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BANG FOR THE BITE
Pitcher or faucet filters cost about $600 over 5 years. Bottled water services or bottles cost nearly $2000 in that same timeframe!
COCKTAIL FACT
The average person in the United States uses between 80-100 gallons of water per day (flushing the toilet actually accounts for most of this).
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home › tip library › Faucet-Mounted Water Filters
Love your bottled water but feel a little naughty each time you toss the plastic bottle in the recycle bin?
The Bite
Use water filters instead - tap water might contain contaminants, but (believe it or not) bottled water isn't always cleaner. Use home water filters such as faucet-mounted or pitcher filters - the best way to ensure a clean supply of drinking water at home.The Benefits
- Save the 1.5 million tons of plastic expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.
- Get rid of contaminants normally found in tap water such as chlorine, cryptosporidium, Giardia, lead and pesticide runoff.
- Save money - check out the Bang for the Bite (left) for the juicy details.
- Filters are a safer bet - up to 40% of all bottled water comes from a city water system, just like tap water.
Personally Speaking
We all have faucet-mounted Brita filters and are somewhat notorious for refilling and carrying our Biter Bottles with us everywhere. Jen even takes hers into restaurants, much to the chagrin of her dinner dates.Wanna Try?
- Brita - this is our favorite - $34.99 (refill filters are $32.99 for 2)
- Biter Bottles - the lightest, highest quality reusable option is our very own resin-lined aluminum SIGG bottle, in silver and gold ($20).
- Pur - very pretty, for you brushed chrome lovers... $49.49 (replacement filters: 4 for $37.98)
- Top 10 home water filters, water purifiers & water treatment system brands compared by price, performance and ongoing costs
- Nice cost comparison of various water filter options available
Aug 15,2005
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
I Think I Have Giardia (I Really Do)
Tonight, I hosted a little Sunday dinner with some friends - tomatoes and basil and CSA produce and lots of good stories and chats in spite of the mad torrential downpour and lightning storm that drove us indoors.
In a complete change of pace from my normal offering of copious amounts of wine with dinner; tonight, I decided to try to beat the infernal August heat by starting with gin and tonics. Sadly, my freezer is the size of a child's lunchbox - with no room for ice trays - which is why I found myself buying ice at the local supermarket this afternoon.
Paying for Frozen WaterBuying ice seems so idiotic to me. It's water. Probably tap water. Frozen.
The whole "buying water" concept in general has always seemed stupid to me. Don't get me wrong - I like my water. I grew up being forced to drink a ton of it, and I continued on in adulthood. In fact, all that water I drank as a kid was water from a well. And when I wasn't drinking well water, I drank it directly out of a mountain creek (and THAT was laced with giardia so my brother and I have a slight tolerance for the bug...).
All in all, I have never considered water to be something worth PURCHASING unless I was in a bind on a road trip.
Which is why I was glad to discover my faucet filter - I no longer have to buy bottles of water or keep filling my pitcher to ensure that I'm not throwing something nasty into my system. Instead, I flip a switch on my faucet, and viola! Instant, clean water.
I think it even traps the giardia.
-Heather... off to do some dishes and drink some Brita-ed water while watching Entourage...
Biter Comments...
Whenever I buy bottled water, I justify it by realizing that I'm actually buying personal-sized disposable containers that just happen to be holding water. Even still it seems ridiculously expensive.
But carrying around water in a bottle almost ensures me that I won't buy something less healthy, such as a soda. So I'm paying exorbitant amounts of money (over time) to keep me from drinking something that costs about the same, appears greater in value, but is in reality much worse for me.
It's weird that's what it's come to. Damn you, society, for making purchasing water the norm.
Andrew - so true - I am paying for the energy. It just seems to me that I should be able to make my own ice at home. But my sad little freezer won't allow it.
And yes - I think "Damn you, society," often, Ajit. Mostly when I buy trendy earrings that I can't afford. But often, yes, when buying water as well :)
Just saw an article today about the non-benefits of bottled water and thought of this tip. Here's the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20060204/wl_oneworld/45361268291139089785
Also, a couple years ago, I read something about how the plastic used for *disposable* water bottles shouldn't be re-used because it's linked to an increased risk of cancer. I'm no expert, but seems to me if you consistently drink water from these bottles, even the first time around, there would be an increased risk. I'm sure it's a fraction of a risk, but just doesn't seem too healthy to me.
I too enjoy my brita water. However, I'm curious about all of those used up filters. Are there options for recycling these or are filters available that would have less impact?
A somewhat less guilty way to enjoy bottled water is to buy brands that package in corn-based, biodegradable bottles. One brand I know of is called BIOTA. A little difficult to find, but it's nice to know you're doing your little bit to reduce oil consumption.
I use a Brita filter, and fill up a Nalgene bottle if I want water on the go. Works for me, but I have heard that metal bottles are even better Kanteen and Sigg make lightweight ones which do not leach or degrade at all. If at all possible, giving up the bottled water habit is a good idea. Even if you recycle those bottles, that takes a lot of energy, too. Good idea to look into recycling the Brita filters....
Do filters help to filter out flouride that has been added to water?
I use bottled water because the water in San Diego tastes terrible. However, I wonder what one does with the used filters if they are used instead for in home filtering...
I see no mention anywhere of fridge filters - are those as good or better than faucet filters? We also get the benefit of filtered ice cubes too - and how's that for convenient? So I just keep filling my plastic or hard plastic bottle.
At work, they gave me a company logo'd hard plastic personal water jug, and I fill it every morning from the water in the 5 gal container and drink that all day...
