One of the places we’ve been to recently is the beautiful, picturesque Cotswold village of Bourton-On-The-Water. It’s a lovely place to go for picnics, walks by the stream, traditional gift shops, old-fashioned tearooms, and local ice cream. We’ve had a few days out there, as there’s also a model village and the fantastic Birdland too, where you can find everything from parrots to penguins!
On our recent visit to Bourton-On-The-Water, they had duck racing, with yellow bath ducks being launched off of one of the bridges and followed downstream to the next bridge. Children can often be found paddling in the stream on hot days too. I recently got in myself and very quickly regretted it when I found out that the water was so cold my skin turned pink! Why is it that children always seem to be immune to how cold the water is?!
Bourton-on-the-Water is about 20 minutes from Cheltenham, 30 minutes from Gloucester, and 40 minutes from Oxford. It’s a great local place to visit in some of the prettiest English countrysides, with a real traditional Cotswold style to it. Definitely somewhere to add to the visit list if you are visiting Gloucestershire.
Life is moving so fast right now, that I can’t keep up! We’ve been to so many great places and had so much fun recently that I completely forgot to promote the last #CheckOutThatView linkup and this one is a day late! Bad blogger! *smacks own wrist*
Shoutouts to Ups, Downs, Smiles, and Frowns, and also Into The Glade, who both still remembered to link up, their beautiful photos, even though I forgot to tell anyone about it!
So I hope you liked my photos of Bourton-On-The-Water. Here’s this week’s linky for other bloggers to link up their photos of any place that has a pretty or dramatic view. #CheckOutThatView
Testing the differences between bottled waters is much like discerning the subtleties of shades of gray: It’s way more masochistic than sexy. But while the variations from one to another might not be as pronounced as those in the realms of mac & cheese or frozen pizza, distinct differences do exist.
To suss them out, we assembled a panel of ordinary citizens (no master sommeliers here) to blindly taste eight of the biggest bottled waters around: Aquafina, Evian, Mountain Valley, smartwater, Fiji, Dasani, Voss, and Pure Life. Read on to learn out which waters you should use to wash down your food, and which waters you should wash your hands with.
The story: The folks at Glacéau have their heads in the clouds. Their vapor-distilled water is pulled from the sky, then given electrolytes for taste. On the bottle they trash-talk spring water by making fun of people who like the taste of stuff that comes from under the ground. Snarky!
Tasting notes: Tangy. Tart. Reminds us of water that went through a Brita multiple times.
The story: Aquafina is purified water that goes through a seven-step HydRO-7 filtration process that it claims takes out way more solids than other filtration methods, making for the purest water possible. Foreshadowing!
Tasting notes: Starts off good, but the aftertaste wasn’t to our liking. It’s a voluptuous water. Very full-bodied. The cabernet of water. This tastes like American excess.
The story: The soda titans over at Coca-Cola own this purified-water imprint, which is remineralized with magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, and salt.
Tasting notes: It feels buoyant in your mouth, which our tasters didn’t fully embrace. Very clean and fruity. Hints of unchanged Brita filter.
The story: Evian is “naive” spelled backwards, but it’s also the name of a town in the French Alps that was founded way before people learned about spelling things backwards to create secret messages. The company claims its water is a geological miracle because it passed through a few very scientifically unlikely permeable layers. Over the course of 15 years, rain and snow make their way into an underground spring where the water is harvested already full of electrolytes and minerals.
Tasting notes: Whoa, that’s a lot of minerals. The electrolyte levels are on overdrive. There is worry among the group about over-hydration. The texture is a little on the thin side. If this were a pair of jeans, it would be skinny, not apple-bottomed.
The story: Tropical rainfall on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji is naturally filtered through volcanic rock where it picks up minerals and electrolytes, then wells up in an underground aquifer.
Tasting notes: It’s got the most lab-created flavor, but by a meticulous scientist from an exotic land, not one of our sloppy, disheveled American brainiacs. There’s no aftertaste or lingering mouthfeel. So many minerals it’d pair well with rocks.
The story: Nestle owns 64 different brands of water, from Perrier to Poland Spring, but we tested its most popular: Pure Life. It’s classified as purified water, which means it comes from a well or municipal source and is then carbon filtered, softened, demineralized, re-mineralized, and disinfected with ultraviolet light and ozone.
Tasting notes: A clean taste, with no trace of minerals at all. Neutral in flavor. If you’re a marathon runner, this would be a great choice. It quenches in a very direct and pleasing way.
The story: Found in an artesian well in Norway and also in fancy hotel rooms, Voss ties Mountain Spring for the most expensive water on the list.
Tasting notes: This has a lot of character. It’s expressive. Gravelly, but we liked it — it’s the Jack Palance of water. There’s a roughness around the edges. It seems like there’s a ton of minerals in there.
The story: This Arkansas-sourced spring water has been quenching thirsts since 1871 and has been a favorite of everyone from presidents Coolidge and Eisenhower to Elvis Presley to Secretariat, who stands alone as both the first horse to take home a Triple Crown and first to have an opinion on water flavors. It takes 3,500 years for rain water to make its way to the aquifer and its naturally high pH supposedly works well to neutralize highly acidic food.
Tasting notes: Sweet flavors. Incredibly high drinkability. Rejuvenating. Buttermilk flavors, but not so sour. Tastes like it’s been filtered through a geological treasure. Rich and luxurious mouthfeel.
