This post was sponsored by Culligan Water as part of an Integrated Program for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
We all know that water is the best way to hydrate. In fact, the current recommendation for adults is (8) eight ounce glasses of water per day.
Why water?
Our bodies are made up in large part by water, so keeping hydrated is key to healthy functioning.
Fun fact: our brains are 70% water and our lungs are 90% water (source), so it’s easy to see why water is so important!
No other liquid compares to the hydration quality of water – sodas, coffee, tea, and juices usually contain caffeine and/or sugars that should be consumed in moderation. (Caffeine can actually dehydrate, which is the opposite of what we want).
Even though I love water and I love how it makes me feel, I’ll admit that I probably don’t always drink as much water as I should. A few reasons why:
- Our tap water tastes unpleasant.
- Bottled water is expensive. (And very bad for the environment)
- Sometimes I simply get busy and forget!
I’ve made a few simple switches to “trick” myself into drinking more water. If you can relate to wanting to drink more water, these ideas might work for you too!
Related: How to Make Healthy Fruit Infused Water (3 Easy Recipes)
How to Drink More Water Every Day (and Love it!)
Growing up, we actually had really tasty tap water. I poured it straight from the faucet into my glass without a second thought.
However, I’ve never lived in a city since that had palatable water. In fact, many parts of Houston (my current home) are notorious for yucky water!
Sometimes impurities in water are actually visible – your water will appear cloudy in a glass. Unpleasant smells and tastes are also a giveaway that your H2O contains a little something extra.
Those impurities might not be harmful, but they sure can be a deterrent to drinking water.
My husband and I used to buy 1-2 cases of bottled water a week because we didn’t like how our tap water tasted. Let me tell you, it adds up over the course of the year!
There has to be a better way!
My 3 “Tricks” to Drink More Water
- Make your tap water taste better with a home filtration system
- “Automate” your water drinking so it becomes an unbreakable habit
- Carry water with you wherever you go so you won’t forget or be without water ever
Here’s a breakdown of how each of these water-drinking tricks works:
1. Make your tap water taste better with a home filtration system
Turns out, the reason our water looked and tasted funny is because it contained quite a few impurities.
The best way to find out what is in your tap water is to have it professionally tested. Intro to Cullgan. Your local Culligan Water dealer is able to perform a variety of tests to find out exactly what is in your water.
Culligan Water is one of the most trusted names in water filtration (both home and commercial). They have over 80 years of experience helping home and business owners identify and fix water issues – from hard water to taste.
We had our water tested by our local Culligan Water person- we were surprised to see what our water contained!
Our water test revealed:
- 3ppm chlorine (just under the government’s allowable limit of 4ppm)
- 3ppm ammonia/chloramine (again, right below the permitted level)
- extremely high levels of TDS (total dissolved solids) – they’re visible in the second test tube above!
- high levels of minerals (hard water)
This explained why our water tasted (and smelled) foul AND we had such pervasive buildup on our faucets and showers.
RELATED: Click here to read more about what’s in your tap water and each of the specific impurities.
Our Culligan Water rep, Mark, provided us with a detailed recommendation to solve our water quality issues, starting with the Aqua-Cleer filtration system in addition to the ClearLink PRO wireless system for our kitchen faucet to provide clean, safe, and delicious drinking water that we could control with the tap of a button!
What is Aqua-Cleer and its companion accessory ClearLink PRO?
This customizable Aqua-Cleer filtration system offers up to 14 interchangeable filters (depending on what’s in your tap water). Don’t worry, it actually takes up very little real estate under the sink AND there’s no drilling required (it hooks up to your existing plumbing. It’s perfect for renters!
The Culligan Water ClearLink Pro is a wireless control system that turns your Aqua-Cleer system on/off. To activate, simply turn on your faucet, press the ClearLink button, and enjoy clean, clear water filtered by reverse osmosis – one of the most effective ways to remove contaminants.
You can move the portable ClearLink PRO button anywhere around the sink. A rubber backing prevents it from slipping, and there is no damaging permanent adhesive.
No exaggeration – our tap water tastes amazing now! I actually prefer our Culligan Water filtered water to bottled water, hands down.
It’s so much easier to push a button and get clean, clear water straight from our faucet. I definitely drink a lot more water since we got our Culligan drinking water system with the ClearLink PRO wireless accessory!
2. Make drinking water a habit
Essentially, automating your water drinking means that you don’t even have to think about it. You just do it.
As soon as we wake up in the morning, my oldest daughter and I drink a glass of water before breakfast and heading off to school. We joke that it is like the “tin man” and oil – after you drink that first glass of water, you can actually feel your body loosening up and waking up!
I also drink a glass of water before bed. Just imagine, if you sleep eight hours, that means your body is going eight hours without hydration. That’s a long time! A glass of water before bed can help offset this nighttime dehydration.
That’s two of our eight glasses of water we need each day right there – without even thinking about it!
3. Carry a bottle of water with you everywhere you go
Since our tap water tastes amazing now, I don’t need to buy bottled water to take it with me on the go.
My husband and I each got 32-ounce insulated water bottles that keep our water cold all day long. We fill them up before we head out for errands, yoga class, etc. so that way we always have fresh, clean water at hand.
Now I can’t make excuses like “I forgot to drink water!”
The best part? These 32-ounce bottles contain half of our recommended water intake for the whole day. Awesome!
The second best part? We save a lot of money by not needing to purchases cases of bottled water every week OR extra-pricy individual bottles when we go places.
How Culligan Makes Every Day a “Good Water Day”
Anyone who visits our home now gets a demo of our Culligan drinking water system and ClearLink PRO wireless accessory. – I can’t help but rave about it to our family and friends!
I love to show them our “clear ice.” I know what you’re probably thinking: isn’t all ice clear?
Well, as you can see below, our ice and water was definitely NOT clear before we got our Culligan ClearLink system! The glass on the left contains Culligan filtered water; the glass on the right contains regular tap water. You can see “floaters” in our unfiltered tap water! Yuck!
You’ll have to take my word on the difference in taste, but I think it’s even better than bottled water. It’s definitely better for our planet and our pocketbook in the long run!
Find YOUR Culligan Water Dealer
Click here to find our more about Culligan Water and locate the Culligan Water dealer nearest you!
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Diego Lopes says
Now, there’s something I need! It’s not like I hate drinking water, I just really never made it a habit, it’s nice to have someone talking about it and giving that extra push.