Thursday 26th April, 2012 by The Eden Water Cooler
Old fashioned water cooler at the New Orleans Mint 1891
The water cooler has been part of office furnishings for some time. Shortly after its inception the office water cooler became standard in most offices, and that’s where many employees gravitated to when they needed to talk about something urgently and not within earshot of the boss. Let’s take a look at the history of the water cooler and its place in the work environment:
History of the water cooler
A water cooler is, pretty obviously, a device that dispenses cool water, and has changed quickly and dramatically since its origin in the early 1900s. In 1906, Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws invented the first drinking water fountain. In 1911, Haws patented the water faucet. Taylor was a sanitary inspector for the city of Berkeley, which enabled him to observe that school children who consumed contaminated water were likely to be in poor health. This motivated Taylor to invent the drinking water fountain. The drinking water process was changed by The Halsey Taylor Company and Haws Sanitary Drinking Faucet & Co., whose intent was to provide purified water. The drinking faucet invented by Haws was the first drinking faucet installed at the Berkeley school department.
So the drinking fountain was created…but it provided drinking water at room temperature. The water temperature had to be cool to kill microorganisms that could contaminate the water, as water coolers did not have a water treatment method to purify the water. The early process of providing drinking water at a cool temperature entailed using big ice blocks to cool the water – this made the water coolers big, heavy and awkward.
The process of the evolution of the water cooler continued. In a relatively short period of time, the water cooler evolved into a lighter, more compact unit. As technology improved, water coolers were equipped with internal purifying systems.
Water and the environment
With advancing technology water coolers have become more environmentally- and user-friendly, contributing to a growing demand both in work and home environments. If you check out the Energy Star ratings of modern water coolers you will find that they use very little energy, and today’s water coolers allow you to reuse bottles up to 50 times rather than discarding them when empty. You can even use be creative and use bottles for building and art projects at the end of their life (otherwise they’re carefully recycled). Alternatively, plumbed in water coolers take water directly from the mains and mean you don’t have any bottles to deal with at all, and are certainly a step up from the drinking fountains of the 1900s.
The office water cooler
The phrase “Meet me at the water cooler” originated in the workplace as water coolers became commonplace thanks to the significant benefits of good employee hydration. The office water cooler became the “hub” for casual conversation and gossip because it was often located away from cubicles or offices – when an employee would want to chat or gossip, he or she would whisper to another employee, “Meet me at the water cooler” so they could talk in relative privacy.
With the new concepts and designs, the water purity, environmental-friendliness, and affordability of today’s water cooler, some would say that it has become more of a necessity than a convenience. Yes, the water cooler has come a long way from its humble origin. So why don’t you “Meet someone at the water cooler?”
When you think of bottled water coolers, the words ‘cool’ and ‘funky’ don’t often come to mind, but there’s one type of water cooler that’s getting a bit of hipster attention – a retro-style ceramic water cooler.
It looks pretty good (that smooth surface just begs you to run your hands over it) but does it do a good job of keeping your water cool and filtered?
People have been using clay pots for ages to store and cool water, but a study has found that filtering with clay will remove between 95 and 99 per cent of E.coli. Maybe the Aztecs and Egyptians were on to a fairly good thing with this simple technology! But maybe it’s not the best solution for a modern workplace…
How ceramic water filters work
The ceramic water filters work by using clay’s natural properties to filter out bacteria which generally can’t pass through the small pores. The filter sits in the top half, while the bottom half contains the filtered water and is fitted with a tap.
Those who like retro have seen it as a good accompaniment to an Aga and retro sink, and it makes an interesting conversation piece when people are gathered around the kitchen table, but does it come up to modern standards?
Well it needs to be filled – it doesn’t simply connect to a mains supply like a plumbed-in water cooler and you can’t attach standard water cooler bottles, so getting hold of the best-quality spring water is going to be a lot more tricky. And while it keeps the water fairly cool you won’t get the ice-cold water on demand like a modern water cooler. Finally, if you’re after safety and cleanliness the self-cleaning of some of our new models can’t be beaten, and there’re no quarterly sanitisation visits for an old-school ceramic cooler!
