Do y’all drink tap water? I grew up on it. In the mountains, I’d stick my head up under the faucet to drink straight from the tap.
What came out of the spigot was always ice cold and tasted better than any bottled water you can buy.
I was spoiled in that way.
It wasn’t until I moved to Wilmington that I discovered not all water is created equal. Some water has a stench that permeates an entire home and stains everything it touches.
Hard water. Ugh. It caused me to give up tap water before I was out of grade school.
Even after we got city water, I wouldn’t drink it. It smelled funny and conjured memories of days spent at the swimming pool. Plus, it was loaded with GenX.
I stuck with juices and sodas until I was in my twenties. That’s when Brandon and I started buying bottled drinking water. I can stomach bottled water. It doesn’t taste as good as mountain water, but at least it has no odor.
Does it cost more? Yes. Is it worth it? Up until recently, I would’ve said yes. But as grocery prices continue to skyrocket, I find that I can’t really afford to be a water snob anymore.
We spend $85 a month on 20 cases of bottled water. That’s more than a grand every year. That $1K could be put to much better use. So, I’m ditching the bottled water and going back to the tap.
Kinda.
We invested $20 in a PUR water pitcher and a four-pack of filters for $24. We will probably use 9 filters a year. That’s $103 per year for decent-tasting drinking water.
Next year, the cost will be $83.
It won’t taste like the delicious tap water of my childhood, but as long as it doesn’t reek of chlorine, I’ll be happy.
I stood on my front porch which had a tin roof as a child and caught the rain water in my cupped hands. It killed me to start buying water. We had a hand pump and the water was ice cold!
I have similar memories! Mamaw and Papaw’s back porch had a tin roof too. When it rained you could hear it through the whole house. They had a pump house – but no hand pump.
My Grandma and Grandpa had one behind their house though. It was broken by the time I came along, but I remember trying to pump water with it every time I found myself in their backyard. lol
Good water is such a blessing! I remember when Pap finally had a well drilled. I was in about 8th grade. Up until then we’d had gravity water from way up the holler. He was so afraid the well water wouldn’t be good, but thankfully it was. I’m glad you got the filter!
I love that! I’ve seen gravity water pipes dozens of times – and drank it. It tastes just like the spring water back on the mountain when I was little.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve often wondered if Mamaw or Papaw got their water that way when they were growing up. Sadly, I never asked. I’m sure one if not both of them did, though!
And thank you! The water pitcher is amazing. It gets rid of the chemical smell and makes the water taste so much better! I think we’ll need a second – or maybe a filter that’s attached to the faucet pipe in the kitchen. We drink a lot of water around here. lol