Water Filtration

A water cooler for home! Do you really need one? According to the Pacific Institute, in 2008, 53% of Americans were worried a great deal about pollution of drinking water (Top Environmental Concerns of the American Public: Selected Years, 1997-2008).

If you don’t trust your city water, you do have a couple of choices: filter your water at Point of Use; or purchase bottled water. With bottled water, you can buy cases of little plastic bottles, contributing to landfill problems. Or, you can have chilled, ready to drink spring water from a cooler which holds 5 gallons of great tasting water.

So what is a water cooler anyhow? It’s a freestanding device that cools water for drinking. This includes both bottled and bottle-less water coolers.

Most floor mounted water coolers are around 3′ high. However, there are table-top models also available on the market, if you have room on your counter top or table.

There are basically two different types of water coolers available on the market:

Point Of Use water cooler: This cooler connects to your city supplied water system, and holds the water chilled, ready for drinking. Also called a bottle-less cooler, there are filtered and unfiltered units available.

Bottled-Water cooler: This cooler dispenses water from a removable plastic (or rarely, glass) bottle commonly positioned on top of the unit. Most bottles are 5 gallons, but 3 gallon bottles are also available on the market.

There are a couple of different types of bottled water available:

Spring water is the most popular. Spring water is generally defined as groundwater that flows naturally and discharges to the land surface or into a a stream, river, or lak About 75% of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from natural underground sources, which include rivers, lakes, springs and artesian wells, according to the FDA.

Purified water, which may have been purified by any one of a number of methods, may have started out as plain old city water. The most popular method for this water to be purified include reverse osmosis, de-ionization, and distillation; various methods of filtration may also be used, depending on the bottler. According to a four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council about 25% of U.S. bottled water sold is purified city water.

Most water coolers have cold and room temperature water dispensing… more expensive units have a heater. Here are the types available:

Cold-Only Units: These units dispense either cold water only. They use a refrigeration unit to keep the water cold.

Cook-and-Cold Units: These units dispense both cold and room-temperature water, the latter primarily for use for cooking, hence the “cook” part of the title (no, the water isn’t cooked in the cooler!)

Hot-and-Cold Units: These units dispense both hot and cold water. Some units may even have a third tap for room-temperature water. These models have an electric heater and a refrigeration cycle.

You’re probably wondering, how hard is it to maintain one of these things? Well, not hard at all. It’s generally recommended that you clean the machine on every bottle change.

How to clean your water cooler:

• Unplug cord from electrical outlet of cooler.
• Remove the empty bottle from your cooler.
• Prepare a disinfecting solution by adding one tablespoon of household bleach to one gallon of water. I have personally used a stronger blend of bleach; just make sure you rinse your cooler thoroughly (as below). Other disinfecting solutions may be suitable. Some people have had good results with a combination vinegar/water mixture. However, I personally use bleach. You just have to be careful to rinse it extremely well afterwards!
• Pour the bleach solution into the reservoir.
• Wash reservoir thoroughly with bleach solution and let stand for not less than two minutes so as to be effective.
• Drain bleach/disinfection solution from reservoir through faucets.
• Rinse reservoir thoroughly with clean tap water, draining water through faucets, to remove traces of the bleach/disinfection solution. Repeat at the very least, four times.
• Lift off the drip tray under the faucets and wash the tray in mild detergent.
• Rinse well in clean tap water and replace on cooler.

And finally, enjoy your fresh, clean water no matter which type of water cooler you decide on!

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If you are considering adding a bottled water dispenser to a home or office, there are a few features that you should consider before you make your decision. You may be familiar with the plastic dispenser with colored knobs to dispense water. These dispensers have a five gallon jug turned upside down on top of them to provide the filtered water that has been delivered by truck.

In shopping for water dispensers today, you will find dispensers that will hide the bottle or water as well as those which do not require a water bottle. The dispensers without a bottle are actually a self contained water filtration device. Either type of dispenser may offer features such as hot or cold water on tap at all times.

If you choose a dispenser with cold water, you may find that the feature is very useful. Cups or water bottles can be filled and do not need ice. Near boiling water works great for instant soup, hot tea or cocoa. It keeps users from having to heat water for these choices.

As said earlier, bottleless water dispensers are onsite water filtration systems. With bottled water, the water is filtered at a processing plant and kept in the bottles until you use it. Either process works well to remove the contaminates from your water and give you better tasting water.

In the office, many employees appreciate the effort to help them get enough water to drink that does not have a chlorine taste. Workers that have enough to drink are more productive than those who do not drink enough water during the day. By providing a dispenser, the employees do not have to bring their own bottled water to work. Addition of hot or cold water makes the dispenser even more useful to the employees.

There are several things to consider as you choose between the bottle or bottleless dispenser.

