Bottled Water

[OLTB]

I was shopping in Sainsbury’s and noticed a chap loading his trolley with three pallets of still water that cost £2.50 a pop (12 small bottles per pallet). Not expensive in the grand scheme of things. I, however, choose to fill a water bottle from my tap before I go out, which costs nothing in addition to the standard water bills (I’m not on a meter).

So my question to the group as I get a round in...bottled water - a stupid irrational purchase, or am I the one being irrational (hopefully not stupid)

Cheers, OLTB.

[PinkDalek]

This does come up from time to time and I'm rarely a water drinker, let alone bottled.

As one ages though, one is encouraged to drink more of it and I presently am gaining a taste for sparkling. As an old Headmaster of mine once said "It is a little bit more exciting than still".

As for the purchasers of these bottled products, please, as a Nestlé shareholder, continue to spend your money as you see fit.

Perrier or S Pellegrino or any of the others. Do continue.

[midnightcatprowl]

Tap, tap every time. Some people say that Bedfordshire Water (very hard) is undrinkable but I've acquired the taste and if I very very occasionally buy bottled maybe three/four times a year (always try to find glass bottle if I can) in an 'emergency' situation I never like the taste as much. I do however enjoy sparkling water (at home rather than to carry around) so I've recently taken the step of purchasing that old fashioned - but also back in fashion - thing a Soda Siphon. I'm very pleased with it. You have to buy the gas bulbs of course but they are stainless steel and so fully recyclable. I understand that one thing which actually does get recycled is metal.

[Slarti]

It could have been me, a few months back, when the water supply for the town went off on a Saturday evening.

As it was still off on the Sunday morning and the water company was uncontactable,I hopped into the car and went to buy some water.
Local supermarket was sold out so i drove the 6 miles to the next town and bought a load from them. Would have rather bought 2l bottles, but they'd sold out so I bought the last 3 trays of 12 bottles of cheap still water that they had.

We used 2 of them before the water came back on. The other sat around for months.

Slarti

[redsturgeon]

Rarely drink the stuff...W.C. Fields had a reason for avoiding it, I seem to remember.

John

[Rhyd6]

We have our own water supply and today I didn't even have to put it in the fridge to cool down. I too have a sparklets machine but rarely use it though now the thought is in my head I might drag it out.

R6

[monabri]

I'm concerned about what leaches into the water from the cheap plastic bottle in storage?.

Soda Siphons...ah, the 70s, very sophisticated! Just needs some cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick !

[AleisterCrowley]

I'm very anti bottled water, for environmental reasons. I do occasionally buy it for journeys , when I've been lazy and have forgotten to fill a reusable bottle
I did actively campaign at work against the provision of bottled water in the reception area. A lot of staff were turning up in the morning and grabbing a few bottles, and they mostly ended up in the regular bin so probably not recycled.
The Environment / Green supremo did eventually agree wih me and we all got issued with reusable bottles and the fridge was locked and was for visitors only! Little victories..

[tjh290633]

Tap water for me. I refill plastic bottles over and over again. Leaching out from the plastic is a very slow process. Rinse before you refill.

TJH

[CryptoPlankton]

I was shopping in Sainsbury’s and noticed a chap loading his trolley with three pallets of still water that cost £2.50 a pop (12 small bottles per pallet). Not expensive in the grand scheme of things. I, however, choose to fill a water bottle from my tap before I go out, which costs nothing in addition to the standard water bills (I’m not on a meter).

So my question to the group as I get a round in...bottled water - a stupid irrational purchase, or am I the one being irrational (hopefully not stupid)

Cheers, OLTB.

Based solely on economics, the choice of bottled water over tap water is clearly irrational. I believe you are talking about their Highland Spring water (currently 12 x 500ml for £2.50). Tap water costs in the region of 0.1p per litre so, if metered, you could refill one of those bottles with perfectly wholesome tap water over 400 times before it has cost the same as its original contents.

Of course, the individual concerned may simply dislike his tap water and be prepared to pay this crazy premium. Good for him. Meanwhile, nearly a billion people in the world still don't have immediate access to clean water...

[bungeejumper]

It's an old familiar subject, this one, but it depends on what your local tap water is like. Ours comes through 150 year old cast iron pipes, all suitably leaky, and they have to dose it so heavily with chemicals, if they're to keep the cholera and the typhus at bay, that it tastes disgusting. (And has red and brown bits in it, for added texture.) You really wouldn't want to have it in your bedside water glass. All that chlorine.

