Edit: As people pointed out Amazon has shitty prices on these things. Still in my experience La Croix is about the same price as Coke when you compare them both on sale or both not on sale.
Well, I'm certainly not buying it from here. $21 for a case of Coke?
When they're on sale I can find cans of La Croix Grapefruit 12oz for about $4/8pk ($0.50/can). And I just bought Coke 12oz cans on sale for $2.25/12pk ($0.1875/can).
Yeah, that's a pretty horrible price. Usually at least one of the local pharmacy or gas stations will be running a special on coke along the lines of 3x 12pk for $12 or so.
Even at full retail a 12er is usually something like $6.99
Apart from signalling that you have too much money and don't give a crap about the environment, why would anyone drinking just water buy bottled water every day instead of a Camelbak or Nalgene or Bobble bottle once a decade, and then drink tap water? Or even a Bkr if you're very fashion conscious? Is US water quality really that bad?
Edit: and if you need sparkling water, why not get a Sodastream or equivalent?
The reason is that you can buy a case of clean bottled water for ~$1-2, providing you clean, good tasting drinking water for a month. This is something even people at or below poverty level income can afford and dramatically increases quality of life.
The individual has little to no control over the water or pipes that runs the water to their home. It is a take it or leave it situation. If you own your home, then you might be able to install a water filtration system. This might be at the very least $200+. Okay. That doesn't compete with the price of bottled water. What about just a water filter pitcher? $30+. Well, now that's far more reasonable, but still represents 20-30 cases of water.
Bottled water IS the cheap, easy option. Should people fight and vote for infrastructure improvements so that they have clean, good tasting water? absolutely. But while we're working on that, we'll drink bottled water.
$1 for enough bottled water for a month? Where did you get that number from?
We were living away from our home (and water filter) for a few months and bought the cheapest bottled water we could. It was $1 per gallon. Where is this magical bottled water plant that 60 gallons of water for $1.
I'm going to concede on the particulars of how low the price was because it must have been just a killer loss leader in-store sale at walmart - the cheapest I can find now online is ~$7 for the same flat of 35 17oz bottles.
I am, however, going to disagree with how much water. 2 gallons of water for a single person each day seems to be more than just excessive for drinking water. Even if I was drinking 17oz each primary meal and another upon waking and upon going to sleep, that still leaves 171 oz remaining to reach 2 gallons.
Friend of mine spent 6 months sailing from Europe to and around the Caribbean and back. He said they planned with 0.8 gallons per person per day. That has some safety margin in it, of course, so 0.5 gal per day per person is likely bang on actual consumption.
When you're thirsty the bottle of water is a pretty good solution. Bringing the municipal water up to standard feels like it would be a multi-year project from investigation, lobbying, running for office to make the changes if no other candidate will, giving up all the time that takes as well.
I'll buy a bottle of water and vote.
Where I live it happens to taste fine but my relatives live off well water and I always pack a case of water when visiting.
Makes a whole lot more sense to maintain separate filters for drinking water. How can we expect our toilet and shower water to be the same quality as drinking water. A filter for drinking water makes a lot more sense.
It's quite bad, but consumer water filtration devices are cheap and plentiful. I personally use a water filter at home and work, and carry a decent quality bottle everywhere with me, so I'm not sure why others don't go that route. I have to assume it's just another example of rampant American consumerism.
SF water is clean and good tasting, but many of the 70+ year old buildings have corroded water pipes that can add foul tastes and sediment to the water.
Because la croix tastes amazing, their bubble size is different (and better) from soda stream with no work, and I can put an entire case in the fridge to be ready and cold on demand.
Water "hardness" ie the amount of minerals dissolved in the water if I'm not mistaken. I've got a modded out soda-stream that uses large paint-ball CO2 tanks and I've tried lots of different things. Water run through a "softener" is very different than not and distilled is much more different than both of those.
I don't understand either, I am not American. Perhaps their water is swimming-pool ready and not human consumption ready as in civilised countries? Everyone has his own priorities.
With a couple high-profile exceptions, it's all human-ready. We all just have different preferences, and complain when we move somewhere where the water doesn't taste like "home".
La Croix is sparkling water with very subtle natural flavoring.
As for Sodastream, I've seen lots of folks say that they did the math and found that it wasn't any cheaper in the long run -- or was just barely so -- once you take the cost of the CO2 into account. There are still environmental reasons to get a Sodastream, of course. But if it's not any cheaper and requires learning to use a new contraption and making sure you don't run out of CO2, I think it's easy to see why many people just continue to buy the cans. Plus a Sodastream is a much larger up-front investment, and what if you end up not even liking the flavors?
