SodaStream – at home soda maker

[CaliPoutine]

I can't get over how much we use our Soda Stream.

I drink SO much more water, now.

That's the upside. The downside is that I'm getting up twice a night to pee.

The canisters came with a self addressed return box using UPS as the carrier. Come to find out, it wasn't a label that allowed them to pick up at my house. Rather, I would have to find a UPS drop-off station--which is way easier said than done where I live. Anyway, I packed up my 2 empty canisters and drove the 45 minutes to town to a Bed, Bath and Beyond. You just go straight to the check-out register, hand them your empties, they hand you full ones. You pay and you're outta there. Very convenient--especially if you live in a city.

Dont forget to use the 20% off from Bed, Bath and Beyond. They mail them out to you( if you sign up) and they are also in a lot of women's magazines each month. Real Simple being one of them.

[Shelby]

Ohhhh, Cali, thank you! I get those coupons all the time. For some reason it never crossed my mind to use one for those.

[bonkboo]

My maker died, I believe, after a year plus of heavy usage. That doesn't seem right to me. Anyone else with similar experience? Any recourse with the maker?

[Rover]

I've had mine a lot longer and it does get heavy use. I take a bottle of water (sometimes 2) every day to work plus personal use at home. I wondered recently what I would do if it broke down and have concluded I'd instantly replace it. Notwithstanding, I don't use any of the flavourings/syrups - I just want sparkling water.

It's a small "appliance" and I don't think we can expect such things to last a lifetime, but I try to make sure I keep mine very clean, blotting up wet or dampness and washing the bottles and caps in not-too-hot water.

As far as I know, SodaStream doesn't come with a guarantee - may be it's worthwhile contacting them.

[bonkboo]

I've had mine a lot longer and it does get heavy use. I take a bottle of water (sometimes 2) every day to work plus personal use at home. I wondered recently what I would do if it broke down and have concluded I'd instantly replace it. Notwithstanding, I don't use any of the flavourings/syrups - I just want sparkling water.

It's a small "appliance" and I don't think we can expect such things to last a lifetime, but I try to make sure I keep mine very clean, blotting up wet or dampness and washing the bottles and caps in not-too-hot water.

As far as I know, SodaStream doesn't come with a guarantee - may be it's worthwhile contacting them.

I have reached out to them but wanted to see if anyone here had similar experience and could enlighten me.

[OliverB]

one of the best things I ever bought for the kitchen and it saves hundreds if not thousands of bottles that would go in the trash each year from me alone. That all by itself is worth the investment. Not having to store cases of water also frees up quite some extra space and I don't have to lug that stuff around anymore.

They have some natural or what they call it mixes now, ginger ale is quite good, rootbeer too I'm told by my kids (I can't stand that stuff).

[hsm]

I've had mine for several years, finding it online before they got themselves distribution in the U.S. Like others, I'm a heavy user at 2–4 bottles a day with no problems. And while a couple of bottles and extra tops aren't a new machine, they've been more than helpful in the past––hoping you experience the same.

[vimaladevi]

I've been using cultures of microorganisms to do the carbonation for me... good o' fermentation still works here.

Soda pop with health benefits

[Mountfort]

Anyone have a recipe for mineral water that would be usable in the sodastream? bit more taste/health benefit than tap water is what i'm hoping for. thanks.

Note to self: Google first; then ask. Found a good starting point on Khymos. http://blog.khymos.o...ater/#more-2331 Will report back.

Edited November 15, 2012 by Mountfort (log)

[Baselerd]

I've had a Soda Stream for a while now (got it as a gift). Pretty neat device, but not very versatile. I hear lots of talk here about carbonating wine, how do you clean the system afterwards? I have the penguin model, the bottle interface is really hidden up in there. I use my ISI whip a lot more for carbonation; the combination of the wider container opening, cheaper/non-proprietary CO2 cartridges, and ease of cleaning means I can carbonate virtually any liquid or solid (fruits), unlike the Soda Stream.

I agree with the people who mention the Soda Stream brand syrup taste pretty bad, but that's not a huge deal since any other syrup works just as well