Recently, I freaked out on my bf after he cracked open a plastic water bottle…at my house. Yes, I did purchase the case, but it was solely meant for a road trip AND other “emergencies”.
Suffice to say, I hate the idea of bottled water. When did drinking tap water become uncool or unsafe for that matter? I grew up drinking tap water and the last I checked, I didn’t sprout an extra limb! So how did bottled water become the latest rage??
(If this post was about exploring how bottled water became popularised, the quick answers would be FEAR and CONVENIENCE. Instead, I want to talk about the alternatives.)
To steer away from bottled water, I try to drink water that has been previously boiled from a kettle. On the go, I’ll use a stainless steel canteen, filled with boiled water OR cooler water at work. <– I hope that’s filtered!
Lately though, I’ve gotten lazy to wash/air-dry the canteen. In addition, I’ve dropped it a few times, so it’s all dented, and doesn’t stand up properly. Furthermore, the plastic around the lid has cracked, so it’s not going to last much longer.
Recently, I discovered a relatively inexpensive solution, the water bobble! Designed by a Canadian, and probably one of the most famous industrial designers, Karim Rashid, the water bobble looks like a plastic water bottle, but it comes with a colourful spout that doubles as a carbon filter.
I’ve been using the bobble for about 2 weeks now and here’s my pro/con list:
PRO
– Unlike boiling water, the bobble can be used instantly…just fill it with water straight from the tap. Yeah, I can finally drink cold water without hours of refrigeration!
– Makes me drink more water
– Cheaper, more green than bottled water
– 1 filter = 300 water bottles
– BPA-free
– Lightweight
– Doesn’t leak
– Great for travelling, especially at the airport. Arrive with it empty, fill at the water fountain after customs
CON
– Probably not a good idea to use hot water or water enhancers such as slices of fruit, green tea with this product
– 3 sucks = 1 gulp for me. The suction system doesn’t dispense enough water…without a lot of effort!
– The packaging states, “Do not use where water is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality”, so it’s no miracle worker!
– Uncertainty of when to replace filter. Do I just guestimate how many times it’s been used before buying a new one?
– Bottle and filter (~$7) do eventually have to be replaced at a cost
The pros definitely outweigh the cons, so the bobble is a good addition to any lifestyle!
How do you drink your water?
it is also not able to be recycled right? And is plastic
Is it bad I read this drinking a bottled water?
Oops, I forgot to mention another PRO: It’s made out of recyclable plastic + it’s recyclable, but you’d only change it when it gets worn out.
Tempting but the “sucking” part turns me off. Im not a big fan when bottles have that, your right on how you not much water is dispensed and it also gets dirtier.
I think I’ll stick with regular ol’ tap water. Either by freezing it when half full, or storing it in the Brita pitcher in the fridge. Or, you know, just direct from tap.
I only purchase bottled water if I’m out somewhere and it’s the only option. Course, then I usually get a bottle of Iced Tea or Juice instead.
If this post was about exploring how bottled water became popularised, the quick answers would be FEAR and CONVENIENCE.
Or moving to a different city that has disgusting tasting water? Try Winnipeg water with it’s frequent algae blooms. You smell like algae after you get out of the shower. It’s also heavy and coppery, generally tasting dirty. Even filtering the water there didn’t work for me.
This does read a bit like an op-ed for this bobble.
Britain and use a water bottle…this seems unnecessary and inconvenient.
any coupon codes for this site? 🙂
Unfortunately, there is NO room in my fridge for a Brita…it’s small-ish fridge!
Move to BC, we have great tasting tap water 😉 I make a point to never buy bottled water except for emergency purposes..otherwise it’s kind of silly to buy water that is bottled in BC anyway…
Try living in an area where your well water tests positive for bacteria –then you might think differently about bottled water. Filters do NOT always remove the ‘bad’ stuff–and often does not remove the odour or sediment. Boiling sounds great–but does not always work. So give me my bottled water.. just recycle…
“To steer away from bottled water, I try to drink water that has been previously boiled from a kettle.”
