Can i make mineral water fizzy?

MoodyMand45

I like spring water or sparkling water but not still for some unknown reason and i would love to find a way of turning my filtered tap water into sparkling.
I have seen people using a soda stream machine with co2 canister but i wonder if that is the only way!
Any suggestions?

Toothsmith

I got my SodaStream from my lads for a Xmas present last year. I've loved it! I do just that. Water from my filter jug into the bottle, then Hey Presto - Fizzy!!

To make water fizzy, you need to get CO2 into it - so there aren't many ways to do that.

MoodyMand45

Toothsmith said:

I got my SodaStream from my lads for a Xmas present last year. I've loved it! I do just that. Water from my filter jug into the bottle, then Hey Presto - Fizzy!!

To make water fizzy, you need to get CO2 into it - so there aren't many ways to do that.

That sounds great, how long do the canisters last do you know?

SuperHung

I got Sodastream and I don't like it. Sure it is fizzy but it tastes like fizzy tap water.

MovingForwards

I've got a Morphy Richards one and have quite a cheap place to get the cannisters from. The 1.5L bottle is lightly fizzy, the 1L is fizzy enough and I add squash to it as I'm not a plain water person.

elsien

SuperHung said:

I got Sodastream and I don't like it. Sure it is fizzy but it tastes like fizzy tap water.

That’s because it is fizzy tap water. Albeit, in the OPs case, filtered fizzy tap water. 

Mnoee

MoodyMand45 said:

Toothsmith said:

I got my SodaStream from my lads for a Xmas present last year. I've loved it! I do just that. Water from my filter jug into the bottle, then Hey Presto - Fizzy!!

To make water fizzy, you need to get CO2 into it - so there aren't many ways to do that.

That sounds great, how long do the canisters last do you know?

It depends on how fizzy you like your water! They claim up to 60L per cannister, but if you want lots of fizz then you might get as little as 30L. There are some tricks like using chilled water and leaving the bottle to sit for a few seconds before taking it out which help increase the fizziness without using so much gas. There is a bit of a learning curve to figure out the best method for you. 

It does work out more expensive than 'value' sparkling water, even if you do get 60L per gas cannister, but I switched to reduce my plastic waste. 

Toothsmith

MoodyMand45 said:

Toothsmith said:

I got my SodaStream from my lads for a Xmas present last year. I've loved it! I do just that. Water from my filter jug into the bottle, then Hey Presto - Fizzy!!

To make water fizzy, you need to get CO2 into it - so there aren't many ways to do that.

That sounds great, how long do the canisters last do you know?

The canister tends to last me 3-4 months - but I'm the only one really using it, and my usage is moderate. I'm not a huge fizzy water drinker. A glass or two 4-5 times a week. 

SuperHung

elsien said:

SuperHung said:

I got Sodastream and I don't like it. Sure it is fizzy but it tastes like fizzy tap water.

That’s because it is fizzy tap water. Albeit, in the OPs case, filtered fizzy tap water. 

Filtered tap water is still tap water, doesn't contain the "minerals" from mineral water.

Toothsmith

SuperHung said:

elsien said:

SuperHung said:

I got Sodastream and I don't like it. Sure it is fizzy but it tastes like fizzy tap water.

That’s because it is fizzy tap water. Albeit, in the OPs case, filtered fizzy tap water. 

Filtered tap water is still tap water, doesn't contain the "minerals" from mineral water.

Quite a few years ago there was a water industry convention at the hotel where I was a gym & spa member. It was the water supply industry rather than the bottled water industry. There were a group of about 3 of them in the sauna having a conversation about bottled 'mineral' water and their various claims. 

Lowest of the bunch was a supermarket's (I forget which one) value own brand water which was basically rain water that took a couple of days to soak through peat before being 'collected' for bottling! 

goldfinches

I'm another SodaStream person who also uses a water filter jug to refill my bottles before popping them into the fridge door to chill.

I got mine because I prefer sparkling water and my parents had had one since the 1970's plus I now live within walking distance of at least two places that stock refill cylinders which was a major bugbear back then.

I like my water very fizzy and drink at least one litre bottle a day so my cylinders tend to run out after about 45 days or so. It is worth it to me for several reasons which are first the convenience of having water to my preferred taste available whenever I wish, secondly that I don't have to lug heavy bottles home on foot or by bicycle, thirdly the environmental benefit and fourthly that I am now in the habit of drinking sufficient water daily.

It does cost £13 for a replacement cylinder from Sainsbury's currently, always assuming you have a used one to return for the £10 refund, and I am resigned to this cost. However if anyone living in or around the City of the Dreaming Spires can improve on this I'm certainly willing to listen.

I do agree with @Mnoee that it takes some experimentation to find your best method for your machine and palate so suggest that you budget for a spare gas cylinder to use as a tester in addition to the one that you receive with your machine.

This hasn't really answered your question about whether a SodaStream is the only way; all I can say is that I've not come across any other means of carbonating water that are suitable for a domestic setting and the A****n SodaStream page didn't suggest any alternatives either.