5 Frequently Asked Questions about Water Dispensers

These are some of the questions we often hear when people are interested in having a Water Dispenser supplied by our company.  I thought I'd share these because they are the questions you should be asking of a supplier if you are looking to purchase a cooler for the office.

FAQ1. I’m confused about the financial benefits. Is it better to buy or rent a Dispenser for my business?

A.         Renting is the best option as there’s no advantage to owning the equipment. Usually this includes the installation cost, sanitisation service and repairs due to breakdown of component parts. This means costs are very predictable and there’s no need to budget for any supplies (with the exception of plastic cups or paper cones, if you need them.) There are some other benefits including cashflow (no cash tied up in equipment), upgrades to new equipment (by simply swapping out as you renew or extend your agreement), and replacement of the equipment during the life of the agreement if it breaks down. However, if you still want to own it outright we’d be happy to propose some costs.

FAQ2. I’m not sure if our water supply will reach the place we want a Dispenser. What’s involved in installing a Water Dispenser and will there be any disruption?

A.         Normally an installation team will visit the location where you want a Water Dispenser installing. They’ll look for ease of access to water and power and make some recommendations about siting the Dispenser for convenience and for aesthetic appeal. Once the installation team have this information they can carry out the installation and testing process, usually in about 30 minutes, keeping any disruption to an absolute minimum.

FAQ3. I don’t like the taste of tap water. What does the water from one of your Dispensers taste like?

A.         The water in a Mains-Fed Dispenser passes through a filtration system. This is designed to remove the unpleasant tastes of heavily chlorinated water from some water utility companies. In blind taste tests most people find it impossible to tell the difference between mineral water and that from a tap that has passed through a dispenser.

FAQ4. We have employees who like a cup of tea or instant coffee during a break. Can a Water Dispenser provide hot water?

A.         You can get Dispensers that can deliver chilled, room temperature and water hot enough for a brew up. However, the amount of hot water that can be delivered is only enough for one cup at a time. If you have a number of people all needing hot drinks at the same time we would recommend a dedicated Hot Water Dispenser. These are capable of holding a larger reservoir of hot water for larger groups of people taking the same rest break.

FAQ5. I’m worried about Health and Safety. What are the risks with Water Dispensers?

A.         This depends mainly on the type of Dispenser. Bottled fed systems are still quite common. The risks they carry are:

●     The bottles are heavy (20Kg or more) and can cause injury to anyone lifting and carrying them in the workplace.

●     If water is stored in bottles for a long time (and few carry a “Born on” date) it can experience algae growth, so there is a potential health risk.

●     Bottles are recycled and there is no way of knowing where the water came from in the bottle your supplier delivers. Unscrupulous suppliers will often refill from a tap and can be careless with hygiene procedures.

●     Spring water elements need not be certified on a frequent basis and do not undergo the same stringent tests as tap water.

Mains-Fed dispensers avoid these problems. All you really need to do is keep the area around the tap clean. The inside of the machine is protected and a sanitisation process that takes care of this as part of a scheduled maintenance visit. In my view, if you are currently using a Bottled Water Dispenser you need to be moving to a mains-fed one. They avoid Health and Safety risks, are cheaper to run and have massive positive impact on the environment.

How Bottled Water Dispensers Are Having a Devastating Effect on The Environment.

Bottled water dispensers obviously require the need for large plastic bottle reservoirs that sit on top of the machine, but what impact is the creation of these plastic bottles having on our environment?  Although they are not the only place plastic bottles are being used, they are a contributing factor.  so how big and issues is this?

A good place to start is that the World Wide Fund For Nature reports that a staggering 1.5 million tons of plastic is used to bottle over 89 billion litres of water each year. With the vast majority (8 out of 10) of bottles finding their way to land fill where they take up to 700 years to decompose. Plastic cannot begin decomposing until the chemical bonds between the atoms of the plastic begin to break down, which takes at least 500 years.

However, energy wastage begins from the initial production of the bottles, as large amounts of energy and fossil fuels need to be used to manufacture this vast amount of plastic.  Plastic bottles are made up of a number of different resins, the most common being high and low density polyethylene, which are simply bi-products of crude oil.  As many of you know, oil is a precious natural resource and our over consumption is resulting in higher prices per barrel.  Also using raw materials such as oil in any production significantly increases the output of green house gases. While it takes around 2,000 pounds of oil to create just one ton of plastic and with millions of tons being created, the figures are quite alarming.

