Alternative water jugs?

[haleyelianasmom]

I moved this from the body care forum (I felt this post was more appropriate here)

So, tap water is bad, so we started buying bottled water, but that created too much waste, so now we switched to using refillable water jugs that we fill with filtered water from the health food store. The only problem is that the jugs they sold for this purpose are all #7 polycarbonate jugs. That's what we've been using (for now), but I'm looking for an alternative.

Anyone know of any safe jugs (glass or metal?) that we could use as our refillable water jugs? Preferably 1-gallon size jugs, but bigger is fine (as long as it fits in our refrigerator)

[eirual]

My husband just went to a U Brew place to make some beer, and they have these nice big glass kegs that they do it in....I was thinking of trying to get one of those and put a pumps from a regular water cooler tank on top of it (from what i understand it works like a giant hand-lotion pump does....kinda)

But if you want one to go in the fridge.....??.....I was at the grocery store yesterday and there was this beautiful jug of applecider (Wellsleys??? or something like that) it was about a gallon and glass.

[Throkmorton]

Do you refill your water at a water store? If so, ask if you can get glass water jugs. most of the restaurants here get all of thir water delivered in glass instead of plastic. Be warned, the 5 gallon jugs are heavy!
If not, the u-brew 5 gallon jugs fit on water dispensers just fine. I really recommend getting a water dispenser and the 5 gallon jugs. it's a lot more convenient, and doesn't monopolize the fridge space.

Also, Santa Cruz organic apple juice comes in these nifty 1-gal jugs. We actually use them for making small test-batches of wine. My dad calls them "hooch bottles"

[srain]

Keep your eyes open for glass juice or wine bottles that are a good size and shape for you. Homebrew stores usually have tons of options, if you can't find anything else.

I'd strongly advise investing in a filter rather than buying water, though. Besides the convenience factor, I feel that it is much more efficient and environmentally sound to use water that is piped into your house rather than purchasing water that's been trucked in from somewhere (and you have no guarantees of its safety, either).

[Throkmorton]

Originally Posted by srain

I'd strongly advise investing in a filter rather than buying water, though.

But that assumes your water is better than here (currently from a creek). Heh. We have high turbidity and extrememly hard, sulphury water, which kills filters in an instant and most filters, short of fancy-pants, several hundred dollar reverse osmosis systems won't actually filter out the problems with the water.
My parents have a nice filtration system, but they replace filters 2x/mo and their water is still so hard that their glasses are etched and they expect hot water tanks to last 3-5 years at the outside. They don't actually drink that water, they just have a whole-house filtration unit for non-drinking water.
Luckily, because of this problem, we have a booming bottled water industry, where small stores in town with their own super expensive reverse osmosis filtration systems will filter water, and you can either fill 5 gal for $2.50 at the store, or have it delivered for $5/bottle.

Sorry, that was my long ramble about how there is "bad water" and then our water. I never recommend filtration systems because I have never seen one work in a home to my satisfaction unless the water was already pretty good. (ie, drinkable straight from the tap, just tastes bad)

[srain]

Originally Posted by Throkmorton

I never recommend filtration systems because I have never seen one work in a home to my satisfaction unless the water was already pretty good. (ie, drinkable straight from the tap, just tastes bad)

Oh, I agree; we've lived in places where filtration wouldn't have done the trick either. However, the vast majority of bottled water purchasers have potable water at home, but either don't like the taste or fear for impurities that are easily filter-able.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Throkmorton

But that assumes your water is better than here (currently from a creek). Heh. We have high turbidity and extrememly hard, sulphury water, which kills filters in an instant and most filters, short of fancy-pants, several hundred dollar reverse osmosis systems won't actually filter out the problems with the water.

We have had water delivered for years and right now I'm thinking it'd be far less expensive to get an under-counter reverse osmosis system for our kitchen. They are only about $250 and since my water delivery bill is somewhere around $45 a month (we own our own cooler, which we paid around $150 for years ago), it won't be long at all before our investment pays for itself AND it adds value to our home.

You might even be able to get one on a payment plan or zero percent interest at a place like Lowe's or Home Depot.

[Throkmorton]

Originally Posted by RiverSky

We have had water delivered for years and right now I'm thinking it'd be far less expensive to get an under-counter reverse osmosis system for our kitchen.

True, but you also have to factor in the cost of replacement filters. They can really drive up the price. A filter would have to be replaced approx. once a month for our water (normally, they are replaced every 3 months) and the filters cost $25 each (2-3 filters to a system)

We did have a countertop UV/filter combo thing, but the filter needed replacing every 4 months, to the tune of $100 every time. It was a little frustrating, especially when we only spend $25/mo on bottled water.

Oh, and if you are wondering exactly how bad our water is, today it is so gross that when you use the toilet, peeing actually makes the water clearer. It's pretty much just mud. I showered in town at my brother's house because there is no point in doing laundry or showering here until it clears up.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Throkmorton

Oh, and if you are wondering exactly how bad our water is, today it is so gross that when you use the toilet, peeing actually makes the water clearer. It's pretty much just mud. I showered in town at my brother's house because there is no point in doing laundry or showering here until it clears up.

Okay, never mind, that is REALLY bad water. Here, many many people have wells and the water smells totally sulphur-y. We have city water for inside the house but our irrigation sprinklers run off a well and it's so stinky that you don't want to be awake or have windows open on the nights when the yard gets watered. But it's certainly not like mud! And everyone I know who has under-the-counter RO units loves them.

[Throkmorton]

Yeah, the under-the-counter units are a subject of debate here. In town, they are supposed to work ok, as long as you live relatively close to the several-million-dollar purification plant.
It's actually kind of funny to watch the neighbors snicker at new people from "the city" installing purification systems which will do !nothing! as soon as spring runoff hits.
Most of the year, out water is just gross, sulphury, calcium-filled but probably drinkable for the brave. 3-4 weeks in spring, it is mud and until 2 years ago, an entire city of 80,000 put up with the mud all spring, and the year-long boil water advisories, then they built the water treatment plant.

[haleyelianasmom]

We're looking at the filtration systems, but they can be expensive. A link was posted in the vaccines forum for a filter on ebay that's only $99, but I'm almost worried about getting one that cheap since all the other ones I've seen are closer to $300 and I don't want it to be a waste. Any experience on good RO filters (preferably at a good price)?

[Tofu the Geek]

Heh, I was just going to post the same question! I have a large polycarbonate jug that I fill at home with our RO water and bring to my water dispenser at work. I've been looking to replace it with something other than polycarbonate but haven't found a thing!

My current bottle is 3 gallons as I can't carry anything heavier than that (have quite a distance to carry the jug even if hubby drops me off as close as he can to my office door), thus a 5 gallon glass jug would be out of the question for me. Glass in general would be bad as I have to walk up a steep sidewalk in the winter that is often slippery.

[Tofu the Geek]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

We're looking at the filtration systems, but they can be expensive. A link was posted in the vaccines forum for a filter on ebay that's only $99, but I'm almost worried about getting one that cheap since all the other ones I've seen are closer to $300 and I don't want it to be a waste. Any experience on good RO filters (preferably at a good price)?

Do you have a Costco near you? Costco RO systems. We have the 5 stage one in the pic (the one that's listed for $139.99) and have been very happy with it. That new zero waste one looks awesome!