For what it's worth, La Croix is roughly the same price as name-brand soda like Coke where I live.
I had a Sodastream, but I just didn't like it as much a La Croix. The cost difference isn't large either (I pay about $6.75 for a case of 24 La Croix at Costco). The biggest decider for me is simply counter space. The Sodastream crowds my counter, and I don't have a convenient place for it in the cupboards.
CO2 is cheap, but not when Sodastream sells it. People that want cheap carbonated water have modified their sodastreams to accept larger beverage-store CO2 bottles:
Consider getting a carbonator (such as the Sodastream) and whatever she wants for her own flavoring. The occasional CO_2 cartridge and squeezing out a slice of lime is likely cheaper.
My point was merely to highlight the fact that the newer sparkling water drinks were priced equal to or higher than the HFCS-based sodas. And the sparkling water drinks have even less ingredients than the HFCS ones.
My intent was not to spark a class war over water quality, Nalgene bottles, and SodaStreams. I'm fully aware of the cost differentials and am not complaining.
You can get free tap water at mostly any restaurant in Sweden. Most will give it without you being a customer, and its really good. Its one of the things I miss living in Spain, where the water is horrible (at least here in Barcelona, im sure there is good water in the mountains).
Most restaurants in the US have free water, too. The few exceptions I've seen are touristy places, super fancy places, and places that have really, really bad tap water.
Most nicer restaurants will offer you bottled water if you ask for water. Sometimes they won't even offer tap and you have to specifically request it, and the waiter will roll their eyes at you. (I've only seen that once, but still)
It would have to be a pretty fancy place in the US to offer fancy water, that they charge for by the bottle. But most of your places will give you water for free, and the waiter will roll his/her eyes because at $2.50 a person, a table of four that only gets water just knocked $10 off their bill and 2-3 dollars off the tip.
Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the environment.
(To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)
This is the best answer. Even in a place like Flint, it would be so much cheaper to put a top of the line whole house filter in each house rather than some of the crazy things they were doing like bringing in bottled water.
> You pretty much explained why many of us drink bottled water, since our supply is not reasonable. :)
Citation needed. Some choice quotes from Wikipedia[1]:
'The Environmental Protection Agency regulations for tap water are "actually stricter than the Food and Drug Administration regulations for bottled water."'
'A study of drinking water in Cincinnati, Ohio, discovered that bacterial counts in bottled water were often higher than those in tap water and fluoride concentration was inconsistent.'
People buy bottled water for the taste, not for the cleanliness.
If you have bad tap water, it's not like you can just shop around for another provider. But bottled water does actually compete on taste; I do prefer some brands over others when given the choice.
But I've gotten lucky with fine-tasting tap water, anyway.
Ok. While I am not going to give out my city, their water report says that their average chlorine level is 0.5 mg/L. The bottled water I drink has a full water report that simply says "not detected" for chlorine.
Perhaps I am just "sensitive" but something in the tap water gives me headaches.
Possible, but it's worth noting that some people are sensitive to chlorine. Public swimming pools often give me a headache and make my nose run, while the people around me don't seem to have a problem. In fairness I haven't isolated chlorine as the cause, but I've never had issues with natural bodies of water.
Maybe true. May also be a nocebo issue.
Heard many people claiming that "tap water in XY is terrible" while every study shows that it's not true. Often tap water quality is better than bottled water.
My wife is a good example. She absolutely refuses to drink water from the tap -- and we live in Portland, Oregon, which arguably has some of the purest water in the USA.
The point has been made several times in this thread, but some of this may be a matter of what you expect water to taste like. I grew up in a small town where the water had a kind of "mineral-y" flavor to it, and tap water in most places tastes a little off to me by comparison. I know that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, though.
I doubt it's a nocebo effect when you can even smell the difference. I have a reusable metal bottle and can tell when I've refilled it straight from the tap vs. a filtered water source.
Maybe the fact that you have accepted having to buy drinking water in a bottle is now at least partly to blame for the tap water quality not improving?
Are people demanding that their tap water be as good as the best bottled water? If not, why?
Las Vegas has water that meets the standard of 'very hard' [1], so when I go there and stay with friends it's a challenge to take a nice shower (soap doesn't want to lather), and water from the tap tastes noticeably chalkier than in other places. But my friend has thyroid issues and avoids the tap water due to perchlorates [2], which were produced industrially in Henderson and leeched into the groundwater. Though the levels are considered safe, her particular health issue makes it more of a concern. So bottled water is everywhere at their house, but also at the houses of other people I know in the area. I'm guessing some of it is because it's always hot so it's nice to have a ready-made bottle of water on-hand whenever you need it, and possibly because in Las Vegas, tap water is perceived as expensive (even though this isn't actually true [3])
On the east coast in a metro that ranks as having one of the best municipal water systems, buying large amounts of bottled water is foreign to me, and only crosses my mind if I'm preparing for inclement weather or an extended road-trip. Though I wish our 'best municipal water' tasted more to my liking, a Brita filter adds a pleasant blend of minerals that tastes close to non-store-brand bottled water.
