# Water coolers Vs bottled water



## Laureen (Jun 24, 2016)

Are there any residents that could help please. Do we buy bottled water or get a rental cooler for water? We are a family of 4 so will be drinking alot of water. Also if it turns out to be cheaper to get a cooler which companies do you recommend with reliable service please 

Than you for your replies


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

Laureen said:


> Are there any residents that could help please. Do we buy bottled water or get a rental cooler for water? We are a family of 4 so will be drinking alot of water. Also if it turns out to be cheaper to get a cooler which companies do you recommend with reliable service please
> 
> Than you for your replies


We use both  .... cooler in the kitchen which takes care of everything we need in doors and we still have small bottles delivered to use to take out etc, we could just fill up sports bottles to take out but it costs so little it's easier. 

We use Mai Dubai, we chose them simply because the deliveries are ultra reliable where we live (Arabian Ranches 2), the water is fine although I'm not a water connoisseur, I just wanted a reliable delivery. 

The cooler wasn't too expensive but I'd say it's still cheaper to just buy bottled, the chiller is very convenient and neat. It's the type that has the large bottle inside and covered at the base rather than sitting on top. 

Hope that helps


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

You can either hire a cooler from a water company or just buy one yourself then have the water bottles delivered - I do the latter. I use Falcon water and have always found them to be excellent.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Use the stuff out of the tap and stop being such a luvvie.

What is it with people and thinking bottled water is somehow better for you ?


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## Racing_Goats (Sep 5, 2015)

twowheelsgood said:


> Use the stuff out of the tap and stop being such a luvvie.
> 
> What is it with people and thinking bottled water is somehow better for you ?




Possibly the first of your posts I agree with, or more accurately don't feel irritated whilst reading


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

twowheelsgood said:


> Use the stuff out of the tap and stop being such a luvvie.
> 
> What is it with people and thinking bottled water is somehow better for you ?


Hi,
Although I am not currently in the profession - I am actually a qualified water chemist and spent many years in the water industry - including this region, back in the eighties.
There are actually two very good reasons why it's not a great idea to drink tap water in this region.
Firstly water here is desalinated sea water. This means that it does not have the same chemical composition as typical European tap water - it has higher sodium levels and higher total dissolved solids.
Secondly - whilst the water leaves the desalination plant in good condition - there is no control over the local water tank in your apartment block or villa. It's very easy for the water to be contaminated at your own premises.
Bottled water can have its own problems - especially with the reusable 5 gallon bottles that contain certain chemicals in the plastic that can leach into the water.
This is made worse if the bottles are delivered and left outside in the sun all day.
The two best technical solutions are either to drink bottled water from plastic bottles that don't contain BPAs and are not reusable (like the Masafi 4 gallon bottles) or to install a unit that looks like one of the water coolers but is actually plumbed into your tap water and it chills and filters the tap water to make it perfectly safe to drink. The filters on these are changed around once per year in a domestic setting.
Cheers
Steve


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

twowheelsgood said:


> Use the stuff out of the tap and stop being such a luvvie.
> 
> What is it with people and thinking bottled water is somehow better for you ?


Elsewhere - absolutely. Here? Not a chance! You can taste the chemicals in the backwash of the water as it's full of them. It's also desalinated, so has a high sodium content. It's not a good idea to drink water here. In Europe, we always drink the tap water. In the ME, not a chance.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Secondly - whilst the water leaves the desalination plant in good condition - there is no control over the local water tank in your apartment block or villa. It's very easy for the water to be contaminated at your own premises.


You get that pretty much anywhere else.



Stevesolar said:


> Firstly water here is desalinated sea water. This means that it does not have the same chemical composition as typical European tap water - it has higher sodium levels and higher total dissolved solids.


And ? Is there an epidemic of problems caused ? Is this bad enough to warrant avoiding it like its poison ? I though t you said it came out of the plant in good condition - you can't have it both ways surely?

Each to their own of course, but as people who do drink the local water all the time, aren't dropping like flies, it sounds like a problem with negligible consequences.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

twowheelsgood said:


> You get that pretty much anywhere else.



Hi,
The plumbing system is different here to UK, for instance.

In the UK, it's law for the tap in the kitchen to be directly mains fed.
It's easy to test whether it's mains fed in the UK - you simply put your finger over the tap outlet and turn it on - you can't hold it back.
In your bathroom - the cold tap is often fed from the roof tank - this pressure is easy to hold back.

In the UAE - the kitchen tap is not directly connected to the mains - it is fed from a tank or series of tanks.

