as much of the gunk that eventually starts growing in all the nooks and crannies.
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I replace water bottles after a year. In principle, I could get the top part separately for the bottles of choice (Camelbaks), but they cost almost as much as a new bottle. So I opt for replacing them outright. In fact, I have just received a shipment from wiggle with three new bottles, one for my wife and two for me. (My wife goes to the fitness studio three times a week, so she doesn’t need more than a bottle.)
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Dishwasher once a week
Bottle brush if I see black spots, and then baby sterilising fluid for the bottle and caps afterwards as per the baby bottle instructions.
I only really moved to using carb mixes this year, and definitely noticing this more now, despite immediate post ride rinse!
Nobody has mentioned the most important thing. Drying the bottles. It is the moisture that causes mold. I have bottles for years. I never use soap. I rinse in cold water, sometimes warm. I shake the bottles to get rid of excess water and then leave them to air dry in a warm place.
Keeping the bottles clean is trivial, it is the nozzles that get gunked up with mold. Even when you can disassemble them, there are parts you can’t clean properly or that will dry well.
dishwasher
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The newly updated Camelbak Podium is a doddle to clean by hand. Totally redesigned bottle, best I’ve ever used.
Yeah, I noticed that, too. Hopefully the nozzles will last longer. The only slight downside, which is temporary, is that I cannot swap the nozzles between my Camelbak’s of older and newer design. Time will take care of that.
Regular dishsoap no scrubbing just shake/swish after every ride with mix or every 3-4 water only.
Diluted bleach or Star-San soak every 3 months or so. Plus i have bottles that I do mix in and bottles that only do water. Water only get full treatment less often.