This decade of the Naughties has seen the face of home water cooler (and not forgetting office water cooler) chat changing dramatically all the time. Gone are the days when we were content enough to have a natter about what we’d seen on the telly last night, or indeed the exciting new programme on the wireless this weekend. Now it’s all, “Ooh, have you seen the Michael Jackson medley guy on YouTube”, and “Can you BELIEVE he had the nerve to Facebook me? The cheek of it!”. The internet has well and truly arrived, some might say is has begun to take over our discussion time, and, in fact, the way in which we discuss is also being reformed. Who knows, over the next ten years, we may see the social use of the office water cooler dying out, as we decide to Twitter our new gossip instead of actually talking to our colleagues face to face; indeed, why not email Mary across the way instead of actually asking in person? Engaging in conversation will make it easier for her to ask if she may steal your last Malteaser.
How is your water cooler holding up in this time of change? Do you still meet there for talk and flirt time, or do you prefer cyberspace for this sort of thing? Let us know, we love hearing from you!

Last week was the beginning of the home water cooler challenge for our Sophie, and this week’s instalment of her progress lets us know how she got on with the final part of her task, to drink 1.5 litres of water a day for a fortnight, to see how it affected her energy levels and sense of well-being.
Day 7:
I’m really getting into it now. If I’m out and about, I’ll take a bottle filled up from the cooler with me, and sip it throughout the day, and before I even know it, it’s all gone! Easy peasy.
Day10: Another busy day, rushing around London to meetings and appointments, but my trusty water bottle kept me going and hydrated throughout the rush.
Day 12: Working from home can be a little tricky, particularly when you’re feeling like you’d rather be sleeping than working. So today it was really important for me to keep knocking back the water, to keep me awake and alert and performing my best.
Day14: Well, that’s me done with the challenge. I really thought it would be more of a struggle to complete, but if you simply drink a little water whenever you think about it, then it’s really easy as anything. I’ll definitely be keeping up with the good water habits.
So there we have it- why not take part in your own home water cooler challenge, and see how different you feel after a fortnight? Let us know how you get on!

Having been inspired by the recent campaign by a popular water brand to drink 1.5 litres of water a day for a fortnight, our Sophie thought she’d give it a go with the water from her home water cooler. This is how she got on:
Day 1:
I’m working from home today and I’m busy doing lots of admin, but my water cooler’s never far away, and I’m working on filling up my glass every time I think about it. I’m determined to keep hydrated!
Day 2:
I’m sticking with it, and finding I’m snacking less as I’m drinking more- always a good thing.
Day 3: I’ve been for a run and a swim today, so have drunk even more than usual, which is great. I’m beginning to feel more energised all the time, and I’m less lethargic during the middle of the day, but instead tired because I’ve been burning more energy with physical activity!
Day 5: Went out for drinks last night, so getting enough water is more important today than it has been for the previous few days. Amazingly, my head isn’t too sore-luckily I managed a couple of glasses before I went to bed, and am keeping up with the water today. Never has a hangover been so slight!

Next week we’ll be bringing you the second part of Sophie’s home water cooler challenge; let’s see if she keeps up the good work!

One of last year’s most talked about films was the long-awaited feature of Sherlock Holmes, which sees Robert Downey Jr. play the somewhat eccentric Holmes, and Jude Law his long suffering partner in crime, Watson. Our sister company, The Water Delivery Company, was proud to be the on-set water cooler supplier, as well as keeping the cast and crew topped up with spring water throughout the run of filming. Having had some of our staff go and see the film for themselves, we couldn’t help but notice how marvellously hydrated Holmes seemed to be, despite being such an action-packed character and finding himself involved in so many scrapes (we won’t give any more away, promise). If he were around now, in 2010, we’re sure he’d have invested in a home water cooler for himself-how else does a detective extraordinaire keep himself in such good condition? We would of course also provide him with the convenient and efficient service that we offer all our customers, delivering water directly to his door each week, or however often he so desired.
If you’d like any more information about our products or film preferences, or would like to take us all out to the cinema, please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to answer any questions (or trivia) you may care to ask.

At any time of year, particularly in this aftermath of Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, we at Home Water Cooler think that encouraging responsible drinking is one of the most important health-protecting observations that can be made. Of course we’ve all enjoyed a drink or two over the festive period, however rehydrating your body by matching your unit intake with the same amount of water is one way of a) avoiding a disgusting hangover and b) protecting yourself from some of the possible longer-term damage that excessive alchohol intake can lead to. It may seem like you’re drinking a lot of water, but trust us, your body will be grateful, and you’ll feel a heck of a lot better in the morning if you take our advice. And of course, if you’re out on Christmas eve this year, save yourself the headache of Christmas morning, and the kids running in overexcited, screeching and yelling, by pacing yourself and knocking back a couple of pints of the good stuff (yes, we still mean water).
If you’d like to share your responsible drinking stories, then please do get in touch, and share your words of wisdom with our other readers! We look forward to hearing from you.

