Water Cooler Styles

Good water gets better

There are very few reasons not to have a water cooler in your home. Water coolers provide the cleanest water, both hot and cold, for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Originally, these units were massive, loud and just plain ugly. Recently, however, manufacturers have improved looks as well as the functionality of water cooler units.

Today's water coolers have dramatically improved thermal management, keeping the hot water hotter and the cold water colder. The clean water you enjoy drinking can help make your food preparation easier and healthier as well. Potential buyers have many options these days, the most important being the delivery system of the water.

Old faithful

The classic top-mounted bottle water cooler is still a popular style. These require large bottles to provide the water, which usually is purchased from a purified water distributor.

This style has very little in-unit filtration since the water comes clean. All that the system needs is a power outlet to run the cooling and heating unit.

The downside to this style is that the bottles need to be stored, usually in large quantities and can cause an awful mess when swapping out an empty bottle. Also, these units are bulky, often limited in design and loud.

Clean and classy

Water coolers don't have to be eyesores, though. If the top-mounted bottle style isn't to your liking, step up to a smaller, more streamlined bottle-less water cooler system. These advanced systems eliminate the hassle of hauling in bottles every week by using the reverse osmosis process to purify your home's existing water supply.

This can be a problem, however if the home's water supply is especially contaminated. Since there is only so much filtration that can happen at the point of use, bottle-less water coolers are best used in conjunction with some kind of whole-home water filtration system. This will ensure the cleanest water for showering, laundry and every other home use, not just for drinking.

Space saving alternatives

There are also more visually transparent, built-in models and small countertop models to suit your unique space requirements.

Built-in water coolers are very expensive and require a hole in the wall to sit in, making it a permanent part of the kitchen. However, the resulting look, on top of its small spatial footprint, makes this style the most visually and functionally effective style.

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