To prevent running out of water you must purchase the correct amount of water each week. Since deliveries only come about once per week, if you do not order enough water, you can run out before the week is up. If you order too much water, storage can be a problem, as you must store both empty and full bottles of water. The only required maintenance is to clean the dispenser on occasion.

The bottle-less water coolers do not require the storage area. They are connected to your homes plumbing and filter tap water to give it a great taste. Installation may require that you have the assistance of a plumber. You will be required to change filters on occasion and must clean the reservoir regularly. However, as long as you keep the filter changed, you will always have all the water that you need for your home.

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You can easily find water coolers for the home and office online at discount prices. These wonderful appliances ensure that you’re never without a supply of cool water to refresh yourself with. They have long since been a staple part of many office setups, but they can also be a great idea for your home or study.

Drinking more water is something a great many of us should really be doing (I know I should), and a fresh supply of cold water helps promote a healthy lifestyle while working or simply spending time around the house. The ease of use of these useful and attractive appliances can help you drink a good deal more water, which helps you maintain a healthy diet and a clean respiratory system.

One good thing right now is that these marvelous devices are available at lower prices at present. There are many special offers to take advantage of online, meaning that it is easy to find one of these bottle-less water coolers at a price to suit your own budget. A well-made cooler is a wonderful addition to the home or office, and can aid productivity while keeping thirsts quenched.

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There are many benefits in an office to switching to a bottleless water cooler. You can simplify things around the office, and increase productivity. Productivity is one of the principle, driving factors in the modern workplace. There are many ways in which the old, standard water cooler is causing your work environment to be much less productive.

If you have a rental agreement with your current water provider, then someone in your office has to spend time taking care of the paperwork involved. Someone also has to make sure that you keep track of the timeliness, and efficiency of water delivery. There are a lot of companies that also demand a deposit in the beginning to get your water process started. This is an additional annoyance for your accounting department.

A bottleless water cooler, will eliminate these frustrations, and many more. Once you have bought the machine, there will be no need to worry about any extra paperwork. Once a year, you will have to buy cartridges, and that’s truly all you will have to worry about. It can’t get much easier than that.

A bottleless water cooler system will take water from your own system of plumbing. There are no leases, and paper work to worry about, no deposits, and no tracking necessary. Even if your water cooler paperwork only amounts to 20 minutes of time each month, you are actually losing 4 hours a year, on the water cooler.

Another plus is that you will not have to deal with regular interruptions during the course of your business day, when the delivery guy comes around. With a bottleless water cooler system, you will not have to replace empty bottles yourself, or require that any of your employees do so. Even if your bottles are located right near your system, the process still takes up time, and is a constant annoyance for many. For a small office of 30 people, or less, the average water bottle use expectancy can equal around 15 or 20.

Replacing empty bottles can take up to 5 minutes for each bottle. So for, just 15 bottles, that’s 75 minutes of probable distraction every week to replace the water bottle supply. Once you include an employee’s benefits package, each of your employees can cost approximately $20 each hour. So how much money are you really losing for each hour of employee distraction?

A bottleless water cooler system will replace all of these issues. There is only one 1/2 hour installation, and that is it. You can have it installed during the lunch break, or before the start of business one day. In addition, though many of us feel that distilled, or purified water is completely safe drink, and completely free of bacterium or viral issues, it is not.

It’s the initial product that is completely safe. With conventional bottles, the person delivering, and handling your water often comes in contact with your water source and every bottle installed brings forth the possibility of cross-contamination. The culprit can be the person delivering the water, or the people in the office that install the new bottles. Whenever a bottle seal is removed or handled it creates a chance of illness or infection. This is one of the many reasons why bottleless water coolers are highly superior.

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In common office folklore, we all meet around the water cooler to swap gossip and compare notes. While, this may be a bit of an overstatement, the drinking water cooler is, in fact, a central figure in both offices and homes – always available for a refreshing break in the day.

The office drinking water cooler maintains its popularity simply because of its convenience. No matter when you’re in need of a drink throughout the day, you only need to walk down the hall and refill your cup. More importantly, it provides a healthy alternative to office vending machines that offer high calorie soft drinks. While a caffeinated soda may seem like a good way to get through the day, the truth is that water will go a lot further to keeping you awake and on-task. Savvy water drinkers know that it’s water that makes them feel energized – not endless coffee.

Many offices will also carry a drinking water cooler that provides hot water as well as cold. This can be a great amenity for morning or midday herbal tea drinkers who don’t have access to a kettle at the office.

The reasons that the drinking water cooler has fans at the office are the same reasons it is just as popular in the home. More and more people have turned to the drinking water cooler for a ready supply of clean, refreshing water. While most public water supplies are clean, healthy, and adequate for drinking, some carry toxins, that while unseen to the naked eye, compromise the quality of the water. And bottled water that is purchased in large quantities can be expensive and difficult to store.

