Bottled Water From The Faucet? Say It Ain't So!

[The Central Scrutinizer]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27/pepsico.aquafina.reut/index.html

Not surprising really. Why anyone would buy a bottle of water when it comes out of the faucet for free (or almost free) is beyond me.

[Overman]

Radon.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Radon.

What about it?

[BPSCG]

Not surprising really. Why anyone would buy a bottle of water when it comes out of the faucet for free (or almost free) is beyond me.

Start with the premise that there are a great many people who could have the contents of their skulls exchanged with the contents of a Hostess Apple Pie, with no damage done to anyone except the pie.

From there, the logic chain should be pretty straightforward.

I liked this:

Pepsi and Coke do not make a lot of profit" on bottled water, said Kolpak, adding that people may talk about the issue, but will likely continue buying some bottled water. If Pepsi and Coke can't make a lot of profit selling tap water for a dollar a pint, someone needs to be fired.

[ponderingturtle]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27/pepsico.aquafina.reut/index.html

Not surprising really. Why anyone would buy a bottle of water when it comes out of the faucet for free (or almost free) is beyond me.

Well if you don't have a convient bottle and want water, or have good access to tap water then it can make sense. Also some tap water tastes really nasty. But filters generaly work fine for that.

[Overman]

Radon is present in a lot of facuet water...my old water bill came with a statement of exactly how much...Radon is a carcogin, so it is good to take less in of it.

I have well water now, and it tastes and smells(even though I can't smell it anymore from living here to long) funky. We tried brita, but we also have so much Iron in our water that it just turns everything red. The toliet, the bathtub, my hair...

[brodski]

been there done that in the UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3523303.stm and then coke managed to really mess it up by taking safe drinking water from the mains supply, and adding toxic chemicals to it!


For some reason coke no llonger sells bottled water in the UK...

[Morrigan]

My tap water is awful. For some reason, the tap from the bathroom is not nearly as bad, but the tap water from the kitchen tastes awful, even with filters.

I don't buy a lot of bottled water though. I always fill a bottle from my workplace's watercooler to bring home :D or from my dojo's tap water after my kendo class, which does taste perfectly fine. Go figure.

[Checkmite]

My tap water is awful. For some reason, the tap from the bathroom is not nearly as bad, but the tap water from the kitchen tastes awful, even with filters.

I don't buy a lot of bottled water though. I always fill a bottle from my workplace's watercooler to bring home :D or from my dojo's tap water after my kendo class, which does taste perfectly fine. Go figure.

If water from two different taps in the same house tastes significantly different, the problem is your service pipes. Also, funk buildup inside the faucet might affect the water's taste; they're not that expensive. Replace your kitchen faucet!

[Michael Redman]

At a grocery store, you can get bottled water quite cheap. Although (in this country) almost every municipal water supply is quite clean, they don't always put a lot of effort in removing compounds that effect taste and smell, so I don't really have any problem with people buying bottled drinking water if they like it better. Plus, as mentioned, there is the convenience. I buy bottled water while traveling all the time.

However, I think it's interesting, and a little strange, that Europeans seemed offended that they were being sold purified tap water (rather than water straight out of some mineral laden spring, I guess). If you like the taste of all those minerals in your water, have at it. However, some people prefer water that doesn't have anything in it, and the best way to get that is to buy clean drinking water, and filter it further. Coke never pretended that the water was anything else, and I'm a little confused as to why anyone would be surprised or disappointed.

[BPSCG]

Nastiest water I ever tasted out of a tap: Garland, Texas. Mrs. BPSCG's dad used to say it tasted like they'd dredged it out of the bottom of Lake Ray Hubbard, and he was right. A glass of it tasted like someone had stirred a spoonful of dirt into it. Couple that with the fact that his idea of coffee involved near-homeopathic dilutions of ground Folger's and you had something not fit for human or even animal consumption.

Our drinking water is pretty heavy on the chlorine, but the refrigerator filter does a good job getting rid of it. I fill a pint bottle every day to take to work.

[a_unique_person]

I know that when I went on a holiday in Thailand, we were advised to only use bottled water. It seemed to work.

In Australia, I only drink tap water.

[Beerina]

Idiots drink bottled water for $1.59 per bottle when there's no evidence it "works any better", and tests show few if any people can actually tell the difference.

I, for one, welcome the lifting of cash from the pockets of idiots.

See also: Bags of dirt for $8.00.

[brodski]

I, for one, welcome the lifting of cash from the pockets of idiots.


By any form of woo, or just with water?

[Upchurch]

See also: Bags of dirt for $8.00.
I'll plead guilty to that one, but my yard is comprised of a little bit of clay and a whole lot of demolished house. Brick, masonry, and glass does nothing for the vegetables.

