Do we need a water dispenser at work?

Did you know that it’s recommended that we drink 6-8 glasses or 1.2 litres of water per day? With busy and often long days working in the office, are you and your team staying hydrated enough?

Hydration has a direct impact on your team’s health and drinking water plays a key role in our bodies functioning optimally. It can also support your team in being more alert, productive and energised. Although it’s important to note that you can also get hydration from other fluids. These include soft drinks, squash, fruit juice and even tea and coffee. So with all of this in mind, it’s important you provide your team with a quality water solution in the office.

What’s wrong with tap water?

The minimum requirement in UK offices is to supply drinking water at work. Specifically, in the Workplace Regulations 1992, it states that an “adequate supply of wholesome drinking water” must be provided. It must also be readily available in suitable and clearly marked places. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with tap water per se, it doesn’t taste as good as fresh, filtered water.

This is due to the added chlorine, and depending on where you live or work, you could be in a hard water area. Over 60% of the UK’s water consumers live in hard water areas. Hard water will have high levels of magnesium and calcium that cause limescale. Water can also sometimes taste metallic or bitter due to higher concentrations of copper or zinc.

And of course, fluoride can also be present in your water supply. In areas with low natural fluoride levels, fluoride can be added to water to improve dental health. In England, around 10% of the population receives public drinking water with added fluoride. This aims to achieve a level of 1mg of fluoride per litre of water. And the decision about whether to add fluoride to the water supply is made by individual local authorities.

However, fluoride has been notoriously controversial about whether it is beneficial to our overall health. Some reports prove that excess fluoride can lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis. Because of this, no new fluoride schemes have been approved within the last 20 years. The UK’s current fluoride levels are closely monitored by authorities to ensure our water is safe to drink.

Is tap water safe?

Put simply, yes. Tap water is safe here in the UK. It’s actually considered to be one of the best water supplies in the world, with a quality rating of 99.96% according to Discover Water.

In areas of hard water especially like the East of England, East Midlands, South East, Greater London and the
West Midlands, filtering your water can help to improve the taste, purity and appearance of your glass.

What type of water solution is right for me?

Once you’ve decided to upgrade your water source from the office kitchen tap, there are lots of options to choose from. These include providing your team with bottled water, bottle-fed water coolers, POU (point-of-use) water coolers and undercounter water taps. Firstly, if you care about sustainability, single-use plastic water bottles are a no-go. Similarly, bottle-fed water coolers are not environmentally sound and are bulky and inconvenient.

In some cases, a POU (point of use) water cooler is a good option for offices. It’s plumbed into the mains water, and passed through a filter and can provide cold, ambient and even sparkling water to your team. However, the best option for offices if space and budget allow is an undercounter water tap.

What’s an undercounter water tap?

An undercounter tap system offers the most compact, convenient and stylish option for most office kitchens. The tap is mounted on a worktop with the main unit installed discreetly fitted underneath the counter. This is usually in a cupboard so it’s out of sight.

The great thing about undercounter taps is that they dispense high-volume filtered boiling, chilled, ambient and sparkling water – all at a single touch. They take up very little space and are more modern and sophisticated than a freestanding, or even countertop, cooler.

Get in touch

Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to water dispensers for your office. You need to find a solution that’s right for you and your team. In our experience, we’ve found that undercounter taps tend to provide the most convenient and flexible solution.

If you’re considering your hydration options, simply get in touch with us and we’ll help you decide. We offer free consultations with our team.