Unless you know that your tap water is unsafe due to bacteria, boiling it won’t help. It actually increases the concentration of any dissolved contaminants. Most city water is drinkable out of the tap.
We have terrible tasting water where I live, so I use a filter to get out the chlorine.
Unless I’m mistaken, I think this article has a few misconceptions. Filtering gets out chemicals, but not unsafe organisms. Boiling deals with the organisms, but not the chemicals. If you’re worried about chemicals, filtering is the way to go but it’s not going to keep you healthy with unsafe water.
I drink tap water at home, have a brita jug in the fridge for my keurig coffee machine. and I take water from home with me to work…
Nevermind that recycling plastic is just as wasteful as creating new plastic, why would you want to risk ingesting toxic chemicals leeched into your water? I never drink bottled water, it tastes gross and its overpriced. Give me tap water, or juice in a pinch, any day. And if your water doesn’t taste good, TALK TO YOUR GOVERNMENT CONTACT PERSON! If enough people would actually talk to them, something would happen. Anyways, that’s my spiel. If your water tastes bad, talk to your councillor or whatever, they are the only ones who can make widespread change.
I think this bottle is a great idea. I do however prefer this one http://vapur.us/ My mother in law got it for me for Christmas. It doesn’t filter the water but there are other great things about this bottle that I love. My favorite thing about it is that when you are done drinking the water you can fold it up! I love my Vapur!
I find the taste of the tap water puts me off. It doesn’t taste bad, but it does taste odd and I’ve found I drink a lot more water if I drink bottled water. That said, I only buy cases of low calorie flavoured water…otherwise I refill my containers from a dispenser at the store. The reverse osmosis system they use (whatever that is) seems to provide water that tastes fine and reusing the bottles/no transport needed is the best I can manage for the environment.
For those with bad tasting water (I understand – My parents house has a serious sulfer tasting problem – which even a Brita filter wouldn’t fix) the better alternative is at least but a water cooler as opposed to individual portioned water-bottles. 1 re-usable cooler of water for $5 at the store… or 24 non-reusable water bottles… Not such a tough call.
Rubbermaid also makes one… its BPA free. I picked it up for $10 in Loblaws. Replacement filters are also $10. There’s also the CamelBak Groove which you can in some sports/outdoor stores. Its $25-$35.
Easy!!! Just keep using your same water bottles, Oh & Try Silver water 😉
The Rubbermaid also has a bigger opening so you can put ice cubes in and the filter has a dial so you can track when it needs replacing. Also has a loop for easy carrying.
http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_Id=RP091951&CatName=Beverage
I use a brita filter,and jug.Also use tap water.No bottled water for me….
Where did you find this bottle?
I have had mine for about a month and just love it. I now have 4 and will never go back. Thank You Karim
Unfortunately I can’t stand the taste of my city water. I have tried boiling it, I have tried a Brita jug in the fridge and also a Brita filter on the tap, but it still tastes weird. If I owned my own place, I would install a fancy filtration system, my in-laws have one and it works great. But I rent so I can’t do that. So I do drink bottled water, although I want to get a water cooler and just buy the big jugs that way I won’t be wasting so much plastic.
We are lucky to have awesome city water, so we drink tap water.
I find it funny when people buy some bottled waters, thinking they are ‘safer/better’, when sometimes they are just some other location’s tap water!
ANY Filtered water is a waste of time unless you have a expensive filter that takes out fluoride or bottled reverse osmosis water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEZ15m-D_n8
Municipal tap water is much safer than bottle water actually. (As seen on “Penn & Teller’s Bullsh@t!”) http://youtu.be/XfPAjUvvnIc
Did you know that Dasani is made with water from Brampton municipal filtered 5 times? So if you buy a Brita and live in Brampton like I do, you can churn up some Dasani at home! Coca Cola won an Ig Nobel for this.
You guys might enjoy Lewis Black’s comment on water. http://youtu.be/yNGWn-aWn5g
I have stinky methane well water, with occasional bacteria issues. It’s nothing a UV light and charcoal filter can’t fix. If you’re really concerned about your municipal water, have a plumber install these for you (or DIY). There are different types of filters that can be used, from sediment to chemicals. It’s incredible to be honest, how it’s even such an issue. Where does your bottled water comes from anyway? Dasani admitted they use tap water. It’s all marketing, and naive people.
