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We are looking at reducing plastic waste. We get through at least 4 litres of fizzy water a day in our house and (we've just worked out alarmingly), spend over £500 a year. I realise that water from the tap is 'free', but I really enjoy fizzy water and really don't like plain tap water.
Soda Stream is an option, but reviews are poor. Wife is not keen on it's looks in our modern kitchen.
So we've found the Grohe Blue Mono and like the idea of it. It would take 3 years to get 'break even' compared to what we currently spend each week, but the reduction in waste outweighs the cost in the meantime. Still, £1230 is a lot of dosh for a tap initially, so I wondered if anyone has any experience of them?
you spend £10 a week on sparkling water 🙁 Jeez what a waste of cash
Problem with this logic is that it doesn't reduce waste. The bottled water company are not going to reduce their weekly output by x bottles just because you stopped buying it.
I was going to get one installed in my orangery, but they don't come in the desired Farrow & Ball colours unfortunately.
I realise that water from the tap is ‘free’, but I really enjoy fizzy water and really don’t like plain tap water.
If I pay for fizzy water I want some that tastes nicer than our tap water.
Just putting in some CO2 isn't going to do that...
4L a day, do you bath in it?!
We use about 8L a week and I was feeling guilty about that. How about a water filter and a soda stream?
Tesco sparkling water is 17p for 2 litres, that would take a lot of bottles of water to pay for a £1200 tap.
– Yes, we drink lots of fizzy water and no, it’s not free.
– What the mineral water company does or doesn’t do isn’t my concern and I’m sure that my environmental conscience and actions alone, won’t make them go bust. However a local company called Silver Springs Soft Drinks Ltd ceased trading about five years ago. Apparently not enough people were buying their products…
– Chakaping – it comes in brushed chrome too, so it could accentuate the flappy gear paddles on an Audi, or possibly compliment a free standing log burner and flue?!!! You’ll regret not getting one when your orangery overheats in the summer sunshine!
– My tap water tastes OK. That’s not the problem, I just don’t particularly like still water. The Grohe Tap, chills and carbonates the water.
I was merely looking for someone with any experience of one, as there are few online reviews. Although I have just seen it reduced to £802
Where and how do you provide the co2? Is it soda stream type cartridges? I if so your volume of waste will go down but I'm not sure that it's more environmentally sound to recycle those than the plastic bottles.
Never mind axes and beard oil. Right here, right now Peak STW has been achieved.
I actually quit liked the axe thread... Peak STW is a long way off, although the side steps on *my new Overfinch Range Rover that automatically pop out when you open a door, aren't quite colour coded as per the rest of the car.
CO2 savings will come from having a bulk tank in the garage and refilling the CO2 cartridges from the unit myself. Normally you'd send them back to the manufacturer to be refilled rather than simply placing them in the recycling.
*Actually not my car, but they do exist!
I'm sure a homebrew shop will have some keg type equipment to allow a big C02 cylinder to be attached along with a nice, beer type dispenser tap, all in for a few hundred quid, not the mega cost you have for the designer kitchen version.
Just looked here https://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/ and about £100 + the CO2 and you are done. Might as well get the rest of the homebrew kit too and get some beer going too.
Just squeeze some lemon and put some bicarb in the water. Saves a tonne of money and wards of cancer if you believe in mumbo jumbo.
Oh. I thought it was just that soft drinks and water need a much higher pressure. Isn't that what pubs do? (waits to be proven wrong).
Soda Stream is an option, but reviews are poor. Wife is not keen on it’s looks in our modern kitchen.
While that sounds a bit snobby, I'd hate to imagine the kitchen a soda stream wouldn't look out of place in.
Pubs normally have a CO2 cylinder attached to the head of a multi-drink 'gun'. When you press the correct button, say for 'Coke', syrup is mixed with water and CO2 to create the drink. You'll notice though, that the drinks that come from the guns, do not stay as fizzy as coke from a can or bottle where the CO2 has been mixed at lower temperatures and under greater pressure, so that it remains 'in' the liquid.
I'm lead to believe (wait's to be proven wrong!!!) that the Grohe tap forces the CO2 into the already refrigerated water under pressure to create 'sparklier' sparkling water. I have a home brew beer kit (obviously - who doesn't) and without wasting a 16g cylinder, I'm prepared to say that is won't work.
