Philly Water Delivery Services

[dagordon]

First, let me say that I believe that this topic is perfectly appropriate for this board, as it concerns the availability of a certain type of beverage in the city, and comparisons among various providers.

That beverage is: spring water.

For whatever reason (maybe it's the plumbing in our building) we really don't like the taste of our tap water. We've gone through various filters that attach to the faucet, and not only is the resulting water still not very good, but they all seem to break in various ways after like a month.

So we've decided to get one of those vertical water dispenser units for our apartment and regular water delivery.

We just signed up with Deer Park. The water is ok, not great, but more importantly, the 5 gallon bottles do not have "no-spill" caps. When it's time to put a new bottle on the dispenser, you take the cap off the the bottle, and in one deft motion fling the bottle over, trying to aim the water violently pouring out out into the hole at the top of the dispenser.

Of course, water gets everywhere. And this is NOT sanitary. There's a pool of stale water sitting at the top of the cooler.

The alternative is to use bottles with "no-spill" caps. The cooler pierces the top of the bottle when the bottle is placed on it, and the system is closed (no open pool of water).

Deer Park has said that they will deliver us a new cooler, one that support no-spill caps, and they will provide us with one no-spill cap that we can put on our jugs for use with this cooler.

Like I said, though, the Deer Park water is not terrific. And I'm not sure that I have much faith in a water delivery company that does not use no-spill caps by default. The sort of people who don't use no-spill caps seem like the sort of people who, say, aren't going to be that concerned with sanitizing empty water bottles before filling them back up.

So, here's my question. Anyone currently have home or office water delivery that they're happy with? A no-spill cap is mandatory. Just to give some sense of our water tastes, we love Volvic, with Fiji a close second.

[Andrew Fenton]

David, I wish I could give you a great recommendation; I can't.

But what I can do is rant about those idiotic "no-spill" caps. The (Crystal) water cooler at my office uses them, and they just don't work: I find myself wrestling with the stupid jug, trying to fit it onto the unit in just the right position so that it'll work. It's a huge pain.

[mrbigjas]

i don't know the answer to your question. i do know this: our deer park coolers at work developed algae over time and had to be replaced. also i definitely got a bad bottle here and there, that basically smelled like an old algae-covered pond.

also, the reason you don't like the taste of your tap water is because water in this city doesn't taste good. i'm pretty much used to it, having drunk it my whole life, so i just brita it. but even i noticed that it goes through periods where it tastes noticeably worse than others.

[dagordon]

David, I wish I could give you a great recommendation; I can't. 

But what I can do is rant about those idiotic "no-spill" caps.  The (Crystal) water cooler at my office uses them, and they just don't work: I find myself wrestling with the stupid jug, trying to fit it onto the unit in just the right position so that it'll work.  It's a huge pain.

←

OK, but I think you'd find that the no-spill caps are far preferable to the alternative.

How is the Crystal water itself, aside from the acrobatics required?

Edited April 20, 2007 by dagordon (log)

[TarteTatin]

We have Wissahickon in the office.

I think we get a recommendation finder's fee!

Anyway, the water is okay. Have had it for years...I think it spills too.

[Andrew Fenton]

OK, but I think you'd find that the no-spill caps are far preferable to the alternative.

Well, I totally understand your problem with the non-non-spill caps. The problem with the non-spill is that it's so cumbersome to use that half the time, the person putting it on just removes the cap and fills it the old-fashioned way. So much for hygiene...

One option you might consider-- I'm just speculating here-- is one of those ceramic bases. It's easier to fill than the non-spill (which I just hate, if you can't tell), and you can wash it in the sink.

How is the Crystal water itself, aside from the acrobats required?

It's fine: it's bland, but doesn't taste funny either. It does the trick, but it's not like I love it.

[Buckethead]

There are office water cooler machines that actually distill water coming in from the water supply, therefore not requiring bottle delivery/pickup. Of course, distillation makes the water kind of tasteless. I also don't know if the price of such a thing would be feasible for home use.

[dagordon]

There are office water cooler machines that actually distill water coming in from the water supply, therefore not requiring bottle delivery/pickup. Of course, distillation makes the water kind of tasteless.

←

Yeah, distilled water is pretty vile, actually -- it's not even that it's tasteless, it actually tastes not good to me. The minerals lost in distillation are evidently part of what makes good water taste good (and differences in mineral composition are what's responsible for differences in how various waters taste).