In an emergency, water contaminated with germs can often be made safe to drink by boiling, adding disinfectants, or filtering.
IMPORTANT: Water contaminated with fuel, toxic chemicals, or radioactive material will not be made safe by boiling or disinfection. Use bottled water or a different source of water if you know or suspect that your water might be contaminated with fuel or toxic chemicals.
In emergency situations, use bottled water if possible; bottled water is the safest choice for drinking and all other uses. If bottled water is not available, the following methods can help make your water safe to drink.
If you don’t have safe bottled water, you should boil your water to make it safe to drink. Boiling is the surest method to kill disease-causing organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
You can improve the flat taste of boiled water by pouring it from one container to another and then allowing it to stand for a few hours; OR by adding a pinch of salt for each quart or liter of boiled water.
If the water is cloudy:
Filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter OR allow it to settle.
Draw off the clear water.
Bring the clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute (at elevations above 6,500 feet, boil for three minutes).
If you don’t have safe bottled water and if boiling is not possible, you often can make small quantities of filtered and settled water safer to drink by using a chemical disinfectant such as unscented household chlorine bleach.
Disinfectants can kill most harmful or disease-causing viruses and bacteria, but are not as effective in controlling more resistant organisms, such as the parasites Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Chlorine dioxide tablets can be effective against Cryptosporidium if the manufacturer’s instructions are followed correctly.
If the water is contaminated with a chemical or radioactive material, adding a disinfectant will not make it drinkable.
To disinfect water with unscented household liquid chlorine bleach:
To disinfect water with unscented household liquid chlorine bleach:
If the water is cloudy:
Filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter OR allow it to settle.
Draw off the clear water.
Follow the instructions for disinfecting drinking water that are written on the label of the bleach.
If the necessary instructions are not given, check the “Active Ingredient” part of the label to find the sodium hypochlorite percentage; and use the information in the following table as a guide. Typically, unscented household liquid chlorine bleach in the United States will be between 5 and 9% sodium hypochlorite, though concentrations can be different in other countries. Using the table below, add the appropriate amount of bleach using a medicine dropper, teaspoon, or metric measure (milliliters).
Stir the mixture well.
Let it stand for at least 30 minutes before you use it for drinking.
Follow the instructions for disinfecting drinking water that are written on the label of the bleach.
If the necessary instructions are not given, check the “Active Ingredient” part of the label to find the sodium hypochlorite percentage; and use the information in the following table as a guide. Typically, unscented household liquid chlorine bleach in the United States will be between 5 and 9% sodium hypochlorite, though concentrations can be different in other countries. Using the table below, add the appropriate amount of bleach using a medicine dropper, teaspoon, or metric measure (milliliters).
Stir the mixture well.
Let it stand for at least 30 minutes before you use it for drinking.
Making water safe to use with bleach having a 5%-9% concentration of sodium hypochlorite (most common in the US). If the water is cloudy, murky, colored, or very cold, add double the amount of bleach listed below.
1 quart/liter water
1 gallon water
5 gallons water
If you have a dropper:
Add 2 drops of bleach
If you have a dropper:
Add 8 drops of bleach
If you have a dropper:
Add 40 drops of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (mL):
Add 0.1 mL of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (mL):
Add ½ mL of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (mL):
Add 2½ mL of bleach
If you have a measuring spoon:
Amount too small to measure
If you have a measuring spoon:
Add a little less than 1/8 teaspoon
If you have a measuring spoon:
Add ½ teaspoon of bleach
Making water safe to use with bleach having a 1% concentration of sodium hypochlorite (this concentration is not common in the US, but is used in other countries). If the water is cloudy, murky, colored, or very cold, add double the amount of bleach listed below.
1 quart/liter water
1 gallon water
5 gallons water
If you have a dropper:
Add 10 drops of bleach
If you have a dropper:
Add 40 drops of bleach
If you have a dropper:
Add 200 drops of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (ml):
Add ½ mL of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (ml):
Add 2½ mL of bleach
If you have something that measures milliliters (ml):
Add 12½ mL of bleach
If you have a measuring spoon:
Add ⅛ teaspoon of bleach
If you have a measuring spoon:
Add ½ teaspoon of bleach
If you have a measuring spoon:
Add 2½ teaspoons of bleach
Tablets can be used to disinfect water and are popular among campers and hikers, as well as in other countries. They are available in different sizes and made to treat specific amounts of water. To disinfect water with tablets:
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the label or in the package.
Chlorine dioxide tablets can be effective against Cryptosporidium if the manufacturer’s instructions are followed correctly.
Iodine and iodine-containing tablets (tetraglycine hydroperiodide) or chlorine tablets are not effective against Cryptosporidium. Water that has been disinfected with iodine is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with thyroid problems, those with known hypersensitivity to iodine, or for continuous use for more than a few weeks at a time.
3. Filters
Many portable water filters can remove disease-causing parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia from drinking water.
If you are choosing a portable water filter:
Try to pick one that has a filter pore size small enough to remove parasites (such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium). Most portable water filters do not remove bacteria or viruses.
Carefully read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the water filter you intend to use.
After filtering, add a disinfectant such as iodine, chlorine, or chlorine dioxide to the filtered water to kill any viruses and remaining bacteria.
For more information about water filters that can remove parasites, you can contact us for more information.
