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Activities You Should Not Forget to Take Your Water

There are lots of great outdoor activities you can be doing when the summer sun starts to shine. You can fit in some great days out, and there is so much choice for activities for families, couples, friends, or by yourself. The problem is, when you’re having so much fun in the sun, it can be difficult to remember to stay hydrated, especially for kids.

To help you stay hydrated during summer activities, it’s always a good idea to take plenty of bottled water with you so that it’s easier to remember to drink enough. Here are some fun summer activities that you should definitely pack water for.

A day at the beach

Going to the beach is the perfect summer day out, whether you prefer to spend it sunbathing, in the sea, or making sandcastles. Whatever you do, it’s important to stay hydrated, especially if you accidentally swallow seawater, which is dehydrating. Even if you’re just lying on the sand, the heat will leave you sweating. A good trick is to pack bottles of ice water so that it stays cool in the sun, or pack a cooler of water bottles.

Swimming

Swimming can be a great way to cool down, but we tend to underestimate how much we’re exerting ourselves. You don’t notice the fact that you’re sweating when you’re surrounded by water, so we don’t realize that we’re becoming more and more dehydrated. Leave a bottle of water poolside so you can stay hydrated throughout.

Camping

Fresh water is a camping essential because you never know if there will be a good source of water there. Campgrounds should have places you can fill up your water bottles, but it’s a good idea to stock up so you don’t have to keep trekking back and forth to the faucet. As well as keeping you easily hydrated, you can use bottled water for cooking and washing, too.

Hiking

Hiking or walking in the sun is a pretty exhausting activity, and you will sweat a lot! You might be reluctant to carry a lot of weight on your back, but it’s important to pack plenty of water in case there aren’t many opportunities to fill up on the trail.

Picnics

A picnic can be a great family day out or a romantic way to spend the day as a couple. You’ll remember the blankets, sandwiches, and other snacks, but water can be easy to forget. Even if you’re packing juice or champagne, for example, it’s always good to have water there as an option. You can use it for washing sticky food off your hands as well as for drinking.

Enjoy these great activities this summer, but don’t forget to pack water so that the whole family can stay hydrated. If you want easy access to water in your home, then bottled water delivery is the perfect solution. Get in touch to find out more about our bottled water service.

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Signs You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

We all know the typical advice of drinking 8 glasses of water a day. And you, hopefully, know why it’s so important to do so. But many people find it difficult to drink enough water each day, even when they know that they should. You might not want to drink too much if you don’t have easy access to a bathroom, or you’re so busy that you simply forget to drink water.

If this sounds like you, then these 5 signs that you’re not drinking enough water should remind you to increase your water intake during the day.

  1. You’re tired all the time

Your body needs water to function, that’s why the average adult body is made up of 60% water. So, if you don’t drink enough water, these levels start to drop, making it more difficult for the body to perform all its vital functions. This puts a strain on the body that results in fatigue and lethargy. So water might be a better choice than coffee if you’re tired throughout the day.

  1. You have difficulty concentrating

The above facts also mean that your brain isn’t getting all the water it needs to work efficiently. The result is that you’ll find it much more difficult to stay focused and concentrate on whatever you’re doing. If you’re struggling to stay productive at work, try keeping a refillable water bottle on your desk.

  1. You hardly ever need the toilet

If you don’t drink enough, then it makes sense that you won’t need to urinate very often. If you suddenly realize that you haven’t needed the toilet all day, then you should probably have a drink. You’ll also find that your urine is darker because it is less diluted. And it’s not just that – dehydration also leads to constipation, so you won’t be using the toilet for anything.

  1. You experience dryness

Water hydrates our entire bodies. So, if you don’t drink enough water, you’ll probably experience side effects like dry mouth, dry skin, and dry eyes. These aren’t just uncomfortable but can also be damaging, especially to our eyes. And dry mouth leads to more problems, like bad breath.