Also, a side note, single use bottles should not be reused. That type of plastic (PET1) isn’t meant for it. Chemicals do leech into your water.
Aside from taste/smell, how do you know that your municipal water is safe to drink? Maybe I should just google this.
I find this article hypocritical off the bat:
“Yes, I did purchase the case, but it was solely meant for a road trip AND other “emergencies”. ”
You can put your water in reusable containers for road trips… and if you wait for an “emergency” to use it, it can go stagnant and expire just like any other consumable product. (bottled water lasts about 2 years)
So really, the “fear and convenience” talked about is still within the author herself.
I have been using reverse osmosis water for 12 years now, due to the fact that the town tap water is polluted with bacteria and many other residues which make me sick after 20 minutes of drinking it. Our town is surrounded by many large agricultural livestock operations; manure, pesticides, herbicides & fungicides, rotting fish and other contaminents are a serious issue in our water system. Brita filters & boiling the water did not work for these problems. Nobody in our town drinks the tap water. It makes us very sick with vomiting, diahrrhea, edema, headaches; the more vulnerable persons with serious health issues are severely impacted after using the water. Remember Walkerton!
here the city/muncipality likes to put in constant sounds like taste like gallons of cholorine…sorry but I am allergic to that stuff…excuse me if I don’t like going to the public pool to turn bright red like a tomato after swimming in it even after I try to shower it all off. Its really hard to get the taste or reminents of cholorine out of ones mouth or even body even if you are using a microfilter. Microfilters usually use charcoal to filter the water its cheaper of course if you don’t mind black flecks in your water or felt like you were camp side to the fire pit.
Sure it may be convience to buy water out of bottle but I don’t have a fear there is something in the water because I know they put cholorine in the water…since guess what they do second page of the local paper post they are going to treat the water with cholorine then see how many locals rush to the local stores to stock up on bottled water.Now only I lived off a natural spring…then I be selling you all water lol.
I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows that boiling water and filtering water through a carbon filter server two completely different purposes.
Boiling water kills bacteria/any other microorganisms in the water that are potentially harmful.
Filtering water removes minerals that make water “hard”. The build up you start to see on your kettle after multiple uses are deposits of dissolved minerals. These minerals are NOT harmful, the only reason one might choose to filter water is for the taste.
On a side note, Canadian tap water has to conform to higher standards than bottled water. Therefore, if you are concerned with “clean” water you are probably better off drinking tap water over bottled water.
We have this reverse osmosis filtering system at home, so we can drink the tap water, but we actually boil it too to store in a thermos.
Use a good, reliable under the sink water filter. Do the research, there are a few good ones out there. We’ve been using one for years, the replacement filters are pricey, but it usually last you a year or more, depending on the system. We can actually taste the different. We drink directly from it, make our hot drinks from it and sometimes cook with it. The replacement filters So it actully end up costing less than bottle water. We put the water in reusable plastic bottle that we can open and can actually clean the inside. Not all resusable plastic bottles are created the same, but the Rubbermaid ones we use are BPA free and freezer safe. (We like our water icy cold.)
I would not trust the filter in the bottle, because not all filter are created the same either. Although it may do something, but i doubt if it’s really doing much. Just like the Brita filters, eventhough they are convenient and portable, it does not do the same job as the larger, under the sink filters. I’m also worry that it may do more harm than good in the long run. Whatever the filter is filtering, microscopic things will start to collect in there and you may have to change it more often than you think.
We still use bottle water for its convenient, especially for someone like my husband who tends to be forgettable and looses things. You just need to make sure you recycle them. All these issues with the bottle only comes down to people not recycling them.
