Fresh: A filter could also be a way to save money
You can save as much as £300 a year while doing your bit for the planet by turning on the kitchen tap for a drink of water rather than sipping it from a fancy bottle. You can also invest in a water filter to reduce the chlorine smell that is often found with tap water.
Money Stepper claims that a filter container can make water taste fresher than anything in a glass bottle. The website states that these filters contain small amounts of carbon. Chlorine and chemicals like chlorine stick to carbon when water passes through them, purifying the liquid.
There are a range of filter jugs available to suit all budgets – but they all need filters to be replaced after up to 200 litres of water have passed through them (generally between one and two months). The jug usually includes a starter filter for free.
Expert Reviews’ Stuart Andrews believes that buyers need to consider what type of filter they are purchasing. He says: ‘The market leader in filters is Brita – while other jugs use cheaper cartridges. Electronic displays are used in expensive models to indicate when it is time to replace a cartridge. It could seem like a marketing ploy or useful tool.
Among the cheapest jug filters – highly rated by Expert Reviews – is the £11 Aquaphor Time that comes with a ‘free’ filter. Three cartridges for the jug cost £11.89.
Budget shop Poundland has a lower priced offer with a Perfect Drop jug and cartridge filter at £5. Replacement cartridges cost £2 each. Another option is the £12 Aqua Optima Oria with a filter that also helps sift out limescale that may be in the mains water. The price includes one filter – while a pack of three replacement filters costs £9.
A market leader is the £16 Brita Marella Cool Jug that also includes a filter to tackle limescale and chlorine. Replacement filters cost £17.25 for a pack of three.
An expensive filter, such as the Brita ‘Maxtra+’, can cost about £6 – although discounts are available if bought in bulk, and there are occasional special offers. But you may still have to budget about £40 a year for filters.
To stay healthy and hydrated, the National Health Service suggests that you drink two litres per day. So the difference in the cost of bottled water and drinking water from a tap – whether filtered or not – can soon add up.
Shoppers might pay from as little as 20p to more than £1 for a litre of still or sparkling water, depending on whether it’s a supermarket label or a branded bottle, while perhaps the most expensive bottled water you can buy is Svalbardi – melted iceberg from Norway which costs £80 for 750ml. A litre of tap water – whether metered or paid for through a fixed water tariff – only costs about 0.1p.
Money Stepper: “The price of bottled waters is way too high. Two-litre bottles of brand water cost about 84p. Even with a filter water jug, drinking directly from the tap can save you thousands of dollars over time.
The article explains how families who dine out can make tap water savings. All establishments that sell alcohol must provide tap water free of charge to customers, according to 2010 rules. You can reduce unwanted tastes by storing a glass of water in the fridge prior to drinking.
A filter jug may be a good option due to the high environmental impact of plastic bottles. UK throws away 18 billion plastic bottles each year. Although more are being recycled, it’s estimated that around three quarters of them end up in landfill. Plastic bottles typically take 450 years to decay. You can recycle old water filters.