Once the production of the bottles is complete they are then transported by sea, sky, rail or road to the filling plants. Thus emitting more CO2 into the earths atmosphere. The moment the bottles have finished at the filling plant they are once again transported. Finding their way to distribution centers (where they will once again need transporting from), shops or directly to the consumer. When the plastic bottles are in the distribution centers or shops they have to be kept refrigerated using high CO2 emitting industrial refrigerators.

So what can be done to stem this ever growing effect on the environment?  Well, recycling is one of the most obvious solutions.  But even the reuse of these bottles for a water dispenser has a negative impact.  To be refilled they have to be shipped again back to the refilling plant (more CO2).  At the refilling plant they have to be washed and sterilised, before being filled and shipped back to the customer again, and so the cycle continues, using more energy and CO2 consumption.  So although re-usable bottles reduces the amount of plastic bottle production required, the recycling process itself has an negative environmental impact.

So what happens at the of the a bottles life span?  A large proportion ends up in landfill, but many suggest that they should be recycled.  However many countries including the United Kingdom do not posses the capabilities to recycle these plastic bottles. Instead they are shipped over to China where they can be either recycled or simply incinerated. This makes many people ask whats they point of recycling, when even more CO2 is emitted in order to recycle?

So when it comes to supplying drinking water in the workplace, what could you do to help mitigate the effect plastic bottle production, re-filling and recycling is having?  The obvious solution would be to simply purchase a bottle-less water dispenser. Many office type water coolers today simply use a tap or a mains feed to supply water to the dispenser. They come with built in water filters to improve taste and quality, and many water dispensers have a chiller to provide the perfect drinking water solution.

It has been proven that mains fed water is just as good or in some cases better for you than many bottled waters. Research has also found that a number of people in a blind taste test, actually preferred the taste of simple tap water to that of some of the most expensive and well known bottled waters from around the world.

So in conclusion, this begs the question: “Why are more people not drinking mains fed water?” In my opinion, all businesses have an obligation to do the right thing for the environment, so the time to take action is now.  Look at the type of water dispenser you see being used in your office or workplace and campaign to get it replaced if it uses those large plastic water bottles.

10 Reasons To Go For Mains Fed Water Dispenser

Kalix

Easy to manage. Once installed you can forget about them. They need no user maintenance apart from an occasional wipe down. So there’s no hidden costs of overhead in operating them.

No wasted space. There are no full or empty bottles taking up unnecessary space or making the place look untidy.

Reduced risk of injury. The Health and Safety risk from carrying heavy bottles or exchanging them is eliminated.

Simple to administer. If you rent a Water Dispenser you have no hidden or unexpected workload in terms of reordering supplies or carrying out repairs or maintenance.

Hygienic and safe. Since there are no manual processes, such as exchanging bottles, where hands come into contact with parts of the equipment that transport water, there is less risk of contamination.

No running out of water. Since the Water Dispenser is constantly connected to the mains supply there is no way to run out. Regardless of how many people have access to your dispenser, you will never run out.

A better taste. The filtration system in the Water Dispensers we supply ensures the water tastes just as sweet as spring water. In blind taste tests it’s impossible to tell the difference.

No risk of algae contamination. Bottled water, if stored for long periods of time in sunlight will grow an algae bloom. Though not hazardous, it looks awful, like pond water! Since mains water is always freshly supplied there is no risk of algae getting into it.

Total convenience. Mains-Fed Water Dispensers can be positioned close to employees desks, even when some distance away from a mains supply. With bottled dispensers, the bottles have to be transported from the point of receipt to a storage location then on to the location of the Water Dispenser. In some offices this can mean moving the bottles through offices and up stairs, all of which cause disruption in the workplace.

You are helping the environment. By using a mains supplied water dispenser, there are no plastic bottles involved. This means no plastic is created, consuming energy and contributing to carbon emissions. There are no bottles to dispose of which create recycling and waste management problems. There are no deliveries which involves transportation, futher increasing creates carbon emissions.

And, of course, it’s actually cheaper!