Actually I live out in the country side in southern ontario. We have a well problem is…. we share the 100 acres of land around the house with our landlord and my fathers boss and his large tree nursery… Whatever chemicals they use in the fields was down into our water well .. every rain storm causes nothing but havoc on the well water and we tested in about 5 years ago and we recieved an urgent phone call not to consume the water for a few weeks after every rain storm or melting of snow because of high level of bacteria so we have no choice but to drink and cook with bottle water so.. My only beef is that people will forget their half drunk bottles all over the house.. but I found a use for the water.. I pour it into the dogs/cats water dishes so.. better than wastign it.. so.. yaaaa… Some time you can`t help but have bottled water in the house…
Personally I only use a metal water bottle for when I`m running to keep my ice water cold other than that I use the bottled water bottles.
Plus I actively sort the recycle no matter how sick or tired I am.
I too love the Vapur collapsible bottles! I found a two pack of them for $20: http://www.ethicalocean.com/product/vapur-water-bottle-duo-pack BTW this is a great site for more eco-friendly alternatives… they have lots of water bottles as well as other products to help reduce waste.
Use a good, reliable under the sink water filter. Do the research, there are a few good ones out there. We’ve been using one for years and we can actually taste the different. We drink directly from it, make our hot drinks from it and sometimes cook with it. The replacement filters are pricey, but it usually last you a year or more, depending on the system. So it actully end up costing less than bottle water. We put the water in reusable plastic bottles that we can open and can actually clean the inside. Not all resusable plastic bottles are created the same, but the Rubbermaid ones we use are BPA free and freezer safe. (We like our water icy cold.)
I would not trust the filter in the bottle, because not all filters are created the same either. Although it may do something, but i doubt if it’s really doing much. Just like the Brita filter, eventhough they are convenient and portable, it does not do the same job as the larger, under the sink filters. I’m also worry that it may do more harm than good in the long run. Whatever the filter is filtering, microscopic things will start to collect in there and you may have to change it more often than you think.
We still use bottle water for its convenient, especially for someone like my husband who tends to be forgetful and loses things. You just need to make sure you recycle them. All these issues with the bottle only comes down to people not recycling them.
I believe the filters for those bottles last about 6-8 months? I saw them in Superstore with some replacement filters, but it was a while ago so I can’t remember off the top of my head.
My family boils water before drinking it, but I’ve had tap water from other people’s houses and work and so far no extra limbs or illness.
Bottled water in my house is saved for going on trips.
Nobody here uses Culligan?
For those of you interested, i saw this bottle at RW & Co. I believe it came in 2 sizes, but I could be wrong since I saw them last month. But I do remember the filters being sold there for 7-8 dollars.
You know you can actually install a filtering system under your sink.
Tachnically, ALL Canadian tap water is safe to drink staright out of tap. If you don’t like the taste, invest in the filtering system. Or get Brita and let water rest still in the filter over night to improve the taste.
Bottled water is BAD! Not only because it’s wasteful, expensive and bad for the environment. It is full of chemicals. Did you know that recent Can-Amer study found that 9 out of 10 samples of premium bottled water was worse in quality compared to tap water? Just imagine your water bottles travelling in trucks in the summer, all the plastic heated and releasing chemicals inside. Or in the winter, freezing, creating microcracks in the plastic and again releasing chemicals.
Stay away from plastic. If you go to a country with bad sanitation system, bottled water might be smart. But def not in Canada.
I rarely drink bottled water; I don’t like how it feels like it strips the finish off my teeth. I love my City of Stratford water. The colder, the better. I put a pitcher in the fridge (no filters) and the chlorine dissipates. I have an amazing Thermos water bottle from Mountain Equipment Co-op that keeps my water cold for at least 8 hours when I’m on the go (although I refill it a few times a day). I’m a microbiolgist and I have real confidence in our water supply. With bottled/water cooler water you get chemical exposure (BPA), if you go with filters, they can harbour microorganisms (when was the last time you changed your Brita??), and the rest just seems like overkill (unless you live in an area with specific flavour issues-i.e. sulphurous water is grody!). Sure, my water has fluoride and chlorine, but at some point you have to turn your brain off to “this is bad, this is bad…” because something is going to get you in the end.