  1. You’re thirsty

This is the most obvious sign that you need to drink more – if you feel thirsty, then drink some water! We often fail to listen to our bodies when they’re telling us exactly what they need. And water is much better at hydrating you than tea, coffee, and definitely alcohol. So ditch the diuretics and grab a glass of water.

Sound familiar? If you think you’re not getting enough water, then make it easier for yourself with a water delivery service, making sure you always have access to fresh, good-tasting water. Get in touch with Mountain Park Spring Water for a bottled water service in Virginia or North Carolina.

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Look younger with proper hydration

There are a number of things we don’t look forward to about aging. Less energy, decreased mobility, and lines and wrinkles appearing on our skin. But in modern society, many of us are experiencing certain aging effects prematurely because of how we treat our bodies. We eat processed foods, sugary drinks, and spend too much time sitting down staring at screens. 

All of this is normal in today’s society. But we can fight the effects of premature aging. One simple way of doing this is by drinking more water. 

A high percentage of our body is made up of water. It’s contained in all of our cells, making it vital to every aspect of how we function. But as we age, this water percentage drops. This is one of the main reasons why young skin is so soft and supple, and older skin starts to become dry and wrinkled.

This comparison suggests how important water and hydration are to the way our skin looks and feels. When you stay well-hydrated, your skin will greatly benefit because your cells are flush with water. Just think of the difference between the skin of a grape and a raisin for an exaggerated example of this. Your skin will look smoother and younger with fewer lines, and will feel softer and more supple. 

Hydration also helps you avoid dry skin as it helps to promote the growth of new cells. New, fresh skin cells will replace the old, dry ones (and the same theory applies to hair growth, too!). Another important factor is the detoxifying effect of water. Staying well-hydrated is said to help flush toxins out of your body, making your body and your skin healthier.  

Feel younger with proper hydration

Staying hydrated affects the way you feel as well as the way you look. If you often feel tired and sluggish at work in the afternoon, it might be that you’ve not been drinking enough water. When you drink plenty of water every day and avoid drinking too many diuretics (like alcohol!), you’ll probably find yourself with heaps more energy

Get that youthful energy back so you can enjoy socializing with friends or running around with your kids more often. 

If you need a supply of fresh spring water in your home to help you stay young and hydrated, then contact Mountain Park Spring Water to find out more about our bottled water delivery service in Martinsville, VA, and across North Carolina.

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The Best Water for Tea and Coffee

You might find it difficult to get the recommended amount of water each day. But don’t forget that water used to make other drinks, like tea and coffee, does contribute to that daily total. While water may be the most effective at hydrating you and doesn’t affect the health of your teeth, you do still get some hydration from tea and coffee (although they are mildly diuretic). 

When it comes to brewing your tea or coffee, you might think that the type of water you use makes no difference, but many people would disagree with you. Let’s look at the best types of water to use in your tea and coffee and what difference it can make

Purified water

Some people don’t enjoy drinking purified water on its own because they find it too bland. Because it has been removed of all its minerals and other impurities, it basically has no taste. But this makes it ideal for making tea and coffee because it does not impact the flavor of your hot drink.

Spring water

On the contrary to the benefits of purified water, some people believe that the minerals remaining in spring water really bring out the flavors of coffee. It’s also suggested that water with a neutral pH, a 7 on the pH scale, is the best option when making tea. Since purified water has a slightly acidic pH at 6, with spring water falling at 7.2, this puts a plus in the spring water column. 

Tap water

Is tap water okay for brewing your teas and coffees with? The answer to this may vary from one region to the other. There can be great variations between the tap water being delivered to two different homes. The tap water in some homes will be fine for brewing coffee or tea, but others might want to filter their water before they use or simply use bottled water instead.

“Does it really matter?” you might ask. Some people likely won’t be able to tell the difference between two cups of coffee brewed with slightly different water, but others will. Especially if you drink these hot beverages on a regular basis or are a bit of an aficionado, the wrong type of water might leave a bad taste in your mouth.