The water leaves the desalination plant sterile and with the correct chemical composition (for desalinated water).

Once it gets to your property it can be contaminated in a number of ways.
Firstly, like the water bottles - chemicals from a big roof mounted plastic tank can leach into the water - especially as tank is in sun all day on villa roof.
Secondly - with the water nicely warmed up, bacteria grow and some of these are not pleasant (E-coli, for instance).
Older properties often have freshwater and waste water tanks next to each other and being made of concrete - cross contamination is possible.

I personally don't like to drink desalinated water.
I especially don't like to drink warm desalinated water that has been sitting festering in a plastic water tank on the top of a villa!

Cheers
Steve


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

When the water very often comes out the taps in our apartment brown to start with, and you have to run it until it goes clear - NOPE! That's not happening. I won't even use it in the kettle or for cooking.


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

Chocoholic said:


> When the water very often comes out the taps in our apartment brown to start with, and you have to run it until it goes clear - NOPE! That's not happening. I won't even use it in the kettle or for cooking.


Exactly why we dont drink our tap water + all the reasons explained above about water tanks........ absolutely nothing to do with being a 'Luvvie'


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

UKMS said:


> Exactly why we dont drink our tap water + all the reasons explained above about water tanks........ absolutely nothing to do with being a 'Luvvie'


Sounds more like you're not getting water out of your taps.

Personally, ours is always clear and leaves no colour, no smell and no stains anywhere. that's what water does - not drinking that water is definitely being a luvvie


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## Dubblington (Apr 20, 2015)

Internet forums are always a great source of FUD, especially when it comes to water, even the people buying filters for their showers to prevent hair loss. It's all snake oil. I've yet to see a single piece of evidence, only hearsay and advertising bumph.

Regarding sodium - Average bottled water is 20 mg/l of sodium, tap water is typically 50 mg/l. Drinking 3 litres per day will give you 0.06 - 0.1g of sodium. A single slice of bread will give you 0.1 - 0.15g of sodium. I would worry more about fast food, bread and cereal than water if you're concerned about sodium in your diet.

The source of mass market bottled water is also desalinated sea water. 90% of the ground water has been drawn out over the years and is now replaced by dragging seawater back into the aquifers. Ground water is just as saline as seawater, and in some places, more saline.

The main concern is how often the building management company cleans the water tank on the roof. How thick is the layer of settled dust at the bottom? Has a dead pigeon been lying in there for months? Does it comply to a recognised standard with a screened fly-mesh over the vent/ double check valve/ sufficient air gap?


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

I started out using Falcon water and they sold me a water cooler fairly cheap, they have also repaired it once. A few months ago they switched my delivery day without telling me and I was out of water for a few days and could not reach them by phone. I then started buying Nestle as a friend toured their plant(among others) and said it was the most impressive. I have also found Nestle to be more responsive, with Falcon they did answer an email eventually and informed me of the new day so I do use both of them now.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Everyone here has offered valid points for both sides of the argument. I agree desalinated water is not to be feared, but Steve has a point about the safety of the plumbing in your apartment or villa or water tank. 

Having said the above, in more than ten years in the UAE not once did I know of people who got sick from desalinated water via their taps. There's also been no plagues or mass infections. 

I use tap water for cooking (pasta, soups) and bottled water for drinking. And brushing teeth / showers. I used to have the water cooler but several years ago it broke and I switched to buying bottled imported water simply because I liked the cleaner taste better. My carbon footprint is doubtlessly enormous.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

XDoodle****** said:


> I started out using Falcon water and they sold me a water cooler fairly cheap, they have also repaired it once. A few months ago they switched my delivery day without telling me and I was out of water for a few days and could not reach them by phone. I then started buying Nestle as a friend toured their plant(among others) and said it was the most impressive. I have also found Nestle to be more responsive, with Falcon they did answer an email eventually and informed me of the new day so I do use both of them now.


Never had that issue with Falcon and been using them for 6 years. I do have the mobile of our delivery driver though, so that always helps.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)




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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Chocoholic said:


> Never had that issue with Falcon and been using them for 6 years. I do have the mobile of our delivery driver though, so that always helps.


I had them over 5 years without an issue, just like anything here it will go smooth until it doesn't, then it can be a major hassle.


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## SgtRoswell (Apr 7, 2014)

TallyHo said:


> ...
> Having said the above, in more than ten years in the UAE not once did I know of people who got sick from desalinated water via their taps. There's also been no plagues or mass infections.
> 
> ....


