To ask for decent alternatives to bottled water?

[b123p]

Will start this by saying:

I know I'm a privileged snowflake.
I also know that plastic bottles are horrible for the environment, and drinking out of them is said to not be good for the human body too.

But I drink the best part of three litres of water a day, and have found that Brita water filters don't take the edge off tap water for me. If I try and wean myself off the bottled water, I don't drink as much, and my body feels terrible.

Does anyone have any water filter/filter tap recommendations, or alternatives to bottled water that still taste nice? Lakeland has this fancy one

www.lakeland.co.uk/73247/ZeroWater-5-Stage-Water-Filter-Jug-with-Free-TDS-Meter-1-7L

but reluctant to take a punt without knowing more, and the price of the filters is quite nausea-inducing!

Thanks in advance.

I drink tap water because our body needs minerals.

Carbon filters like Brita don't remove minerals from drinking water, the pores are far too large.

If you don't like how tap or filtered water tastes then I don't see anything wrong in getting bottled water. It's going to be healthier than any squash or soft drinks.

Though you could try different filter options. If it's a hard water area maybe get a water softener, I think they usually plumb into your pipes?

If you replace all tap or bottled water you are drinking daily with filtered water you may get headaches from dehydration

😂😂😂 no way that is true what a load of nonsense. I never drink tap water,drink loads of bottled water because our water is undrinkable in our area and I'm perfectly hydrated thanks!
OP look on your local water company's website. On one near me it says the way to avoid the weird taste is to let the water stand for a while and put it in the fridge for a while before drinking. This settling makes it taste better apparently.

I was going to suggest a Brita filter then let it stand in the fridge for a while? Refrigerated water always tastes infinitely better to me!

Filter + stand in a fridge + cucumber or mint. Yum.

The berkey water filter is fabulous, although stupidly expensive. How much do you spend on bottled water in a year?

Maybe you could try just mixing half bottled with half tap? Or even a smaller proportion of tap and building up? Or that plus one of the other things people have suggested.

I'd be wary of adding citrus fruit because of the acid on your teeth, but cucumber water is lovely.

@Turkeybear maybe that's the problem as this was in a new build 'Halls' at the university. I haven't tasted it this year where she is in an old house so maybe it is okay there

I make fruit tea in a big bottle and chill it. There is no actual tea in the bags and no sugar, they just make water more interesting. I don't actually like the taste of water and never drink it.

I stick lots of ice in mine, and it removes any 'taste'

Our tap water does not taste pleasant either. I have bought a couple of those glass bottles with the stoppers (like you get in cafes sometimes) and fill those from the tap and keep in the fridge. The water actually tastes much better when it is chilled and has been standing in the fridge for a while.

I love water and drink it in preference to anything else so I am not the best person to ask but cucumber water is lovely....
Don’t bother with a water softener as you can’t drink the water due to the salt they add.

Have you tried these new cold infusions from the herbal tea aisle

www.twinings.co.uk/tea/cold-infuse

Bobble bottles and jugs are good at removing the chlorine taste if that's the problem. The jugs are not a fabulous design as the spout cover doesn't pop open and you have to flip it manually. But I put up with it because the water is nice and the jug fits in the fridge. I have a Brita on the counter for tea and cooking and the bobble in the fridge.

"because our water is undrinkable in our area"

Is it actually undrinkable or does it just not taste nice?

The suggestions to run a load of water into a jug and leave it in the fridge really, really do work, and I will post that ad infinitum if necessary if it saves just one more sea creature from the deluge of plastic we produce. The chlorine smell disperses quite quickly.

We just put tap water in the fridge. My OH swears it tastes different. I don't have any problem drinking tap water to be honest.

I have a couple of large glass bottles which I fill with tap water and store in the fridge.

Very cold water doesn't taste of much - although our water is quite nice here anyway.

Make some iced tea?

Try putting it through a Sodastream to make fizzy water.

Get the really huge bottles of mineral water (Tesco do 5 litre ones) from the supermarket then decant into a reusable bottle or glass as required? It's still bottled water but less plastic overall as the bottles are so big.

If you leave tap water in an uncovered jug or other container with a wide surface area, it will only take about 5 minutes for the chlorine to dissipate. You can then bottle it and put it in the fridge.

I think a lot of the posters saying "what's wrong with tap water" are lucky enough to have nice tasting, non chalky/tainted water where they live.

I'm an army brat and have lived all over uk and in Europe too and the quality and taste of tap water varies greatly around the uk. Partly natural variation, partly pipes etc and partly down to which water companies are dealing with it.

Sorry op no suggestions as I drink bottled too. I'm in a soft water area but the tap water tastes - almost greasy?! No idea why! It's just odd! I've tried various filters etc but found none that make it palatable.

I like bottled water but I buy it in glass bottles.

I buy the San Pellegrino sparkling in large bottles to use at home and tiny bottles to use on the go. I buy cases from cash n carry when it's on offer.

Tesco own brand is good too and v. Cheap.

Tap water is best from the fridge and left over night.So many blind testings are done on bottled v tap water and most people cannot really tell the difference.
I drink most of my water as tea,don't live in a hot contry so don't need 3 litres a day.

Best alternative comes in a tap, look, just over there. That's right, some first world privilege we're lucky to have. Clean accessible water that's safe to drink.