Category: Eco-friendly

If you’ve walked through any supermarket or convenience store in Hong Kong, you’ve likely seen fancy bottles of “Artesian Water” being sold at premium prices to regular bottled water. But what is Artesian Water and is it really better? We’re here to break it down for you.

What is Artesian Water?

Artesian water is simply a type of spring water that comes from artesian wells. It is a type of spring water that, because of the pressure of its underground flow, naturally forces itself to the surface without requiring a manmade pump.

The Debate

Some argue that because of the force of the water as it comes to the surface, it is naturally filtered. However most artesian water isn’t that different from well water, which means it can contain contaminants that regularly found in natural water like pesticides, bacteria, viruses, lead, and more.

Some of the companies don’t filter their artesian water, claiming the water is “untouched” until you drink it, which sounds lovely but doesn’t indicate that all harmful contaminants have been removed by the highest possible degree.

Impact on the Environment

Although there is ongoing debate over whether artesian water is really a better form of spring water, what there isn’t debate about is this:

Bottled Artesian water that you find at the stores are not good for the environment. Anytime you are consuming water in a bottle for one time use, is going to negatively affect the environment.

Disposable plastic bottles being the worse offender, as plastic often ends up polluting our oceans. Even recycling takes unnecessary resources and not all plastic is able to be recycled.

Additionally, research has recently shown that tiny particles of plastic have been found in 90% of water bottled in disposable plastic bottles. That means you are consuming plastic if you drink water from disposable plastic bottles.

In the end, the best and safest choice is to use your own reusable water bottle, and fill it with carbon filtered tap water, which removes over 99% of harmful contaminants AND leaves the good minerals in the water. Home filtration systems like the WaterChef Countertop or Under-sink filters make it easy to have access to safe, clean, healthy water AND helps protect our environment.

Source: Aquasana, MedicineNet

We at WaterChef Hong Kong are strong believers in working to keep our planet healthy. And the most obvious place for us to start is with water.

Drinking healthy, filtered water doesn’t have to be wasteful, but many of the solutions out there are. And we want to educate you on how to tell the difference.

We want to issue a Water Challenge to all of Hong Kong starting right now:

DITCH DISPOSABLE WATER BOTTLES!

Disposable plastic water bottles that you pick up at Watsons, 7-11 or even the big jugs that are delivered to your home are convenient, but their detriment to our environment far outweighs any slight benefit.

Why are disposable water bottles bad for the environment?

Plastic

We’ve all seen the footage of our oceans plagued with plastic bottles and bags. It’s no surprise that plastic waste still goes unrecycled and ends up in our water systems. Even the plastic that is recycled still makes an unnecessary impact on our environment in the process of recycling. The best solution would be to not use plastic at all!

Recent studies have also shown that 90% of bottled water contains plastic particles in it. This means that the water you and drinking from a plastic bottle, or even glass bottles with plastic caps, could be seeping plastic into your body. Another great reason to stay away from plastic.

Transportation

It takes trucks to bring locally distilled bottled water to your store or your home. And imported bottled water requires boats or planes to transport. The carbon footprint of a single bottle or jug of water to get to your hands is ridiculous considering you could be drinking safe, filtered water from your tap if you have the right water filter (more on this below).

Water Wastage

Almost all bottled water, including the brands you find at your local 7-11, Watsons, etc., come from a tap that sources from the local water system. They simply distill it and then re-add synthetic minerals into the water to label it “Mineral Water.” This process creates an enormous amount of water wastage, not to mention the extra energy required to fuel the process.

A better water result can be achieved with a simple WaterChef water filter hooked up to your home tap.

What Can YOU Do?

We all want to drink safe, healthy water. And we can, without detriment to our planet.

The Carbon Block Filtration water filters we offer at WaterChef can give you great drinking water that contains beneficial minerals but effectively removes contaminants. All while protecting the environment.

With our filter systems, is no water wastage nor plastic used. And because our filters are high capacity, you don’t even have to change them as much as pitcher jug filters, resulting in even less waste!

To reduce your disposable bottle usage, it’s just a matter of habit to start remembering to pack re-usable bottles. There are many great options out there! Every person’s small step together can make a big impact on our world.

We at WaterChef Hong Kong are huge proponents of using reusable water bottles, especially ones made of glass or stainless steel. Why? Reusable bottles are the best way to get clean, great-tasting WaterChef filtered water into your body. They are also way more cost effective than buying bottle after bottle from stores. And of course reusable bottles are infinitely better for the environment than going through tons of plastic disposable bottles.

But as with anything that is filled with sitting water and comes in contact with germs in our mouth, water bottles can get a bit gross. We recently found these four tips to make sure that your reusable bottles get a proper cleaning.

1) Make sure your bottle dries

One of the most important things to get germs out of your bottle is to make sure that it has time to properly dry. Any dampness will allow bacteria to grow and spread, so air your bottle out with the lid off! Put it upside down in a drying rack where it can get plenty of air is a great way to do this. Allow at least 24 hours of dryness before filling your bottle again.

2) Fill it with vinegar-water

Vinegar is a great natural antibacterial cleaner. Fill your bottle with ¼ vinegar and ¾ water. Shake it up and then let the bottle sit with this solution overnight. Then clean it out as you would with a bottle brush. Let it dry and it’s good to go!

3) Fill it with boiling water

If your bottle can handle hot water and keep its temperature for prolonged periods of time, boiling water is another way to clean it. Fill your bottle with hot boiling water, close it, shake it a little (don’t burn yourself) and let it sit overnight. In the morning, carefully open it and pour the water out. Wash with soapy water and a bottle brush and let dry.

4) Use a gentle, natural cleaner

Using a gentle, naturally anti-microbial dishwashing soap like Soapnut Republic’s Grapefruit essential oil infused Dish Soap is also a great and safe way to clean your water bottles. Simply squeeze a bit of the dish soap into the bottle, fill it with water, shake it, and then give the insides a good scrub with your bottle brush. Rinse it out and let it air dry.

So there you have it! Four great ways to make sure the pure, filtered water you put into your resuable water bottle stays clean and safe.