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dawn2006
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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I'm looking at these options:
1. bottle delivery service (which means renting the cooler and paying deposits, etc)
2. buying a cooler and 5-gal bottles (from ?? - wholesale clubs?? i used to do vending machine water but tired of the hassle.)
3. renting a reverse osmosis system
4. buying a reverse osmosis system
Any opinions and shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. I know that tap water is not an option. It makes our tea and coffee yucky. We've had a PUR filter on our faucet for a while but want to change now. TIA.
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Dawn Farias | wife to Ariel | mom to Gabriel 9, Daniel 7, Elizabeth 5, and Michael 3 | blogger at Be Absorbed | native Texan but currently living near Seattle
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juststartn
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 9:06am | IP Logged
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I think I'd opt to buy a RO system. No sense paying for something you are going to be using for YEARS. I would personally rather pay the money once than pay out more than the original cost of it, over years, and not own the darned thing.
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LLMom
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 9:58am | IP Logged
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We have been filling up our 5 gallon jugs to use on our cooler, but it is a pain. We are looking at a RO system, but I am still unclear if they can get out chlorimines and flouride. I have seen conflicting reports, especially about the chlorimines.
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LisaD
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 10:59am | IP Logged
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We used to have water delivered, until a 2 year-old tipped the dispenser over and shattered it. Talk about a flood!
Now we use an Aquasana filter. We change the filters about every 6 months. I would love a whole-house RO system, but since we are in a rental right now, that's not feasible. We have been happy with the Aquasana, and it gets very high ratings. Water Filter Comparisons
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 11:05am | IP Logged
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I don't have time right now to search for a link, but we have a Brita water cooler. We have the big five gallon jug that sits on top, the water flows through two of the regular Brita filters and then comes out the faucet. So we just use tap water. We have had this for at least six years.
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ctrivette
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 11:11am | IP Logged
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We rented the cooler and had the delivery when we lived in IL. We were there just long enough for me to think that we should have bought the cooler at Sams and just had the water delivery. Which is what we would probably do if we had to use bottled water again. The water was reasonable, we got the bottle deposits back at the end, we could ask for fewer or more bottles each time when they came to deliver. We looked into the RO system in one house, but DH was not sold on it at the time, I can't remember why
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D. Marie
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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Hi Dawn,
I would suggest buying a RO system. We are Army, so we cannot install a RO system; we have bought a countertop filter. Google Doulton Water Filters, that is what I have bought and used.
Best of luck!
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mellyrose
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 11:54am | IP Logged
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We bought a cooler from Target (with hot & cold spigots, which I LOVE) and have 5 gallon bottles delivered 2x/month. I liked owning the cooler, because we will always have bottled water (DH suffered from cryptospiridium in Milwaukee when their tap water supply was tainted and was horribly, horribly ill.) and the cost of renting it meant I was buying a cooler 2 or 3 times/year.
Sparkletts delivers our water and we've never had a problem.
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JodieLyn
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I've heard, haven't studied it myself that a "Black Berkey" water filter is one of the best. You clean the filter instead of replace it. But I don't know all the ins and outs. You might do a web search.
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 1:48pm | IP Logged
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We own our cooler and buy 5 gallon jugs at the grocery store. We used to have delivery, then our grocery store started selling the jugs. They load the jugs into my car for me and I have teenage boys at home to get them in the house.
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 2:03pm | IP Logged
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We have a reverse osmosis system that we bought from Culligan. After we bought it, a friend who is a kitchen designer told us we had very much overpaid. I don't know the other companies that sell them, but if you haven't bitten the bullet yet, some research will probably turn up a better choice than Culligan. Our water is dee-licious! A friend who was here this morning commented that he just loves to drink our water.
Peace,
Nancy
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
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dawn2006 wrote:
4. buying a reverse osmosis system
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Worth every penny.
Plus we buy cases of bottled water for easy travel and to keep hydrated at sporting events.
Love,
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Feb 12 2009 at 4:04pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I've heard, haven't studied it myself that a "Black Berkey" water filter is one of the best. You clean the filter instead of replace it. But I don't know all the ins and outs. You might do a web search. |
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We opted for the Berkey, and I really like it. I like that it has a fluoride filter (optional, order separately) without taking all the minerals out of the water like an RO. I had been thinking RO for a long time but couldn't get past the mineral thing. Then we found the Berkey!
It is much more affordable than the water in jugs we had been getting for drinking--plus I can use the water guilt-free in cooking soups, broths, etc...
And, the filters are "washable" and don't need to be replaced as often as things like Brita..
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MicheleQ
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We use an undercounter RO that pretty much removes everything. Dh and I actually used to sell water purifiers (many moons ago) and the thing about minerals is that you really don't get them from water. In water they aren't in a form that your body can assimilate well so you're much better off getting them from food. Also keep in mind that a filter can't really be selective about what it removes. If it leaves minerals it's leaving other stuff too --that's just the way it works. Maybe they have found a way to do it but knowing what I do about water filtration I am dubious.
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MarilynW
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We have tried everything - Brita and Pur pitchers, tap mounts and counter jugs with taps. Bottled water - though so expensive. I had debated the Deer Park home delivery. But after research we went with an undercounter reverse osmosis system - we started in August last year - rent from Culligan Water - costs us about $26 a month - had to make a year commitment.
RO removes everything. No smell no taste. I love the dedicated drinking water faucet (though I had to lose my sink sprayer)
The kids have Kleen Kanteens that they fill up and drink all the time. I can use the water for pasta, rice and other cooking.
I have debated remineralizing. I could not find the terramin clay (that Aussieannie recommended) anywhere - but I just recently bought Concentrace Trace Minerals - have not really started though as I need some kind of container to store water. I have put the mineral drops in my individual glasses of water - I think it improves the taste
The rental cost is working out better for us than bottled water or the pitcher filters which we used to go through quickly
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marihalojen
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We use something I don't think anyone's mentioned yet, a UV light plus three stage filter under the sink on the boat. So we filter before drinking from one faucet but not before storing in the water tanks. Dh used to work at a water plant and insisted on the UV when we moved aboard.
We chose this option and planned on buying our water rather than installing a water maker, they're too finicky. A friend of ours installed one and called it the Cruise Killing Machine. He got to Mexico and then spent months in port trying to get parts shipped to him when he could have just pulled up to a dock and stuck a water hose to the tank when he filled up with fuel.
Anyway, the UV is to kill the bacteria, doesn't change the mineralization or flouride that I know of, that'd be the three other filters' job. 
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dawn2006
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| Posted: Feb 13 2009 at 8:27am | IP Logged
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Man, ya'll know everything. I'm gonna have to find time to spend time with this post....
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Dawn Farias | wife to Ariel | mom to Gabriel 9, Daniel 7, Elizabeth 5, and Michael 3 | blogger at Be Absorbed | native Texan but currently living near Seattle
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: How do you do water?