I’ve been using Brita filter pitcher for YEARS. It completely takes away the chlorine taste. I use the pitcher to fill up kettle/keurig/to-go bottles.
i have been using the bobble for about 3 mounths now and love it ! i dont like only one thing about it ! i dont like how somtimes the water doesnt come out as fast but other then that i love it !
I am looking for a plastic to go cup that has an ice tube in it to keep my beverages, has anyone seen anything like this?
I have two big water-cooler jugs that I refill at the water depot. Instead of having a water cooler, I bought a manual pump with a spout on it. I have an Oggi insulated tumbler that holds about a half-liter of water, and I refill it with ice as-needed. When I’m out of the house, I have a squeezable water bottle that holds about a liter. The refills on the jugs are reasonable and the filling station is just down the street. Plus lifting those two heavy jugs into and out of the car is great for my arms.
For those who are picky about their water (myself being one of them)…I’ve noticed there are “natural, mineral spring water” and “demineralized” water. (dasani and aquafina have great tasting demineralized water)
I noticed that the “natural, mineral spring water” type tastes like dirt. It does not taste good at all. I realized this when in Las Vegas and drinking their tap water, it tastes very similar.
Like SY commented above, BC has great tasting tap water.
I just drink water straight from the tap. I have a Brita around somewhere, but it’s too much of a bother for me. I’ve been drinking tap water all of my life so I’m used to the taste and I refuse to pay for water. I don’t believe that bottled water is any safer than tap water. But whoever thought to bottle it and sell it the first time must be a millionaire by now! 🙂
I enjoy my bottled water
I work for a bottled water plant. It is extremely safe and cheap for the customer. It is more convenient. We are very aware of the environmental impact and have worked through out the years to reduce it. We have paid for tests to ensure that our spring water is renewable.. it is. We have reduced the amount of plastic in our bottles by 30%. When I started our bottle weighed 17.2 g, now it weighs 9.1 g. thats within 10 years. My company is ISO 14001, 18001, 22001 certified and we are constantly working on reducing our impact. When natural or environmental disasters occur we often donate tons of bottles. Our bottle is 100% recyclable and we are currently bottling certain brands of water with 100% recycled material, only problem is that the technology is new and its still expensive. PS. Just for your information Dasani and Aquafina are tap water that works with a reverse osmosis system, my company is pure spring water.
Give me a break? Boiling your tap water? That’s just being paranoid.
lol funny talk tou your government lol sorry we tried that bombarded the MPP office and when the parlimant bill came up for scab labour second bill Mr. Harper told his party to vote the way i vote or your out. Hmmmm so much for my democratic riding its now communism its a joke. We actually have to riot and overthrow them to do anything and people wont so do as you please. You can talk about chemicals in bottled water but whats in the foods you eat , body wash, deod, toothpaste for that matter and flouride. Look it up the natzis used to give the jews that for their teeth in the camps so theyu could deteriate their teeth. Comon people you have to have a better argument than that . We dont live in a fairlyland bubble.
We drink tap water. We do put it in a Brita. Mostly we do this so that it is cold (which is a must for me!) and so that it has a chance to sit to reduce the chlorine taste.
To me, the biggest issue with bottled water is that access to clean water is a basic human right. We are filling the pockets of big businesses like Coca-Cola for bottled water that most of the time, as a previous poster said, is right out of the tap to begin with.
I love the argument that bottled water is “convenient.” How inconvenient is it for me to drive to the store, buy a case for whatever price, drive home, open a bottle, drink it, and hopefully recycle the bottle (never mind the fossil fuels that were burned to make the bottle, transport the empty bottles, fill the bottles, seal the bottles, and transport the full bottles to the store)? Very inconvenient, in my opinion, when compared to going to the tap, filling up a reusable bottle or glass and drinking. Sure, I add in a step where I put it in the refrigerator, which is a step I would do anyway with bottled water.
Drink tap water!!
I suppose we all should go out buy kits to test our own Ph levels of water then another to test what sort of minerals are found in our water then another kit to test how much water we waste daily after we spend 1hr in the washroom then another 2 hours watering our driveways…and they said we had like 3% of the worlds water supply. People pay big bucks to buy the water that may or may not come out of our taps that we ship to other countries…People are still going to drink out of water bottles…if its not in our country it will be in others…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article798991.ece
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/02/08/calgary-fluoride-city-water-supply-removal.html
Anyone worried about the flouride in tap water. This debate has just recently came to my attention.
