Affordable drinking water ideas?

[ironeagle48162]

DH and I are moving from a home with an RO system into a townhome with no water filtration device whatsoever. We live in AZ, which has really bad tap water. I drink upwards of 2 gallons of water a day, then there's DH and our cat. I've checked into water delivery services like Culligan, Arrowhead, and Sparkletts, and they're all pretty pricey. Plus, they don't even offer plans that would deliver enough water to support all that I drink! Culligan said they could install an RO system for free with a $35/month charge, but that's not really in our budget at this point because I'm going back to school and have to work less hours. Does anyone have any suggestions for (a lot of) affordable drinking water?

[3timesoccermom]

Could it be that you are just not yet accustomed to the taste? You may not even need a RO system.

You could have someone come check your water for mineral content - maybe a softener would help.

Have you tried drinking your water super cold? Sometimes that alone helps.

What about a pitcher with the filters on top - Brita or Pur? That's a pretty inexpensive start.

[BamaBird29]

Pur {and I believe Brita, too} have faucet mount filters. I live outside the city limits, but the county water here tastes funny. I was used to well water, so I thought it was me - but I've been here almost 7 years, and it still tastes funny.

If you don't want to go the faucet mount filter route, another option would be Clover Valley's Natural Spring Water. You can find this at Dollar General and it tastes wonderful. This is the kind of water I drink all the time. Here, the 15 bottle packs are around $3.00, but there are also 1.5 Liter bottles. If you don't have a Dollar General close to you, another option is Dollar Tree and other places {Family Dollar, etc} that sell Crystal Geyser water. It is also a natural spring water and tastes yummy.

[kval07]

I'd just buy a water cooler. You can get them as low as $80. You could try Craigslist or freecycle to find a used one too. You can fill up the five gallon jugs at the store for $1.xx. It's a higher upfront cost for the cooler, but refilling the jugs is pretty reasonable.

[ironeagle48162]

Well, what happened is, we are moving from a home we own into a rental 45 miles away so I can go back to school. No way will I drink the tap water; it's been proven to have all kinds of harmful stuff in it. We used a Brita at work, the kind that goes on the faucet, and everyone said the water tasted weird. The rental listing said there was an RO, but we found out there's not. The listing also said there was a fireplace, and there isn't one of those either! Our Realtor selling our house said the rental owners aren't legally obligated to put in an RO (or a fireplace) even though the listing promises these things. We don't care about the fireplace, but some clean drinking water sure would be nice, LOL. Our budget is super tight while I'm in school because I'll have to go down to part-time at work, so really any expense for water is going to somehow have to be made up elsewhere. Where, I don't know, we have no wiggle room, but we'll have to figure it out somehow!

[abond0017]

I use this
I never notice a taste using it and I have heard that PUR is better for removing foul tastes from water than Brita.
The filters come in boxes of 3 for about $22 but they last a good while. My dh and I drink a pretty decent amount of water and a filter easily lasts 2 & 1/2 months...so even at your rate I would expect it to last at least a month and a half. Which that much water is not bad for about $8. It is easily refillable and filters fairly fast (although sometimes something gets stuck with the filter and you have to take it out and shake it up to make it filter faster again). I am not sure if you could keep enough water filtered if you also plan on using it for cooking water too. Maybe buy a second one for that...and you can keep it counter top...doesn't have to go in the fridge.

[julesnjoe]

Hi, I know this is a little spendy at first but in the long run it is so much cheeper than the other options and filters the water so well. It is by Dr. Mercola you can find it here Drinking Water Filter | Countertop & Under Counter Filters We were paying 32.00 a month for 25 gallons of water and with this the filters are good for 500 gals. and cost around 50.00 to replace. I hope this helps ;o)

[uummm]

I know this is really really late, but could be helpful to someone else in this same situation....
Berkey Water Filtration systems. I have read a lot about them lately. They are very cost effective and remove everything. They have a sport bottle too for filtering on the go.

[saversavory]

we bought a water cooler( we have salt softened water, and no current working RO system) And a few bottles. we have a few fresh( and decent tasting) free springs around here, we refill our 5 gal. bottles for free. once in a while when we wear out the plastic caps we exchange the bottles. i dont know if there are any good free springs near you or not, but possibly even just exchanging them or getting a refill deal like someone else said above, it would be cheaper, also. the ROS need constant filter changes, because it filters EVERYTHING that goes through that particular line.

[AndreaCA]

I second the Berkey Water Filter - it's one of the best on the market and they even make a shower attachment that filters your shower water.