So, although tea tastes moderately acceptable when made with our tap water, coffee is a complete no-no. I buy bottled water - specifically, Buxton @ £2.50 for a nine litre six pack. I've tried most of them, and the flavours do vary - Highland Spring is OK, much better than Sainsburys own brand, but on the whole I prefer to splash the extra 10p a litre on the one that I personally prefer.

But tap water for drinking cold? Ugh, not in this parish.

BJ

[scotia]

We have an excellent water supply, so we would not dream of purchasing bottled water at home. However I remember Harwell in my younger days, where you could smell the water before tasting it.
So for all of you with a similar problem, then bottled water (or other beverages) may be more acceptable. Campsie Spring (part of the Highland Spring empire) bottles 150 million litres of it per year, a few miles from our home. Probably a more economical export than our Glengoyne whisky, which also uses water from the Campsies.

[panamagold]

Where I live the water is so hard that if a visitor at our home requests a glass of water I generally respond with "will that be one lump or two?".

I persevere wih the tap stuff, all be it an acquired taste, but mrs. c goes for the bottled. However, we both agree that bottled produces a far superior pain de compagne in our 'panni' breadmaker.

[Ashfordian]

I was shopping in Sainsbury’s and noticed a chap loading his trolley with three pallets of still water that cost £2.50 a pop (12 small bottles per pallet). Not expensive in the grand scheme of things. I, however, choose to fill a water bottle from my tap before I go out, which costs nothing in addition to the standard water bills (I’m not on a meter).

So my question to the group as I get a round in...bottled water - a stupid irrational purchase, or am I the one being irrational (hopefully not stupid)

Cheers, OLTB.

I've always lived in hard water areas and drink about 1 litre of bottled water a day at home, which is Tesco's own brand and costs me under 20p a day. If I lived in a soft water area I would drink tap water.

For those that live in a hard water area try this and you should easily notice the difference. Pour a glass of water from the tap and a glass from bottled water in the evening and leave them overnight, and then taste/drink them in the morning. There is a huge difference. I would describe the difference as the bottled water still tasting fresh & clean while the tap water definitely does not.

Bottled water tastes different. Apart from the price I have not noticed the difference between Buxton, Evian, etc. However when I last drank the Sainsbury's own brand of still water it had a metallic taste to it. The Nestle branded bottled water you can buy around Europe has to me a horrible creamy taste/texture to it

[UncleEbenezer]

I note everyone on this thread has a great solution to making tapwater taste good in those areas where it doesn't already.

Your Lemon Slice, or Lemon Quarter, is just the job. Softens hard water, and adds a pleasant tang to any water. Lemon is ideal, and for a bit of variety substitute other citrus like grapefruit, lime, or orange from time to time.

Another option is mint, though that has less acidity to remove hardness.

[OLTB]

I note everyone on this thread has a great solution to making tapwater taste good in those areas where it doesn't already.

Your Lemon Slice, or Lemon Quarter, is just the job. Softens hard water, and adds a pleasant tang to any water. Lemon is ideal, and for a bit of variety substitute other citrus like grapefruit, lime, or orange from time to time.

Another option is mint, though that has less acidity to remove hardness.

I live in an area that has hard-ish water (Bristol) and do what UE says above. Each morning when I wake up, I drink 12 fluid oz of tap water with four grinds of sea salt and juice of one lemon (you get used to it!). Then, if I am out for the day, I have a water bottle that has an internal container with small holes in it into which I put pieces of fruit to flavour the water through the day - I use either slices of orange/lemon/pineapple that I have pre-sliced and frozen.

I have never lived in London or other areas with very hard water, but can appreciate that this must be quite different from what I am used to and so can see the appeal of bottled water.

Cheers, OLTB.

[Grumpi]

Did you notice that Evian spelt backwards is naive?

[UncleEbenezer]

Did you notice that Evian spelt backwards is naive?

I had naïvely missed that.

Each morning when I wake up, I drink 12 fluid oz of tap water with four grinds of sea salt and juice of one lemon (you get used to it!).

That's not so much flavoured water as a whole different drink! I'd be fine with that much lemon (though I wouldn't normally use more than a slice), but I'd struggle with the salt.
Come to think of it, you get a kiddies fizzy drink by adding lemon and soda to water. I guess lemon and salt might be a little like that, but without the fizz?

[OLTB]

Oh yes - I forgot about the ice cubes in Sainsburys freezer section ... buying ... ice...if any of you have smaller children and have watched The Lorax, the ‘baddie’ has a monopoly on bottled air.

Cheers, OLTB.

[Skotch]

Only time I but bottled water is to use in my beer home brew - Aldi spring water at about 20p a 2 Litre bottle is as much as I'm prepared to pay. The only reason I get it at all is that the tap water just doesn't have the same taste in the final brew