First off, WHERE IS MY BOBBLE ALREADY?!? Lol, is my free sample of it ever going to actually come??
Second, I think everyone should try to test or find out about how safe their tap water is. I thought mine was fine, I live in Toronto, and my water tasted fine, but it was tested, and found to have a lead level that was slightly too high, so we got another tap filter. If you have young children, even low levels of these chemicals can be harmful, but on the other hand, I think alot of tap water is safe enough for consumption. This type of filtration is good for when you’re on the go, and has the potential to save on alot of bottles of water from ending up in a garbage dump.
Lastly, the hard sucking required doesn’t sound appealing to me, who wants to be sucking for life when your dying of thirst?? lol
Tap water for me!
Many people in my city complain about smell/taste/quality of our city tap water, but I find it just fine. Perhaps since I have been drinking it since the day I was born, and very rarely ever get sick. So I think the water is just fine.
I honestly think ‘big business’ has scared the average person into thinking anything except bottled water is unsafe.
For the average Canadian, I bet if you had your tap water tested, it would be safe to drink. (I know not everywhere would pass this test.. I’m just saying the majority would pass – we aren’t a third world country!).
I had an issue with this bottle a couple of months ago after about 2 weeks use the filter started to stink really badly and when I replaced the filter, it started to smell within a couple of days and that was with constant washing of the bottle and mouthpiece
I’m a strong advocate of drinking tap water, and always have straight from the tap….until recently anyways…
While all water is cleaned perfectly when leaving the water treatment plant, by the time it reaches your tap, it probably has picked up some unfavorable things, and in the case of one of my experiences, something that made me sick.
I live in an apartment, one day I unknowingly drank from the tap when the building was doing maintenance on the water tanks or something. The next day I had e-coli up the whazoo. It was awful, I had to go to the hospital to get a fluid IV because I couldn’t keep down any liquids and was dehydrated. I definately knew I wasn’t the only person affected, I heard wrenching and toilet flushes through the walls. The next thing I knew I saw notices posted everywhere saying “Do not drink the water!”. I was feeling to miserable to be angry or complain at the time.
I still drink from the tap, but it’s filtered now. And if I’m iffy about the water, I boil it also.
BTW, there’s a great exhibit at the ROM now about water: http://www.rom.on.ca/water/
When I was sick, all I wanted was clear, cool, clean water. I wanted to gulp it, I wanted to splash in it, I wanted to touch it, I wanted to smell it. It’s the most precious resource we have, and I am so grateful I live in a part of the world, even a part of Canada, where I don’t want for it at all.
Water contamination during maintenance–signs if not posted early enough don’t help YOU. Keep your public health dept. number or clean water number by the phone in case you have that occur again.
Brita has a filter bottle out now for personal water toting. Walmart, Cdn Tire and Zellers are selling the bottles. Some shopping mall kiosks might have them too. Filter and bottle are BPA-free; plastic gets recycled into consumer plastic products later.
As a pedestrian, carrying a metal water bottle is not going to happen due to how heavy that would be (ditto glass bottle). I have used Gatorade sports drink bottles for water (ideal, little chance of leakage) as well as reusing plastic water bottles.
I have to say, The Bottled Water Dilemma Canada is a honestly quality site. I might like to offer you my personal thanks. Best regards, absolutely adore
fluoride is poison period. they lied and said it helps your teeth..it actually pits them,causing bacteria and plaque to lodge in more.
it affects the brain in learning disabilities…..heard of add adhd odd…attention disorders.
Ireland banned fluoride because of barren wombs…it prevents child birth and causes complications.
we are over populated…control the food and water…control the people.ever notice the cancer increase.
i’m not asking you to believe me but please do research…don’t buy anything the news and government sells you…without question..they want to end 90% of the worlds population.for reasons being…to sustain life on earth.
youtube+ ireland+ fluoride….check it out
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