We were out of water on two different occasions due to delivery day change and had to use tap water, myy wife had developed stomach pain, twice !

Here is one case for you.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Probably just a coincidence or unrelated.

If your wife showers regularly with the tap water and brushes her teeth with the tap water and never had issues, then she didn't get sick from consuming the regular tap water.

It could be that the mineral content of the tap water is enough to cause discomfort in some people whose systems aren't used to it but this would be widely known and discussed in the UAE. And it isn't. 



SgtRoswell said:


> We were out of water on two different occasions due to delivery day change and had to use tap water, myy wife had developed stomach pain, twice !
> 
> Here is one case for you.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> Probably just a coincidence or unrelated.
> 
> If your wife showers regularly with the tap water and brushes her teeth with the tap water and never had issues, then she didn't get sick from consuming the regular tap water.
> 
> It could be that the mineral content of the tap water is enough to cause discomfort in some people whose systems aren't used to it but this would be widely known and discussed in the UAE. And it isn't.


Hi,
I think there are actually two issues to consider with drinking water.
Firstly there is the issue of drinking contaminated water that has immediate effects - like an upset stomach.
The second and possibly more worrying issues are the long term health effects of drinking water with high sodium content, high dissolved solids, pesticides, etc. etc.
At my age - I am not so bothered - but I do worry about my 12 year old son and the possible effects on his health in the long term and therefore are more careful in what we let him drink.
Cheers
Steve


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## falcon01 (Jan 29, 2017)

I have always been fascinated by the whole concept of bottled drinking water. I am even more fascinated when people visit a bottled water plant. 

Then again I came across this 

Is UAE tap water safe to drink? We ask experts - Emirates 24|7

_“Tap water is completely safe to drink at the time of dispatch. But, the tanks must be cleaned systematically, at least once in six months, to ensure it is unpolluted. Commercial tanks are monitored by us, but not the residential ones,” said Bobby Krishna, Principal Food Studies Officer at Dubai Municipality."_

By the way, apartment blocks in the UK, old and new have a water tank on the roof top. Then we have pipe corrosion even for landed properties where it is main fed and the occasional news reports of brownish water etc. 

There are also lots of water filters that one attaches to the tap and there is a good article below 

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/wate...drink-from-the-tap-or-plastic-bottles-1.53331


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## wattie158 (Aug 4, 2017)

Stored water in hot weather breads bacteria including legionaries diesease. The Legionella bacteria usually are found in water; they grow best when the water is warm. So Legionella are often found in hot tubs, plumbing, water tanks, whirlpool spas on cruise ships and large air-conditioning systems.

Be careful with drinking water from the water supply from tanks, and poor AC servicing. Legionaire cases are hidden here in the Middle East.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

wattie158 said:


> Legionaire cases are hidden here in the Middle East.


Legionella breeds in wet AC systems, not dry ones like we have here in the Middle East.

So irrelevant.

While I am sure you can find an occasional case of legionella here, your claim they are 'hidden' is just fantasy.


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## wattie158 (Aug 4, 2017)

twowheelsgood said:


> Legionella breeds in wet AC systems, not dry ones like we have here in the Middle East.
> 
> So irrelevant.
> 
> While I am sure you can find an occasional case of legionella here, your claim they are 'hidden' is just fantasy.


I afraid it isn't fantasy, being in the hygiene industry and have our own water treatment dept, we have discovered this bacteria in Saudi, and installing systems to prevent it in large hospitals, who just say..they just died of Pneumonia. 

and..https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/wellbeing/keeping-cool-in-uae-can-have-health-costs-1.425013

The large cooling tanks breed it, and not all are dry systems in the ME.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

wattie158 said:


> I afraid it isn't fantasy, being in the hygiene industry and have our own water treatment dept, we have discovered this bacteria in Saudi, and installing systems to prevent it in large hospitals, who just say..they just died of Pneumonia.
> 
> and..https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/wellbeing/keeping-cool-in-uae-can-have-health-costs-1.425013
> 
> The large cooling tanks breed it, and not all are dry systems in the ME.


Quoting a 2011 article shows you just randomly googled for an article and didnt botehr to check the date - yeah, very convincing. Sorry, but if you want to claim you clean out water tanks then fair enough but there is no significant legionalla problem in the UAE.

PS This isn't Saudi either.


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## wattie158 (Aug 4, 2017)

and most recently..Flying to Dubai? Legionnaires' disease warning issued - Khaleej Times

but back on topic this was about using tap water, and lessoning the risk by drinking bottled water, not trust tanks here.