For this reason, more and more people choose to have a drinking water cooler right in their home. They know that the quality of the water is never compromised and always consistent; and they have access to it at all times. Many people even claim that drinking water cooler water improves the taste of their coffee and other foods.

Water coolers can be a wonderful way to enjoy quality water on a regular basis – improving the health of you and your family.

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A water cooler is a device that cools as well as gives out water. There are two forms of water coolers: bottle-less coolers and the ones with bottles. The water coolers that have no bottles are connected to a water supply, where as for bottled water coolers you have to take water in big sized bottles from the vendors.

Usually the water coolers are hung on the wall and linked to the building’s water supply system such that water is available at all times. This also means electricity is run too constantly to allow the refrigeration unit to keep the water coming in chilled and fresh and then the water flows to the waste removal system to be given out. Certain forms are the freestanding floor variety. These kinds are more often used in those places where people do not drink water directly from the tap.

Data shows that bottle water coolers are extremely beneficial. They are especially helpful for business. It is easy to use and one can understand the significance of providing all your workers with chilled water and thus rejuvenate them so that they can toil more. Studies show that drinking water at your workplace is the best way to keep yourself fit and fine. All the institutions that have provided its workers with coolers such that they can drink water at anytime of the day have actually cut down on health problems of the employees and raised their output by several times. Figures show that 60% of a man or a woman’s time is spent at his or her office; hence, water cooler systems should be available so that they can refresh themselves. Some institutions are also opting for hot water boilers.

The fresh brands of water coolers are smaller in their dimensions and they can fit in just about any given location.

The forms and designs of the water coolers also altered with the generations. Now we get 6 different kinds of water coolers and not the standard one of yesteryears. They are of various sizes and hues. The buttons and the other navigation keys were trademarks for the different corporation and one could just pick up the water cooler that best suited him or her.

The manufacturers of water coolers revise and modify their designs as according to the health and sanitary demands, change in sterilization methods and the rules and laws for cleansing as well as sanitization. The latest water cooler might be one of a kind and it is difficult to determine what other alterations will be incorporated. However, it is an immensely captivating past that the water cooler has crossed. Water is the most important element for any living being and everyone drinks water to be fit. However, there are still many people who do not consume enough water and hence suffer from dehydration.

In case you and your loved ones do not consume adequate amounts of water each day, then you might suffer from certain problems like loss of quickness of the mind, eyesight, short-term memory, logic structure, proficiency in mathematics, and other studies. The remedy is near at hand: take in glasses of water and remain healthy. There are myriads of water coolers as well as hot water boilers in the market. However, it is strongly recommended that you get one of the high-efficiency a bottle-less water coolers as it provides you with pure and fresh drinking water without the storage and the mess.

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Concerns about contaminated drinking water stations or fountains are not unwarranted. Most of the manufacturers do not include appropriate filtration systems. So, you and your co-workers are consuming whatever contaminants are present in the local water supply.

Chlorine and THMs are chemical contaminants present in practically all publicly treated water supplies. Cysts may also be present at any time, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Lead is a problem in a number of cities, particularly those with older infrastructures. Herbicides and pesticides are big problems in Maryland and the “Corn Belt”. 
 
Benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals are present throughout the world. Perchlorate, a VOC and endocrine disruptor, has been found during independent testing in sites throughout the US. MTBE is a problem in many areas, due to seepage from underground gasoline storage tanks. MTBE is probably not a carcinogen, but it ruins the taste and smell of the water. 
 
You might believe that the five gallon jugs are a good alternative to contaminated drinking water stations, but testing by public safety groups found that most of those jugs leach BPA into the water stored in them. BPA is another endocrine disruptor. You might like to know what endocrine disruptors are.
 
They are chemicals that act like hormones within the human body; they interfere with the body’s natural production of hormones. Most of them have been proven to heighten a person’s risk of cancer. Recent studies indicate that they may be part of the the obesity epidemic. BPAs are prevalent in the environment, in processed foods, and in bottled water.
 
The best alternative to contaminated drinking water stations is an effective purification system found in bottle-less water coolers. But, to guarantee protection, check the product performance data before you buy. The information should include the type of contaminant that is reduced as well as the extent of reduction. The list should look something like this:
 

• THM reduction; 99% or more
• Chlorine reduction; 99.99% or more
• Cyst reduction; 99% or more
• Lead reduction; 99% or more

Benzene, MTB, and VOCs should also be on the list as should common herbicides and pesticides such as lindane, alachlor, and atrazine. Filters should be changed regularly, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
 
There’s no need to worry about contaminated drinking water stations if you install a bottle-less water cooler with an effective purifier which is a healthier and far more affordable option than supplying bottled water to all the employees. According to estimates from the Environmental Working Group, a family of four can save over $1000 per year by installing a purifier and giving up bottled water.
 