I don't often buy the packs of bottled water for that very reason - many come from "springs" of city water, etc :)
It is ironic that bottled water is often no better than tap water--and that no one is regulating "spring" and bottled water, but municipal water must meet regulatory requirements. I agree that using filters at home is definitely one possible solution to reducing the waste (and other associated expeditures of energy and cost to produce and truck that bottled water).
Re: bottled water as a disposable container--"disposable containers" in general ought to be a large concern for all who are concerned about our planet. Personally, I hate purchasing bottles of water or cans of soda when I'm out because there aren't usually recycling containers next to trash cans. Instead, I'll generally carry the empty container home to ultimately recycle it.
I recently made the switch from refilling disposable water bottles (which isn't recommended because bacteria will eventually grow inside, and washing can cause leeching of the plastic) to an aluminum SIGG bottle. I carry it on my commute to and from work each day, using it at work instead of plastic or paper cups at the water cooler, and often carry it to lunch to avoid the waste of having to use a single-serving disposable container. A little extreme, perhaps, but, like other things, once you start doing it regularly, it just becomes a habit.
Tread lightly.
The Brita water filters only remove the chlorine taste...not all the chlorine itself. They're not as thorough as you are preaching it to be. Reverse osmosis process is your best bet.
I never buy water and always reuse the bottles when I get one at a meeting or something. Our water has always seemed very clean to me - it sure tastes better than in many parts of the country I've been in. However, I find the bottles eventually get moldy and I have to recycle them. Is there a way to prevent that?
In 2004, theer was a huge public outcry in UK, against Coke, which was marketing 'Dasani' as water, purified using highly advanced technology, similar to ones used in NASA spacecrafts, when actually they were using modest 'reverse osmosis' process on water from the mains. Coke was forced to withdraw its brand from the UK market and the bad publicity caused it to abandon its plans to enter the rest of the european market!
In the USA, The quality of public water is regulated by EPA (Environmental protection Agency) and bottled water transferred between states is montioned by FDA (Food and Drug Administration). But bottled water inside a state is regulated by state laws and these are inconsistent, and also depend on the companies, to monitor their own product! The brands (about 25%), that actually using water from mountain springs are slowly but surely draining the springs dry, depleting the ground water source as well as destroying the natural habitat around the natural springs
"Worldwide, people spent $100 billion on bottled water last year," ....... "That's three times more than the amount that we'd need to spend to meet the United Nation's goals of giving everyone access to water by 2015."
In one of the 'Tap water tasting challenges', in San Francisco, in March this year, residents of san francisco, could not find the difference between tap water and bottled water ! But then how effective is the water treatment system in San Francisco, and how reliable and safe are the water distribution systems, when you take into consideration arsenic pollution from underground natural deposits and contamination from lead through deteriorating pipes? According to NRDC (Natural Resouces, Defence Council), except for some cities, like San Francisco and Atlanta, most other cities have fairly reliable tap water ! All the more reason to buy Britta!
you don't need to filter water to get rid of the chlorine, it evaporates out. you can just fill a jug with your tap water, let it sit with the lid off, and a little while later, all the chlorine will have gone and taken its icky taste with it.
YOU SHOULD NEVER REUSE PLASTIC BOTTLES!!! The plastic in bottles contains softeners that leak out of the plastic and disrupt the hormones in your body. I don't drink out of any plastic unless it's #'s 2, 4, or 5. I mainly drink out of glass.
BRITA DOES NOT REMOVE FLUORIDE. It gives water that clean 'taste'. You can purchase filters to remove fluoride but you have to check. Anything that is that heavily mass marketed, you know isn't going to be that good for you. It's just part of their agenda.
Research RO/DI at reefcentral.com, I got an RO/DI filter for my aquarium, and piped RO to the ice maker and drink RO on a regular basis. I have two systems from e-bay seller aquasafesystems. They are GREAT, and the customer support is wonderful too. DON'T buy an RO unit locally, especially after you check out the prices.
http://www.pureh2o.co.uk/franchise.html (click on the Pure H2O now on tap
May 2000)
I have a pdf showing the types and sizes of different particles. Salts, sugars, tobacco smoke, virus, bacteria, hair, sand, flour....but I can't paste the source as I'm not sure where it is.
I don't see any mention of aeration in the posted comments. I use a jug filter for flat water, but buy seltzer water because it is so much cheaper than aerating water myself. Has anybody come across an affordable aeration system?
That is a good question. I continue to buy seltzer water because it's cheaper than buying the cartidges and doing it myself. If anyone knows of a cheaper way to aerate, please tell! I just haven't run across anything that will beat the $3 I pay for a crate of seltzer water, about 12 liters.
I live in earthquake country and a faucet filtering system is not going to provide an emergency water supply.I'll pay for the water as insurance that I have water when the disaster strikes.
The place I work provides water and ice (and tiny little cups that hold only about a mouthful of each) for us but at the same time doesnt want you getting out of your seat a million times a day to repeatedly fill up the tiny cups...So, I am guilty of "buying water". I buy a large bottle so I am ensured that I will have enough to drink throughout the day!!
We fitted a whole house water filter when we moved into our house 2 years ago, The water certainly tastes better but it is hard to know when to change the filter and I wonder if an old filter is worse for you than not filtering the water (can germs breed in it?) Does anyone know?
great tip on the water thing. but using the filter should concentrate the bad stuff so now we got a new problem made of plastic containing worse.
what to do??
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: andrew | August 15, 2005 at 07:34 AM