[ponderingturtle]

I'll plead guilty to that one, but my yard is comprised of a little bit of clay and a whole lot of demolished house. Brick, masonry, and glass does nothing for the vegetables.

How much was it per yard, and how many yards do you need for them to make a delivery? Then there is also the issue of quality of the dirt.

[Upchurch]

How much was it per yard, and how many yards do you need for them to make a delivery? Then there is also the issue of quality of the dirt.

Oh, we only bought it for a raised vegetable garden that I built. Less than 16 ft3 worth of dirt. I couldn't even tell you how much we paid for it, but I did buy the stuff.

[Dorian Gray]

If people are willing to pay for the convenience, then who cares? As long as it says 'tap water' on the label.

[Dorian Gray]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27/pepsico.aquafina.reut/index.html

Not surprising really. Why anyone would buy a bottle of water when it comes out of the faucet for free (or almost free) is beyond me.

Why would anyone go to a restaurant when cooking it at home is cheaper? Why would anyone pay for natural gas when cutting down a tree for heat is cheaper? and so on.

The answer is: a. convenience and b. because they can.

[fuelair]

Radon is present in a lot of facuet water...my old water bill came with a statement of exactly how much...Radon is a carcogin, so it is good to take less in of it.

I have well water now, and it tastes and smells(even though I can't smell it anymore from living here to long) funky. We tried brita, but we also have so much Iron in our water that it just turns everything red. The toliet, the bathtub, my hair...Have you considered a sand (iron) filter? Minor effort to clean and let's you have a reason to play with KMnO3 (one of my faves!!)!!:D

[Daylight]

My understanding is bottled water is considered a snack food, so the FDA regs that regulate what is in it allow for quite a bit of stuff (bug parts and chemicals). On the other hand most city water supplies are tightly regulated (at the source). Of course getting a city to fix a water issue is the tough part. So what you get at your end could be different.

[ponderingturtle]

Oh, we only bought it for a raised vegetable garden that I built. Less than 16 ft3 worth of dirt. I couldn't even tell you how much we paid for it, but I did buy the stuff.

We did the same for a raised vegetable garden. Easier and not much more expensive than getting it delivered, and we got a mix of manure and peat to mix in at the same time.

[Wheezebucket]

I love tap water!

[Cain]

Mindbottling. The boom in bottled water over the last seven or eight years has quietly infuriated me. Soda isn't much better, seeing as how it's sugar water that's basically bad for you, but we literally have water on tap. It's available. You can buy a filter. I can understand having bottles in order to reuse them, but the amount of waste is just astonishing. This is the sort of thing that needs to be slapped with a stiff stupid tax.

[Bikewer]

The resources involved in the production of the bottles is fairly staggering as well. They said on a news segment the other night that most all these bottles are produced in China, shipped through the Middle East, and then on to distributors/bottlers all over.
Science Friday had a nice segment on this, indicating the petroleum resources involved, the shipping expenses, and the fact that virtually none of the bottles are degradable nor recycled.

[tkingdoll]

For some reason coke no llonger sells bottled water in the UK...

Oh how soon thou hast spoken. Too soon, I am afraid. Coke is launching a new water at the end of this year to compete with Pepsi's Drench.

It will be called Chaudfontaine. Much better than 'Dasani'.:boggled:

[Art Vandelay]

I'll plead guilty to that one, but my yard is comprised of a little bit of clay and a whole lot of demolished house.Your yard is composed of clay and demolished house.

[WildCat]

Your yard is composed of clay and demolished house.
You'd be amazed what you find digging in the yard in the city. It took me 2 days to dig 8 fence posts a few years back, because the ground was mostly old bricks left over from when they built the place in 1914. I had to use a pneumatic chisel to dig down through it to the proper depth. I hope I never have to replace that fence again!

[kellyb]

I live over an artesian well, and here we have the most wonderful tapwater you could ever imagine.
I do buy bottled water every once in a while, though, just because when I'm thirsty, everything besides water just makes me feel more thirsty. So I end up paying a dollar for water from my own city's municipal water company. (Dasani and Aquafina are both bottled here from our water).
If I lived in some city with icky tap water I'd probably regularly pay for "my" water, too, though...and consider it money well spent.

[Upchurch]

You'd be amazed what you find digging in the yard in the city.
I have a double lot in the city. My side yard used to hold a house nearly identical to mine. Near as I can figure, they collapsed the whole thing as they found it into the basement. I keep pulling up bits of plates and, once, a shirt. Kinda creepy.