I recently moved to San Diego from New York, the tap water here is unbearable to drink, it tasted horrible, like you are drinking mold, filters don't help that much, still tastes horrible. I won't drink that, never mind giving it to my kids
"Drinkable" and "Tastes like the water tasted where I grew up" are very different things. There is not one flavor of water any more than there is one shade of white. There's no evidence that the water OP refers to is actually not drinkable.
If your water is literally smelly than it is either something wrong with your pipes or psychosomatic. I can't imagine that the entire city of San Diego is distributing water that has an odor. I have never had this problem in San Diego. I would suggest calling the city if this is truly a problem.
Municipal water in Florida often has the smell of sulfur, due to the presence of sulfur -- and if I'm remembering correctly, a relative who works at the state equivalent of the EPA told me that it's common in coastal areas due to byproducts of bacteria in the water table. But it's completely harmless.
Water in Orlando, FL is pretty terrible. It has a sulfuric and metallic taste and smell. It's perfectly safe to drink and bathe in, the smell doesn't stay on your skin, but it's gross. Do a quick google search for water quality in orlando, or sulfur or smelly water in Orlando. You'll find tons of results on travel forums from people visiting Disney ask if it's safe to drink the tap water at parks or in their hotels because of it.
I'm guessing that water in San Diego is the absolute stalest you can get in the US. The water San Diego receives is either piped over the mountains from Arizona or comes from way upstate...after Los Angeles has their pick.
There is no doubt that it is not good water. It is so high in salt content that the avocado growers complain about using it. If all you're doing is trying to stay alive then by all means, drink up.
The fact that GP is in the black while this post is downvoted is puzzling to me.
Several people must have read GP "yuck @ tap water" and nodded along, and then down-voted this comment.
However, if you think the USA can provide drinkable water, you'd have downvoted the "yuck" comment, because it is incorrect, and then this one as well.
Or, If you agree with the "yuck" comment, then this poster is correct, and you shouldn't have downvoted them.
Unless some people are really elitist about their drinking water but also really patriotic? idk, it's confusing.
> However, if you think the USA can provide drinkable water, you'd have downvoted the "yuck" comment, because it is incorrect, and then this one as well.
Brussels sprouts are "Yuck". However, they're also perfectly edible and healthy for you. If the US started a national food program that delivered incredibly cheap and healthy food straight to your kitchen, but San Diego was stuck with brussels sprouts as their food option, I would not find that "really and truly sad".
Drinkable does not mean tasty. The comments are making two completely different points.
All Brussels sprouts are "Yuck", however not all water is "Yuck", the question is - why if they can make water in one place be not "Yuck" - what prevents them from having a good tasting water in other places?
Different water sources, and getting the minerals/ions that cause the taste out is expensive. Mixing different sources can help diluting it, but that only works if there are different profiles in local sources.
And if water supply is done by quite localized organizations (I think that is the case in the US?) it's often politically difficult to pipe in water from other areas, even where it would be affordable.
If it's healthy and your kids don't mind you absolutely should give it to your kids. Maybe they'll develop a less sensitive, more environmentally friendly palette.
Unless you are buying spring water, all bottled water and soda water is just RO water with something added back. RO water is as pure as it gets. There are many discussions about RO but if you think about it, the quantity of salts is so miniscule in water that you would get it back from food anyway. Anyway I use a remineralizer as the last step after RO just for the taste. The RO taste is a bit sharp for me.
You can go all out and get a reverse osmosis system installed under your sink that also has a re-mineralizer. Adding the right minerals back in is important for flavour.
Why the scare quotes? Tap water in many places does taste funny. I don't drink it for the same reasons; instead, I get Ozarka (Nestle) water delivery. Also, you present a false dichotomy; I don't have to choose between sugary drinks and funny-tasting water. I can, and do, avoid both.
I have a feeling that "funny tasting" is all what you're used to. I'd bet that if you drink it exclusively for a month anyways, it will taste normal again.
I was under the impression that Nestlé's water mining practices were unethical (among their other practices).
Any particular reason you advocate this product?
My tap water (Omaha, NE) is ok for most things including drinking, although in the spring the chlorine content goes way up. For drinking, my wife likes the pur filter in the fridge, but I use a special hot filtration process to improve the flavor.