Soda Stream might be acceptable under normal circumstances... However you've still got to the faff (yes I really said that) of making it and refrigerating it.
Anyway - I digress. I wasn't asking for validations of my personal choices, or alternatives to my prospective purchase. I'd just like to know if anyone has used one!!! Mumsnet is looking like a better idea every day!
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The cynic in me thinks that commercial grade kit is more likely to do a better job than a domestic unit!
No all I meant was that the gas will carbonate the water under high pressure, in advance of serving. Anyway it's a bit of a diy faff and not a neat kitchen solution.
Problem with this logic is that it doesn’t reduce waste. The bottled water company are not going to reduce their weekly output by x bottles just because you stopped buying it.
Yes, because companies thrive on making product that people don't buy. Soaring profits ahoy!! Lol erg
I looked at an American Fridge Freezer with a sparkling water option on the dispenser. It was about £200 more than without so didn’t get it in the end. Wish I had though.
Got a sodastream a few months ago as I had got fed up with all the plastic bottles.
Have found it great, and wouldn't be without it.
Tap water tastes fine once carbonated, especially if it is left in the bottle for a few hours, I'm guessing this is chlorine or whatever coming out. Certainly as nice as the bottled stuff I used to buy.
Had one person ask what brand it was as they really liked it, tap water that had been in a van for 2days wasn't what they expected.
Its also nice to be able choose the level of carbonation.
Gas canisters are refilled rather than recycled, and would assume thats the case with the tap also, but its worth checking exchange cost and how easily they are available.
I actually quit liked the axe thread… Peak STW is a long way off, although the side steps on *my new Overfinch Range Rover that automatically pop out when you open a door, aren’t quite colour coded as per the rest of the car.
Completely OT, but my friend has a rang rover sport with pop out steps. The time she got a courtesy car and forgot it didn't have the pop out steps was a sight to behold.
Yes, because companies thrive on making product that people don’t buy. Soaring profits ahoy!! Lol erg
But the OP is using the "less waste" argument to justify his £1230 tap. Its not less waste unless the company reduce their weekly output, and that will not happen because one guy suddenly buys a few bottles less each week.
If you've got kids you should do the Soda Stream option, I have fond and not so fond memories of my childhood + Soda Stream (pinching skin using it + exploding bottles). I'm sure the modern ones are much better though.
As for the fancy tap, I dunno, sounds an interesting idea I guess - I don't really like sparkly water myself though and don't own one. If I were buying one I'd certainly want a demo of some kind to check how it tasted with the local water supply. Also I'd look into if there were issues for your water type (hard/soft)
Ewan - That's funny and I'll probably forward that to the guy with the car in question!
Hard/soft issue is sorted by the internal filter in the under counter unit. We already have our water filtered as we live in a chalky area of Kent and it makes a big difference.
The machine also takes care of how soft/hard the water is. You take a sample, test it and adjust the machine which in-turn adjusts the carbonation to suit.
The OP is justifying his (now £802!!!) tap, by saying sparkling water is costing me £500 a year and I can have it for free after two years with this product and cut down on my use of plastics in the process. I can't help what the company do, although I might start a trend in the Audi/logburner/nice axe/beard oil/skijacketed suburbs and who knows where it could end... If only I'd bought more cassettes in Woolworths...
FuzzyWuzzy - a demo is a good idea. Hey, has anyone on STW got one of these taps that could shed some light for me?
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If I had one of those taps I'd be tempted to attach a hosepipe to it and fill up the bath for a cooling jacuzzi 🤓
Couldn't you just use cartridge type soda shphon and a quilted smoking jacket for the same effect?
Mumsnet is looking like a better idea every day!
Ah! It’s for your sex beaker.
The OP is justifying his (now £802!!!) tap, by saying sparkling water is costing me £500 a year and I can have it for free after two years with this product and cut down on my use of plastics in the process.
But that's not what you said, and you have to factor in the cost of the co2.
It would take 3 years to get ‘break even’ compared to what we currently spend each week, but the reduction in waste outweighs the cost in the meantime.
So how does the reduction in YOUR waste outweigh the cost?
SparkySpice - please pm me thanks
No. But if it’s anywhere as pleasing as a boiling water tap then it may well be worthy of consideration.
The bottled water company are not going to reduce their weekly output by x bottles just because you stopped buying it.
You mean the OP is the only person in the country who is considering giving up bottled water?