A group of students from Burnley have taken the plunge into the water cooler business, in order to help raise money to build a well in a remote village, thousands of miles away in Zimbabwe. The girls at Thomas Whitham Sixth Form are working to get their coolers onto the Burley site of the school as part of a young entrepreneaur scheme, whilst at the same time helping those who are less fortunate than themselves. A great deal of work has also gone into publicising the drive, with events being held around the school, such as competitions for the teachers to see who can consume the most water in a specific time, to bring to light the dangers of drinking dirty water, and the selling of keyrings and badges to their fellow students.
From all at Home Water Coolers, we’d like to wish them the best of luck, and our admiration for their initiative and drive to follow through a great plan.
If you, or anyone you know, is involved in similar watery charity work, do get in touch and let us know, and who knows, you (or they) may be written about in our next blog!

Valentine’s Day is on the minds of many of us, particularly as it seems to be creeping closer and closer…If you’re looking for new and exciting ways to treat the love of your life to something special this year, look no further than your home water cooler, and execute any one of our innovative and ground-breaking ideas, any of which are a sure fire way to impress your someone special:
• Treat them to a lovely cup of tea made from the hot tap on your home water cooler. Delivering it to them in bed along with a continental breakfast is another good way to earn brownie points.
• Use some of the spring water from your home water cooler to make ice cubes; make them special by adding chopped up fruit, jelly heart sweets, or, if you’re feeling very adventurous, a ring…(we cannot guarantee that this is the best way to propose…)
• Get in touch with us and make sure that your water order is taken care of for the next week. You could even set up an automated delivery system so that your other half literally doesn’t have to lift a finger (until they need to pour a drink, that is).
If you have any questions about our products or about setting up a romantic auto-order, please do get in touch and one of our friendly team will be more than happy to help.

As we think we’ve said before, we at Home water coolers love water, and all things water-related. As we endeavour to bring a little love/joy to the world as often as possible, we thought you might like to hear some of these things, so you too can reflect and enjoy the thought of them.
Paddling pools: Although not quite appropriate for the season, these pools of joy bring happiness to all those lucky enough to dip in. Bring on the summer time!
Snowmen: Following our snowy weather this winter, we’ve fallen in love with snowmen, snowballs and all other snow-related things all over again. Definitely not just for kids.
Rainbows: Although indirectly water-related, but a definite (much more pleasant) bi-product of rain, rainbows bring a smile to even the saddest face. And of course, there’s always hope that we’ll be the one to find the pot of gold at the end of it.
Our home water cooler: Hugely useful and enriching for the whole family, our home water coolers bring us joy every day of the year, whatever the weather or season. What a gadget.
Have any other watery preferences? Do get in touch and who knows, you may find your contribution part of one of our future blogs. That’s one way to get famous, certainly.

New figures show that throughout 2008, more than 125, 000 new home water coolers, pumps and dispensers were installed in residential and business addresses throughout Eastern Europe, bringing the total of products in use to 1.65 million (figures from Zenith International). Some find the fact that the biggest boom has come from the water dispensers, rather than bottled coolers, and the POU (Point of Use) machines are yet to make a real dent in the Eastern European market. Russia’s top of the league table, guzzling down more water than anyone from the masses of coolers that make up 40% of the entire regional market. Others aren’t too far behind though, with Serbia and Romania’s maturing markets grabbing onto their share of ownership, a percentage that is continuously growing at a steady rate. Zenith predict that by 2013, just over two million coolers and other such products will be in use. If you’d like some more information on how to/why to jump on the home water coolers bandwagon, please do get in touch, and we’ll happily answer any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!

The House Democratic Office in Springfield, Illinois, this holiday weekend (December 28th 2009) suffered some damage to their carpets after one of their water coolers sprung a leak. One of the plastic bolts holding the cooler together came loose, thus allowing around fifty gallons of water to pour out into the surrounding carpeted area. As the staff were on holiday leave, no one was around to witness the “explosion”, allowing more time for the water to spread. The company who lease the coolers to the office, Watts Pure Water Technologies, agreed to examine all their coolers and replace the faulty bolts in other machines, if necessary.
We at Home Water coolers appreciate that these things sometimes happen, and have a section of our blog dedicated to troubleshooting your own water cooler, hopefully allowing you to solve 99% of hiccups without us interfering. Our prompt response time for those in need is also excellent, as we’re sure our clients will agree, meaning that your water cooler experience with us is as hassle-free as possible.
If you have any questions about our products or service, or about a problem you might have/have had with your cooler, please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.