For making beer, I will typically use RO water purchased from the grocery in 5 gallon refillable jugs and build back the mineral profile I want for the particular beer style I'm brewing that day.
There's another good reason to buy bottled water: water is heavy. If you're walking or cycling somewhere you might not want to carry water when you can buy some at your destination. If you remove this option you might do more environmental harm than good by encouraging use of motor vehicles.
When I cycle somewhere, I fill up my bottle when I get there (or along the way). I know where all of the water fountains are on my regular cycling routes.
Likewise, when I go for a long walk or a hike, I carry a bottle along and fill it as needed.
Indeed water is heavy. So get it to your home in the most efficient way - through pipes. I'm happy to do it just to avoid having to carry home everything I drink.
If you find a bottle of water to be that great an encumbrance, then you were never really going to walk or cycle anywhere. There are plenty of good reasons to drive somewhere, but cupholders isn't one of them.
It's about convenience and also distribution costs. It simply isn't very efficient putting water into a bunch of tiny bottles and selling them individually.
If you want cheap "bottled" water, find a place that has a reverse-osmosis vending machine. Basically, you bring your own bottles (it's better if you get the big 3 or 5-gallon jugs), put them in, put in some money, press a button, and it refills the bottle using the RO equipment in the machine. The cost is generally pretty cheap: $0.25-50 per gallon (I pay $0.37 locally). It's not as cheap as tap obviously, but it's a lot cheaper than gasoline, or pre-packaged bottled water, and a whole lot cheaper than overpriced fancy brands like Evian.
How can one know if the water is reasonable in the US? We certainly cannot trust the local governments tasked with this job. Recent events in Flint and hundreds of other places in the US show that, if you can afford it, bottled water is at least safe compared to the local tap water (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/19/erin-brocko...). I guess it's either that or get out the science kits every day and test your own water. Which I'm sure takes a lot more time and money than buying bottled. Basically, drinking tap water in the US is a huge gamble and it's not worth it. You don't have to leave the country to get third world water. It's everywhere here. Then again, much of the US is third world if you judge by such criteria as clean water and healthcare access.
Tap water is crap. It tastes bad, it has chlorine in it, and sometimes the treatment plant screws up and it becomes contaminated. Anyone in Flint, MI will tell you that advocating tap water is a terrible idea.
Reverse-osmosis treated water is almost dirt cheap. I get mine from the local Walmart, in heavy-duty refillable 3 or 5-gallon jugs. It costs me $0.37 per gallon to refill one of my jugs. At that price, there's no reason to suffer with tap water, for either drinking or cooking. I recommend the 3-gallon jugs though; it's easier to carry them and to pour them into smaller 1-gallon jugs or water bottles at home.
In my city the water comes straight from a natural reserve, it often actually tastes better than bottled water! A large company gets its water there as well.
How is water lower margin than a sugar drink that has ingredients and is partly water? At my corner bodega they charge $2 for a 20oz Dasani (which is the same price as a comparably sized gatorade).
People aren't willing to pay as much for it? In my experience bottled water is about 40-50% cheaper to buy (small bottles). When it comes to large bottles (2lt) it can be up to 90% cheaper.
I can buy 6x2lt bottles of water for £2 in the UK (probably less if I shopped around).
Water itself is a good trend. The bottle, not so much.
For me anyway, if I drink from the bottle then I feel odd afterwards — as if I got a dose of something I shouldn’t have. Fortunately, pouring the water into a glass solves the problem.
I try to avoid bottled water anyway. Part of it is the principle of the thing: I used to get water for free when I was 12 and these days it averages $3 or $4? To hell with those companies, they know it’s a ridiculous scam and people just pay it.
I would say most of the time I drink filtered water from my fridge, occasionally from the tap and rarely from water bottles. If I do have bottled water, it is only after searching in vain for a simple drinking fountain.
The soda companies will be just fine. They've been preparing for this for decades. Who do you think owns the bottled water companies?
Hint: Dasani is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. Aquafina is owned by PepsiCo. They're only at risk if people inexplicably stop drinking regular bottled water and subsist solely upon San Pellegrino or other sparkling varieties.
I have a water distiller which I fill up with tap water and it takes 6 hours to produce a gallon by evaporating the water that then goes through a filter.
Cost me around $200 and I get to see the remaining contents from the tap water at the bottom of the distiller. I believe it uses 20 cents of energy to produce a gallon. It's cheaper than bottled water and more environmentally friendly (no plastic).
Some will say, I miss out on minerals from the water but I believe that my diet covers them.
BTW your kids should be drinking tap water unless you fluoridate their teeth some other way. Or, I suppose, unless you think fluoridating teeth is a bad idea...
reply