All bottled water isn't spring water that comes from a serene source surrounded by lush meadows or snowy glaciers. The bottled water industry has popularized that myth to convince consumers that drinking water sold in a container is healthier and tastes better than drinking water from the tap at home -- even when the bottled water is little more than tap water in fancy packaging itself.
Depending on where you live and how the public water system is treated in your area, it's true bottled water can taste better than water from the sink. Even then, however, you can still improve the tap water's taste, save hundreds of dollars a year, and help preserve the environment, too, by bottling your own purified tap water at home.
Run water from the cold tap for a few moments to flush the pipe and ensure the water is cold. If your local water system contains lead, you should always follow this method before filtering water with a carbon-based system to prepare it for cooking and drinking.
Filter water through the home filtration system to remove common contaminants, such as chlorine, metals (like lead), and pesticides.
Fill a tea kettle or good-sized pot with the filtered water and heat to a boil for at least one minute to make sure any disease-causing microorganisms are killed. Add another minute of boiling time for good measure and peace of mind if you're particularly concerned about contaminants.
Cool the boiled water until the kettle or pot is easy to touch, which normally takes at least a few hours.
Pour cooled water into clean, reusable beverage containers and refrigerate until ready to use.
Tip
Water tends to absorb chemicals very easily. As a result, for the freshest taste, it's best to use containers made of glass rather than plastic to store home-bottled water. If water purified with this method still has a noticeable taste, consider adding a flavor picker-upper, such as a powdered drink mix, a tea bag, or lemon or fruit juice.
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