[Sir Robin Goodfellow]

Am I the only one who doesn't drink a lot of water? I drink it at work because there's no alternative, but at home I drink something with flavour. I drink a lot of tea. Water is just too bland.

[Modified]

Our tap water smells a bit like the lake I fish in, the bottom of which is covered with rotting vegetation. Not surprisingly, that's where it comes from. We buy distilled water for 59 cents a gallon. I've considered one of those two-gallon-a-day water distillers, but it seems they generate a lot of heat, which is not good in these parts.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Why would anyone go to a restaurant when cooking it at home is cheaper?

Because the cook at the restaurant is better. And you don't have to clean up.

Why would anyone pay for natural gas when cutting down a tree for heat is cheaper?

Less work. And are you sure it's cheaper? You're not factoring in the cost of the gas for the chain saw and the labor involved.

Bad examples.

[Iamme]

I live over an artesian well, and here we have the most wonderful tapwater you could ever imagine.
I do buy bottled water every once in a while, though, just because when I'm thirsty, everything besides water just makes me feel more thirsty. So I end up paying a dollar for water from my own city's municipal water company. (Dasani and Aquafina are both bottled here from our water).
If I lived in some city with icky tap water I'd probably regularly pay for "my" water, too, though...and consider it money well spent.

Really? Right over an artesian well? Is your house foundation made out of air mattresses?

[kellyb]

Really? Right over an artesian well? Is your house foundation made out of air mattresses?

Oops...should have said I live over an aquifer. And we get to the water via artesian wells.

[Snide]

Your yard is composed of clay and demolished house.It appears Upchurch's yard is composed of clay and demolished house.

[EvilSmurf]

Soda isn't much better, seeing as how it's High Fructose Corn Syrup water that's basically bad for you, but we literally have water on tap.

Fixed.

[zooterkin]

I'm not sure what the reasons for people buying bottled water when what comes out of the tap is probably of a higher quality are, but I can think of some, at least for the UK. I saw someone walking into the office the other day with two bottles of mineral water (and pausing to put a third into a rubbish bin, when it could have been recycled) when we have water coolers (cooled and filtered tap water) at work, and very nearly asked them why.

I'm pretty sure it's a generational thing, mostly people below a certain age that buy bottled water, at least in the UK; I'd guess at mid-30s. I have a feeling that drinking bottled water may have started with the rave culture, when people took ecstasy rather than alcohol, and drank water; at least I remember seeing plenty of photos of groups of clubbers holding bottles, and don't recall it being common before then. I think from there the idea got into wider popular culture, together with the myth of needing to drink 2 litres of water a day. There's other factors too, more travel to the continent where mineral water is more commonly drunk (the British have tended to believe the water is not safe to drink abroad, anyway) for one.

[Iamme]

Maybe the owner of Coors Brewery got this whole fad going with hhis mountain stream ads. After all, it be natural to assume that such water may be the cleanest in the world, as opposed to say, water that comes from the Lake Erie area, for example.

[RandFan]

Start with the premise that there are a great many people who could have the contents of their skulls exchanged with the contents of a Hostess Apple Pie, with no damage done to anyone except the pie.

From there, the logic chain should be pretty straightforward.Agreed, but then my tap water is Colorado river water high in dissolved solids including iron, lime and calcium. I buy bottled water at a local dispenser for a fraction of the cost of bottled water at the grocery store. When I am not at home I pay the extra price to avoid the crappy tap watter that often even has undissolved solids. When I'm in Mammoth I will buy bottled water out of convenience but I love the tap water.

If Pepsi and Coke can't make a lot of profit selling tap water for a dollar a pint, someone needs to be fired.Pepsi and Coke don't sell tap water for a dollar a pint. Pepsi and Coke are wholesalers.

[gnome]

I actually performed a double-blind test in my home to see if my SO, her kids, and myself had a preference between unfiltered tap water, filtered tap water, and bottled water.

As far as taste goes, the bottled water won every time. I wanted it to lose :)

In any case, I do drink bottled water bought in gallons from the store... because it DOES taste better than my tap water. What incenses me is how uncommon it is that the tap water is of adequate taste... I don't think it would take a lot to make it so... we could have fine water coming right into our homes with an infrastructure that already exists, but instead we spend dollars on what costs the store pennies, surely.

[Dorian Gray]

Because the cook at the restaurant is better. And you don't have to clean up. Then apply that logic to bottled water. Convenience.

Less work. And are you sure it's cheaper? You're not factoring in the cost of the gas for the chain saw and the labor involved.

Bad examples.Axe, not chain saw.

And again, sounds like you'll pay more for convenience, so what is the problem with bottled water?