If you have a large work staff, imagine how much you could save. You can avoid the risk of contaminated drinking water stations and save money too. What could be better? And, when buying a home water filtration system, remember it is an investment in your health; make sure you make it a good one.

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While the initial cost of purchasing a water cooler can seem prohibitive when compared to a typical 3 year rental contract it becomes clear why outright purchase is so attractive to many businesses. In addition purchasing a water cooler outright gives the consumer freedom when it comes to maintaining and running their water cooler. The consumer can opt to maintain and sanitize the machine themselves or can select and switch between third party suppliers at will, in order to achieve the correct balance of cost over service levels, something that is impossible if the consumer is tied into an extended rental contract or lease.

Options for Bottle-less Water Cooler Customers -

Customers who opt for a bottle-less water cooler have only to sanitize the machine and replace the filter every 6 months; they can accomplish this in 3 ways:

Self Maintenance -

It’s perfectly possible for individuals to maintain the machine themselves by purchasing a sanitisation kit and filter when required. The filters cost around $50.00 and sanitization kits with enough liquid to last for a year start from only $75.00.

Use a Third Party Company -

Third party companies are available to maintain and service water coolers, rates vary by area, ask your supplier for details.

Opt for a Service Contract -

Some companies also offer consumers the option for a service contract at the time of purchase; this often includes access to a qualified engineer. Prices start from $335.00 for the year and are generally handled via a third party company.

 Needless to say, whichever option you choose, purchasing your own bottle-less water cooler is a far better way to go than any lease program available.

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When you get a bottle-less water cooler you’re not just getting a convenience, you’re performing a service for your family. Much of the water you bring into your home for drinking is probably filtered and in sterilized jugs which has its drawbacks, and if you just use the water coming out of your tap you have absolutely no control over what happens to it before you or your children drink it. Why would you leave yourself open to this risk?

First, think about what happens at the water treatment plant. They do the best they can to filter this water. But that still means they will dump large amounts of chlorine into the water to try and kill off any bacteria. This bacteria could come from any source, including bird droppings or any other animal feces that contaminates the water heading for the treatment plant.

Treatment plants are also unable to remove drugs that get into the water supply. Typically when people stop using a medication or it expires they will dump it down the toilet. That water (and anything else in it) will eventually end up in the waterways that feed our drinking water supply. Since it does not get removed before it reaches our homes, our kids will end up taking that into our bodies unless we intervene.

The main water lines that feed our homes are also notoriously leaky. That not only allows water to escape, but contaminants can enter the water supply between the water treatment plant and our homes. By using a bottle-less water cooler to give your family clean, purified water from trusted sources you can avoid the grief that could be entering your home.

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Did you know water coolers have been in service from as early as the middle of the 1900? Amazing enough its true, even back then researchers and people in the fields of health were already aware of the importance of water and the value it played in our daily in-take of staying fit and healthy. With rapid advancement water coolers have branched out into business and homes world wide. In facts office water coolers are so common in most business establishments is surprising to hear some one say we don’t have one when you ask.

Business have found that bottle-less water coolers, are very convenient to use, not to mention just how important it is to offer cool fresh water to their employees to keep them feeling fresh and feeling good through out the work day. Through research employers learned that drinking water is a simple and effective way to care for your health at work. For companies providing water coolers it actually reduced injury claims and health benefits costs and increased over all productivity of employees. Today statistics indicate that some 60 percent of a person’s time is spent at work so they can’t afford not to have some type of water system available like water cooler fountains, office water coolers and many companies are investing in hot water boilers that want to save money.

These days’ advancements of water coolers have open up new smaller in sizes, which are designed to accommodate most any space where they were placed and new know-how was developed to enhance these structures and make them more useful to the general public.

Water coolers also began to come in various styles as the years went by. The time has passed were there was one simple and useful style of water cooler. One could now purchase and use a water cooler that came in a variety of shapes, materials and colors. The buttons and additional components were varied amongst water coolers manufactured by different companies and it was easy to find the perfect water cooler from the wide variety of water cooler styles available.

The water cooler industry continues to improve these devices by taking special notice of purification methods and abiding by laws and regulations which cite such purity standards. Only the future knows how the water cooler will continue to evolve, but for now it has been an interesting history few individuals are aware of yet is worthwhile to know. Drinking water is a basic essential health habit and yet it’s estimated that a considerable percentage of people don’t drink enough water and are mildly dehydrated.

Do you and your family drink enough water every day? If not you might experience some symptoms such as a decline in mental alertness, visual perception, short-term memory, associative learning, arithmetic efficiency, reasoning ability. The solution is simple, protect you and your families health drink more water. Remember not all water is great water so no matter if you’re looking into simple water coolers for your home our advanced hot water boilers, bottle-less water coolers are the best solution for clean and safe healthy water.

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