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## wattie158 (Aug 4, 2017)

twowheelsgood said:


> Quoting a 2011 article shows you just randomly googled for an article and didnt botehr to check the date - yeah, very convincing. Sorry, but if you want to claim you clean out water tanks then fair enough but there is no significant legionalla problem in the UAE.
> 
> PS This isn't Saudi either.


I mentioned the ME in in general, don't drink water from the taps, my opinion.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

wattie158 said:


> and most recently..Flying to Dubai? Legionnaires' disease warning issued - Khaleej Times.


"The government of UK also updated its travel advisory but said that the overall risk of Legionnaires' disease for UK travellers to Dubai is low except for persons with established risk factors for Legionnaires' disease."

Still scaremongering I see. Picking the top item from Google without bothering to read the text stands out somewhat.

You're entirely entitled to drink what you want, how you want, and to express an opinion, but the facts say your opinions don't make sense.

There is no practical risk of legionella any more than there is from drinking tap water.


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## nonoa (Jan 9, 2014)

I know that the many companies here include legionella testing in their preventive maintenance and I grew up familiar with having our home tank cleaned every now and then.
My mum makes them wear brand new hazmat suits to set foot inside our tank :tongue:.
I do know some very rare instances where some tanks got contaminated, but it's usually caught during the regular tests and dealt with immediately. 

Not sure about other countries, but in the US, don't most people use those Brita filters before they drink their tap water? and sometimes they have problems when local water gets contaminated. My friends' families also use reverse osmosis filters in their kitchens so they can purify their water. They add in the minerals separately or something.

I think that regardless of how effective any of the above is, or where you are, it is up to you to do due diligence in terms of where your water is coming from, what it is going through, before you decide to drink it or not. 

We buy bottled water. Trying to convince a large family to drink tap water will be exactly like the discussion in this post or it would just be "are you crazy?"
Installing a filter of any kind requires ongoing maintenance which knowing my clients...they would not bother.

We use coolers at work. Sometimes, the water starts to taste funny and we know they need to be cleaned out and sanitized.

It's all such a bother to think about. We're sticking with the bottles for now.


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

twowheelsgood said:


> "The government of UK also updated its travel advisory but said that the overall risk of Legionnaires' disease for UK travellers to Dubai is low except for persons with established risk factors for Legionnaires' disease."
> 
> Still scaremongering I see. Picking the top item from Google without bothering to read the text stands out somewhat.
> 
> ...


In fairness there is enough of a risk that public health England did a risk assessment and published a document on the UK travel advice site which you have no doubt read, they don't do this for many places. The groups that have established risk factors ......


"_Information for travellers to Dubai
The risk of LD among UK travellers to Dubai is low. However, there are some people whose age or underlying conditions might put them at increased risk of LD. These include:
 persons aged over 50 years
 smokers
 persons with respiratory conditions
 persons with immunosuppsion"_

So there are a few at risk and it's not only people who are ill..... old ******s like me are in the frame


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## RajPan2016 (Sep 26, 2016)

*Water in Dubai*

Hi,
Always wondered why everyone avoids tap water there.
I'll be moving to Dubai soon - from UK.
I seem to get mouth ulcers from the bottled water in Dubai,
don't understand why. Is there anywhere I can buy bottled water in
glass bottles?
I have also used tap water for making tea, I presume from what I read here,
that is not safe!

Is it safe to bath with water that is contaminated with human waste!?


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## UKMS (Jan 9, 2017)

RajPan2016 said:


> Is it safe to bath with water that is contaminated with human waste!?


I tend to find it's good for the skin as long as you don't sit in it for too long


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

UKMS said:


> I tend to find it's good for the skin as long as you don't sit in it for too long


And it's better to use the toilet first - rather than doing it in the bath!


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## Shizakhan (Jun 22, 2017)

It depends on your requirements that how much you use on a daily basis. You can use the best one according to your need. Water cooler is best then bottle. However, if you buy a water bottle or two, you could have bear the same convenience. You have simply fill them up ahead of time and make sure bottles will remain cold if it comes to using them.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Shizakhan said:


> It depends on your requirements that how much you use on a daily basis. You can use the best one according to your need. Water cooler is best then bottle. However, if you buy a water bottle or two, you could have bear the same convenience. You have simply fill them up ahead of time and make sure bottles will remain cold if it comes to using them.


Not quite what was being discussed!


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