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I have a plastic water bottle that I dropped. It now has a dent in the base, and is somewhat unsteady when standing up. How can I repair this dent without causing cracks in the plastic that will cause it to leak?

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9 Answers 9

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Fill it with sand, salt, sugar, or some other granulated material. Use a dowel to pack it down. With enough pressure in the correct area, the dent will pop out.

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  • Wouldn't that be a total waste of sugar/salt tho?
    – Just Do It
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 15:30
  • Dry salt and sugar will pour out easily.
    – Adam Zuckerman
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 15:33
  • Fair enough, let's just hope it doesn't get messy(use a funnel)
    – Just Do It
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 15:36
  • just have to make sure the bottle is dry as well
    – Dragonrage
    Commented Feb 27, 2016 at 0:16
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I don't know how tall the water bottle is but you can easily push the dent out using the handle of a wooden spoon, it's thin enough to fit through the mouth of the bottle yet stiff enough to apply good pressure.

wooden spoonTry it..!!

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  • Downvoter: I would like to know why this answer is not useful, that way I can improve it or just delete it all-together
    – Just Do It
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 15:29
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I found that just blowing compressed air into the bottle will expand the area you want to its original shape.

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  • I am just curious, how does one blow compressed air into the bottle, to create enough pressure to repair the dent?
    – virolino
    Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 11:52
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Put the empty bottle with lid on in the freezer. After a few hours, take the bottle out and put it in the hot sun. The pressure of the expanding air hopefully will pop the dent out.

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If your saying the bottle is extruding on the bottom (or pushed out) Simply get hot steam in the bottle and use an object to push the base inward.

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Fill it with water and swing it around with the cap off (possibly on a rope). Centrifugal force will push the bottom outward and fix the dent.

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    what difference does having the cap off make?
    – Dragonrage
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 1:13
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    Air can come in freely as the bottle expands.
    – lmnopcdefg
    Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 1:33
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Simply push the dent with something hard.

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If its made of metal, fill it with water and put it in the freezer. if the bottom expands out when you do this, tap it with a hammer.

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  • That's a great answer... But the question is specifically about plastic.
    – L.B.
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 13:25
  • Wouldn't plastic expand easier than metal?
    – Heath Wright
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 4:53
  • Yes, but it may split or crack depending on the material
    – L.B.
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 14:20
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Cold water with ice inside.. pour boiling hot water on the dent outside

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    I kind of fail to understand the physics involved - could you please elaborate how and why this should work?
    – Stephie
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 21:44
  • @Stephie Pouring hot water on the dent (and only the dent) causes that part of the metal to expand and correct the dent. Search youtube. O.P. asks about a plastic water bottle though, so this may not work.
    – SurpriseDog
    Commented Jul 18, 2019 at 3:19
  • This is the length of a comment but seems to try to answer the question. It needs beefing up at least, re-writing more likely.
    – Willeke
    Commented Sep 14, 2019 at 16:35

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