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I managed to completely stop buying regular water bottles in favor of using a refillable vacuum-insulated bottle at all times (except for a handful that I keep

I managed to completely stop buying regular water bottles in favor of using a refillable vacuum-insulated bottle at all times (except for a handful that I keep in the car for emergencies), but I've noticed the plastic bottles are starting to creep back in ever since I stopped drinking sodas and moved to sparkling water. I guess I could switch to canned Perrier or even the glass bottles, but they're harder to find. I suppose next year I'll just bite the bullet and buy a Soda Stream (or some kind of BDS-approved equivalent).

wlesieutre 8y ago
Soda Stream Jet is pretty heavily discounted on amazon right now
- convolvatron 8y ago
  this is just a regulator, a nozzle and some plastic?
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    As far as I know, yeah. This one's probably marked up because it looks fancier, I have a cheaper version (Soda Stream Source) but happened to see this one on SlickDeals recently. The main value they add is a convenient CO2 tank exchange program at places like Staples and Best Buy. I'm sure rigging your own system with a bigger tank would be cheaper in the long run, but I don't have space for it.
  - jdhawk 8y ago
    Yeah - I got a 10lb CO2 cylinder, a regulator, a few hoses and Ball Lock connectors, and this: https://www.homebrewing.org/Carbonation-Cap-Stainless-Steel_p_3061.html https://www.homebrewing.org/Carbonation-Cap-Stainless-Steel_... add water to 2L bottle, pressurize to 20-60PSI, shake bottle for 20 seconds.
    - ganzuul 8y ago
      Most people would at least once go for 20-60 Bar instead of PSI... It's about convenience and structure. There are many very similar alternatives to SodaStream, such as MySoda local to me.
ravenstine 8y ago
I don't really understand why most if not all bottles don't use aluminum instead of plastic. I get that it's a marketing thing, but I see no practical reason why aluminum couldn't be used more often. That doesn't fix the littering of the ocean issue, but I guess if I had to pick one over the other I'd rather the ocean get trashed with aluminum than with plastic. Also, do you need Perrier brand specifically? I haven't seen that come in cans, but now there are more brands than ever of sparkling water that come in cans, which is what I most often buy.
- Cthulhu_ 8y ago
  > I don't really understand why most if not all bottles don't use aluminum instead of plastic. Because aluminium is a lot more expensive and difficult to manufacture at scale than plastic. It's also a lot more reusable, but reusing aluminium costs energy, and reusing glass bottles requires either energy to melt it, or an extensive recycling / reusing infrastructure (like with beer bottles over here). Re: sparkling water, there's water fountains that can produce sparkling water on the fly now. Ask your employer to get those installed.
  - Al-Khwarizmi 8y ago
    Isn't aluminium supposed to be toxic? Probably the amount absorbed from drinking from aluminium bottles wouldn't be enough to cause concern, but I'm not sure I would risk drinking from them all the time.
    - amanaplanacanal 8y ago
      Aluminum is one of the most abundant minerals on earth. It's probably in just about everything. You almost certainly get more from your anti-perspirant that you do from an aluminum can.
    - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
      Is PTFE or PET any safer?
  - 8y ago
martin-adams 8y ago
We use a Soda Stream and now quite easily just use tap water and carbonate it. I highly recommend it. The downside is that not many local places do the canister exchange where I live so we try to stock up.
durkie 8y ago
There are homemade soda carbonators for sale on ebay that can be a pretty good deal. Something like this is what I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kegman-Seltzer-Making-Bottling-Kit-with-CO2-tank/254010998330 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kegman-Seltzer-Making-Bottling-Kit-... The price is basically the same as sourcing the parts (regulator, tubing, tank, etc) yourself, it comes pre-assembled, that size CO2 tank will last a while (around a year for us with multiple people in the hot south), costs $15 to refill, and you can dial up/down the pressure to change the bubbliness of your soda. It's also useful for seating tubeless tires if you ride mountain bikes. :)
jimmaswell 8y ago
I never bought bottled water before in the first place, but I do find it practical to keep a pack of them in the car in case I need them. They'd also be useful in emergencies. If I kept home-filled bottles around in there that long they would get gunky.
- oftenwrong 8y ago
  >If I kept home-filled bottles around in there that long they would get gunky. If the bottles are clean, and the water is clean, the water will not get "gunky". I have a few 20L water containers at home for emergencies. I sanitized the containers and filled them with chlorinated tap water. A few years after I filled them, while I was moving, the water was still fresh tasting and clear.
siruva07 8y ago
i highly recommend you read Let There Be Water. Israel's solutions for a water starved world are going to save this planet. Your anti-semetic color commentary won't go far in the water world. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/bds-the-global-campaign-to-delegitimize-israel https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/bds-the-global-c...
- AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
  Ah, so there's the source of all the downvotes: someone is unhappy with my choice to support BDS. The irony that the people who combat criticism by saying "Vote with your wallet" are then upset that I am, in fact, voting with my wallet...
- ganzuul 8y ago
  Antisemitism used to mean something more specific... Can't quite remember what that was.

