This post is sponsored by Sparkletts, who provides our bottled water delivery free of charge. All opinions and feedback on our bottled water delivery are my own.
My parents have had a water delivery for years and honestly, I always thought it was a little unnecessary. Our fridge has a filtered water feature so why have it delivered? Well, it’s been two months since we first started getting our drinking water delivered and honestly, I don’t know how we’ll ever go back to “regular” filtered water.
The Backstory
We go through a lot of water in this house. 2 adults who each drink a gallon a day. A toddler who is a bottomless tank (and loves her water bottle “filled up to the top”). A formula-fed baby. Two finicky bulldogs with lots of allergies. We’ve always relied on the built-in filter in our fridge for cold water for us, and a pitcher with filter on the counter for room temperature water for bottles. That is, until black flakes started showing up in the water from our fridge no matter what we did!
We decided it was time to test out a water dispenser and delivery service. My parents have had one for years and swear by it!
Our subscription includes monthly rental of a Storm Bottom Load Water Cooler and three, five gallon bottles of purified water delivered every 2 weeks.
What We Love
The convenience. Obviously.
Even though our fridge had a water filter built in, we still picked up a case of water and a few one gallon jugs during our Saturday grocery trips. Now, it shows up in a five gallon bottle on our porch. We’re producing less waste (the large jugs are cleaned, sanitized, and refilled up to 50 times before they’re recycled) and I don’t have to carry them from my car with two kids in tow. We get an email a few days before our delivery to confirm the delivery date and quantity, then a text the night before so we remember to set out the empties. So easy!
The flavor
Our favorite water (never thought I’d say that…) is the Crystal Fresh Purified Water, produced by distillation, deionization, reverse-osmosis or similar processes to meet the U.S. Pharmacopeia definition of purified water. What does all that technical jargon mean? It’s flavorless. Fresh, pure water. The water machine we’ve rented has a hot and cold option, too, which has come in handy! (Pro tip, if you turn off the hot water feature, the hot water button pours room temp water – perfect for mixing bottles!)
Oh, and Sparkletts can deliver La Croix, Sparkling Ice, Polar Seltzer, and lots of other products in the same trip.
What Took A Little Getting Used To
There are a few things that have taken a little getting used to:
- Figuring out the right amount of water. We opted for two bottles for our first few deliveries and ran out a couple days before. We had gotten so spoiled by having on-demand cold water that it was tough to go back to a tiny filter pitcher! We have since learned it’s better to place a larger order and have an extra bottle still when delivery shows up, then adjust our order down the next cycle.
- The bottles are heavy. We keep our extras and empties in the garage and they’re (not surprisingly) heavy. Our bottom-fill dispenser is really simple to swap the bottles on, but I still wait for the husband to take care of it. Thankfully, even when the “replace bottle” light comes in, we still have full reservoirs to get through a few more glasses (or middle of the night baby bottles).
- The noise. There is a compressor that runs periodically to keep the cold water reservoir cold – a mild hum – that we noticed the first few days. Now, I only notice it right when I fill up my bottle and it replenishes the cold water tank.
The Bottom Line
Even if we weren’t partnering with Sparkletts, we would still keep the service (the cost is really, really low compared to buying bottled water). It’s a little too convenient and we’re now water snobs… Plus, I love that Evie loves using the machine and will race us to finish her glass after school just so she can refill it.
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