Moving on
Looking back we can see how water coolers have developed in the last few decades, using the latest technology and materials to become extremely energy efficient and environmentally friendly. While ceramic filters are pretty stylish, those looking for a modern and convenient beverage solution are better off sticking to the latest Eden Springs water coolers!
We’re delighted to announce that we’re once again donating 1,000 cases of bottled water to anyone fundraising for charity in the UK following our successful initiative last year.
If you’re an individual charity fundraiser training for or competing in an event you can apply for a case of 12 x 500ml bottles of refreshing Eden Springs delivered to a work address at absolutely no charge. You could be walking in benefit of a local hospice, climbing Kilimanjaro in aid of cancer research or dancing for diabetes support – whatever your cause we’ll help you stay hydrated during your challenge!
Organising a fundraising event or group activity group yourself? Apply for a larger water donation and we’ll also be happy to consider your request on a case-by-case basis.
Helping charities across the UK
Charities that benefited from the initiative include The Children’s Trust, who received water for a range of fundraising events. Angie Turner, Head of Corporate Partnerships (below, left) at the charity, explained to UK Fundraising that “Eden have been fantastic and really help charities around the UK save money on their events.Last year we helped a wide range of individuals and larger events that together raised thousands for fantastic causes.
“We have used the water that was kindly donated at our Sleepwalks around the UK and at our Easter Fair and Summer Fairs. It’s a great initiative and helped us raise more money to help children with profound disabilities around the UK.”
£30 donation to your charity with water coolers
In addition Eden will also continue to donate £30 for every water cooler installation resulting from a water donation to a charity event. If you’re involved in an event and help to promote the great range of bottled water cooler and mains-fed water cooler options Eden Springs provide you can then feel great knowing that any water cooler orders generated have helped to contribute to helping those in need.
Putting Eden water’s carbon footprint into perspective
Eden Springs, as a low carbon company and the first accredited carbon neutral water cooler company in the UK, are committed to reducing the environmental impact of what we do. However it’s important to know how our products perform in relation to other hydration options and popular products. Thanks to our stringent auditing and research process undertaken as part of our journey to become carbon neutral we know exactly what carbon footprint a glass of our water has.
The Carbon footprint of a product is the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted, directly or indirectly, during the extraction, production, distribution and consumption of the product. We can see that a glass of Eden water has a carbon footprint of about 1/6 of that of a glass of orange juice, and almost half that of a cup of tea.
Compare the carbon footprints of several day-to-day drinks or services for yourself:
Water from Eden water coolers is tasty, safe and refreshing. However we want to ensure your cooler is working exactly as intended and keep you cooler in top shape, so take the advice of Steven Riley, Cooler Expert for Eden Springs UK, to ensure the very small risk of water contamination remains small and unnecessary call-outs are avoided!
1. Are you plugged in?
It’s a surprisingly regular occurance – a cleaner might take out the cooler power plug so they can plug in the vacuum cleaner and they forget to plug the cooler back in. A call to our water cooler customer service team follows explaining that the cooler isn’t chilling the water, with a subsequent visit from a cooler expert, only to find out the cooler isn’t plugged in! So if you haven’t got cooled water, check one should be the power socket.
2. Watch for drip tray overflow
Often water cooler drip trays are left unemptied and overflowing, and this can lead to water spilling onto the floor. Often the first response to water on the floor is “The cooler is leaking” and an Eden Springs representative is called, and you go without chilled water unnecessarily. In order to maintain a clean and uncontaminated cooler we recommend regularly taking out the drip tray to empty and clean.
3. Store your water bottles in a suitable location
It’s important to store your water cooler bottles in a suitable room or space; yes we’d all prefer the bottles to be near your cooler, but there are other equally important factors to consider. The bottles should ideally be stored in a cold and dark environment, and they should preferably be stored off the floor to avoid any potential contamination from the floor surface. There is always a small chance that any spills, debris or cleaning fluids used on the floor can get into the bottles over time. Also the water cooler bottles themselves are made of a type of plastic, and chemicals or even the colour and dye of the bottles can seep into the water if left in direct sunlight or alongside contaminating materials.