wlesieutre 8y ago

Soda Stream Jet is pretty heavily discounted on amazon right now

convolvatron 8y ago
this is just a regulator, a nozzle and some plastic?
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  As far as I know, yeah. This one's probably marked up because it looks fancier, I have a cheaper version (Soda Stream Source) but happened to see this one on SlickDeals recently. The main value they add is a convenient CO2 tank exchange program at places like Staples and Best Buy. I'm sure rigging your own system with a bigger tank would be cheaper in the long run, but I don't have space for it.
- jdhawk 8y ago
  Yeah - I got a 10lb CO2 cylinder, a regulator, a few hoses and Ball Lock connectors, and this: https://www.homebrewing.org/Carbonation-Cap-Stainless-Steel_p_3061.html https://www.homebrewing.org/Carbonation-Cap-Stainless-Steel_... add water to 2L bottle, pressurize to 20-60PSI, shake bottle for 20 seconds.
  - ganzuul 8y ago
    Most people would at least once go for 20-60 Bar instead of PSI... It's about convenience and structure. There are many very similar alternatives to SodaStream, such as MySoda local to me.

ravenstine 8y ago

I don't really understand why most if not all bottles don't use aluminum instead of plastic. I get that it's a marketing thing, but I see no practical reason why aluminum couldn't be used more often. That doesn't fix the littering of the ocean issue, but I guess if I had to pick one over the other I'd rather the ocean get trashed with aluminum than with plastic. Also, do you need Perrier brand specifically? I haven't seen that come in cans, but now there are more brands than ever of sparkling water that come in cans, which is what I most often buy.

Cthulhu_ 8y ago
> I don't really understand why most if not all bottles don't use aluminum instead of plastic. Because aluminium is a lot more expensive and difficult to manufacture at scale than plastic. It's also a lot more reusable, but reusing aluminium costs energy, and reusing glass bottles requires either energy to melt it, or an extensive recycling / reusing infrastructure (like with beer bottles over here). Re: sparkling water, there's water fountains that can produce sparkling water on the fly now. Ask your employer to get those installed.
- Al-Khwarizmi 8y ago
  Isn't aluminium supposed to be toxic? Probably the amount absorbed from drinking from aluminium bottles wouldn't be enough to cause concern, but I'm not sure I would risk drinking from them all the time.
  - amanaplanacanal 8y ago
    Aluminum is one of the most abundant minerals on earth. It's probably in just about everything. You almost certainly get more from your anti-perspirant that you do from an aluminum can.
  - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
    Is PTFE or PET any safer?
- 8y ago

martin-adams 8y ago

We use a Soda Stream and now quite easily just use tap water and carbonate it. I highly recommend it. The downside is that not many local places do the canister exchange where I live so we try to stock up.

durkie 8y ago

There are homemade soda carbonators for sale on ebay that can be a pretty good deal. Something like this is what I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kegman-Seltzer-Making-Bottling-Kit-with-CO2-tank/254010998330 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kegman-Seltzer-Making-Bottling-Kit-... The price is basically the same as sourcing the parts (regulator, tubing, tank, etc) yourself, it comes pre-assembled, that size CO2 tank will last a while (around a year for us with multiple people in the hot south), costs $15 to refill, and you can dial up/down the pressure to change the bubbliness of your soda. It's also useful for seating tubeless tires if you ride mountain bikes. :)

jimmaswell 8y ago

I never bought bottled water before in the first place, but I do find it practical to keep a pack of them in the car in case I need them. They'd also be useful in emergencies. If I kept home-filled bottles around in there that long they would get gunky.

oftenwrong 8y ago
>If I kept home-filled bottles around in there that long they would get gunky. If the bottles are clean, and the water is clean, the water will not get "gunky". I have a few 20L water containers at home for emergencies. I sanitized the containers and filled them with chlorinated tap water. A few years after I filled them, while I was moving, the water was still fresh tasting and clear.

siruva07 8y ago

i highly recommend you read Let There Be Water. Israel's solutions for a water starved world are going to save this planet. Your anti-semetic color commentary won't go far in the water world. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/bds-the-global-campaign-to-delegitimize-israel https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/bds-the-global-c...

AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
Ah, so there's the source of all the downvotes: someone is unhappy with my choice to support BDS. The irony that the people who combat criticism by saying "Vote with your wallet" are then upset that I am, in fact, voting with my wallet...
ganzuul 8y ago
Antisemitism used to mean something more specific... Can't quite remember what that was.