Is water bought in a bottle better than tap water?

Well, I don't drink or buy "bottled water" pre-packaged from a store, but I won't drink tap water either.

We buy our water in bulk from our local grocery story, which we fill ourselves in large jugs. The water there is put through reverse osmosis, also put through additional filters.

We can definitely tell the difference from this water and water that comes out of our taps. There's lots of chlorine for starters, and the taste is superior. So, in the end, I drink more water because it tastes good, which is better for me.

By the way, we pay $2.99 for about 19 litres of water, which is $2.47 USD for about 5 gallons U.S.

That's what I use, Reyn. It does taste better, doesn't leave mineral deposits in the bottom of the ice cube trays, and makes clearer ice cubes - for whatever that's worth. About $.38 a gallon locally.

The water quality in our community is excellent; the water comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the Hetch Hetchy water system. Our water far exceeds federal guidelines, and we can obtain the information through the internet. The only time I drink bottled water is on my travels to foreign countries where water quality is not the same, and bottled water is recommended. I also take bottled water on the plane to drink, because I've read about bacteria problems with water storage in airplanes.

We find we save quite a bit of money buying in bulk, like yourself, and have our own little "system" for dispensing.

The jugs we have would be the same size, I reckon, that the big water bottle companies would deliver to your door, if you didn't mind paying the extra money. We don't put our jugs upside down in those dispensing coolers though. We take the large jugs and then put in smaller jugs, which we eventually put in milk jug size containers which can fit nicely in the fridge if you want it cold.

Works for us....

For $200 you can put your own reverse osmosis system in your house and quit lugging those water bottles around.

My town's water is better than average and has little particulate matter or chlorine in it so a simple 2 stage canister filter is more than adequate.

Yes, this is true. We had one of those systems in our home for a few years. We became disenchanted with the maintenance of it though. Everytime we came back and bought new replacement filters for the system, the price had gone up. They are quite pricey.

When the municipality flushes the town's pipes every so often, the system would gunk up and need extensive cleaning out. After a while, it just wasn't worth the headaches.

The cost of the bulk water at the store has remained stable, as there is a lot of competition. Plus, I don't mind the heavy bottles. My upper body could use a workout anyways.

BBB
I notice a big difference in the taste of water from my bathroom tap and the water from my refrigerator's in-the-door filtered water-ice dispenser. The tube filters are not cheap, but less expensive than buying water---and much more convenient. Plus I get to enjoy my two dogs jumping up and down in front of the fridge waiting for me to push the ice lever, which drops pieces of ice on the floor for them to gobble up.

I was so spoiled in the S.F. Bay Area with good tasting tap water as C.I. described. First thing I noticed when I moved to Albuquerque was the different taste of the water. However, I recall that different areas of California had different tasting water. Typical where ever you live, I guess.

BBB