4. Don’t refill water bottles
We generally wouldn’t recommend refilling bottles etc from water coolers, especially if there isn’t enough room for the bottle to sit well below the taps. This is because when refilling bottles people will often push the mouth of the bottle directly up against the water taps, and this is an opportunity for bacteria or viruses to transfer from the bottle to the cooler tap. If one person with a cold, say, did this in a busy office you can imagine how many people might catch this simply because they have refilled their bottle at the water cooler.
5. Clean inbetween sanitisation visits
To enjoy your water to the full contamination prevention is important. To achieve this we would recommend cleaning your water cooler intermittently and between our official sanitisation visits; it’s obviously not a full strip-and-clean of the cooler, however any cleaning will significantly reduce the chance of cross-contamination of your water. To this end we can also supply you with special sanitisation kits, which contain a small hydrogen peroxide spray, wipes, and a brush for fine cleaning around taps. Simply spray the cleaning fluid, wipe off and allow to dry.
After an Eden Springs sanitisation we also recommend changing the bottle on the cooler, as we don’t know how long a bottle has been on the cooler and with a nice clean cooler and reservoir we don’t want to reintroduce a potentially contaminated bottle.
On 31 March 2011 Eden Springs joined other representatives of the British Water Cooler Association in Crewe for a conference to discuss the future of the water cooler industry. Also invited to this special event were industry buyers and procurement managers from both private and public sectors, plus suppliers, manufacturers, bottlers and distributors – everyone involved in meeting hydration needs in the UK’s workplaces and homes.
Taking an in-depth look at the entire water cooler industry and incorporating the entire market, delegates discussed the benefits of bottled vs mains-fed coolers and what the future might hold for everyone in the sector. And of course there was plenty of water to be drunk inbetween the sessions!
Speakers included Charmain Holmes from Zenith International (who confirmed Eden Springs as the leading UK water cooler supplier in 2007) and Eden Springs UK’s own Managing Director Jean-Marc Bolinger, who explained how important environmental factors are in the hydration industry and challenged much of the rhetoric and fiction that exists.
As the UK’s number one water cooler supplier we’re teaming up the the leaders in home carbonation SodaStream to offer free stylish drinks makers with every water cooler order! It’s an incredible offer that means you could enjoy the great quality Eden water with an additional fizzy flavour.
It’s important to stay hydrated in winter months and having an Eden Springs water cooler at home or in the office makes is easy to get your recommended number of glasses each day. And with a free SodaStream for every customer who rents or buys a cooler from us in November, it’s the perfect time to take a step towards better well-being with Eden. Damien Higgins, UK Marketing Manager
So, if you’re in the market for a bottled water cooler for the office order quickly to benefit from a free SodaStream Genesis Value Pack – including a sleek drinks maker, gas cylinders, bottles and flavoured syrup – worth almost L100 absolutely free!
You’ll wonder how you coped for some many years without “getting busy with the fizzy”!
Thursday 23rd September, 2010 by The Eden Water Cooler
Here at Eden Springs we’re always rattling on about drinking lots of water (as the UK’s leading water cooler supplier, you wouldn’t expect anything less, would you?)
But if you’re not used to drinking lots of water, how can you form the habit and work your way up to drinking 2.5 litres a day? And how can you avoid the dry mouth, nausea, headaches and dizziness that often accompany dehydration? Here are some tips:
1. Drink water with every meal (and have some when you snack, too). This is a good way to get started.
2. Take a bottle of water when you go to the gym or do any exercise and make sure you drink it all. We lose more water when undertaking strenuous activity, so it’s important to replace it to avoid dehydration.
3. Visit your office water cooler a few times a day or take a bottle of water to work and drink it all.
4. Instead of drinking soft drinks or alcohol, drink water instead. No calories and no hangover – need I say more?
5. Invest in a plumbed in water cooler for your home or office to have cool, filtered water on tap – it will make it much easier to drink the amount of water you need each day.
Once you get used to drinking more water, you’re sure to get hooked on this healthy, natural drink.
When you think of 
Here at Eden Springs we’re always rattling on about drinking lots of water (as the UK’s leading 