If you want to try Mountain Park’s spring water in your tea or coffee, then get in touch to find out about our water delivery service for your home or office.

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Does water have a taste?

Have you ever had a glass of tap water at someone’s house and noticed that it doesn’t taste the same as your own tap water? Or maybe you much prefer the taste of spring water or purified water, rather than that from the tap? But it’s all water, something we generally think of as being flavorless. So, what is it that’s causing these differences in taste? 

We’ll answer this question for you in this blog…

Does water have a taste?

Some people will say that water is flavorless, yet others refuse to drink plain water because they don’t like its taste. Confused? Water does actually have a taste that is influenced by the different minerals and other things it picks up along its journey to your glass. These will be microscopic amounts, but they still impact its taste.

The taste of spring water

Spring water comes from naturally occurring springs in the ground and is collected and bottled at the source. Because it’s collected from the ground, it contains lots of naturally occurring minerals from the earth around it. These are completely safe minerals that our body needs to function properly, like calcium and magnesium. Most people enjoy the taste of spring water, affected by these minerals. When spring water is placed in a mug or glass with residual detergent or dish soap, those minerals also help to prevent the taste from being absorbed.

The taste of purified water

In purified water, processes have removed any minerals that the water previously contained. This removes any taste so it is, in theory, flavorless. Most people find purified water too bland to drink by itself because of this, but it can be used for making hot drinks without affecting their flavor. 

Why doesn’t all tap water taste the same?

Like spring water, tap water has a taste based on the minerals and other traces of elements it collects along the way. But since tap water takes different journeys to different houses and is sourced from different places, one home’s tap water is likely to taste different from another. Some will collect minerals that improve the taste of the water, whereas others might pick up metallic tastes from the pipes, which some may find unpleasant. The tap water in some homes may have an earthy taste or a faint smell of sulfur due to the source of the water.

Everyone’s tastebuds are slightly different, so delicious-tasting water for one person might be off-putting to another. If you prefer the taste of spring water and want a regular supply to your home or office, then contact Mountain Park Spring Water to find out more about our water delivery service in Kernersville, Winston Salem, High Point, and Greensboro.

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Understanding Hydrotherapy

Water is a wonderful thing. As well as keeping us alive, it gives us more energy, helps us stay alert and focused, improves our skin, aids digestion, and lots of other great things. And water can even be used as a kind of therapy to treat or manage a range of conditions of health problems, both physical and mental.

Using water as a kind of therapy is known as hydrotherapy, or sometimes just known as water therapy or aquatic therapy. Let’s dive into the topic of hydrotherapy to learn more about it.

What is hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy is a catch-all term for any kind of therapy that uses water, which may be used as a complementary treatment. A variety of facilities may be used depending on the type of therapy and the condition being treated, such as swimming pools, saunas, whirlpools, baths, and physical therapy tanks. And depending on the type of equipment being used, the water may be either hot or cold, and various levels of water pressure or stream types may be used.

For example, one kind of hydrotherapy may simply involve floating in temperate water to enjoy the relaxation benefits or the soothing effects of the water on your joints or skin, for example, while another may involve more rigorous exercises to strengthen the muscles or joints after an injury. 

What is hydrotherapy used for?

Depending on the type of water therapy being used, this kind of treatment can be used for joint or muscle pain, skin conditions, chronic pain conditions, recovery from an injury or surgery, and even mental health issues and neurological conditions. Athletes may even use hydrotherapy to recover after a training session or competition.

What are the benefits of hydrotherapy?

Compared to exercises like running, water-based activity is extremely low impact when it comes to your joints. This means you can use it to stay active or strengthen your body without putting too much strain on your joints, or to relieve symptoms of arthritis. Warm water can also be effective at relieving pain, and it increases blood flow, which is another benefit when it comes to recovery.

In terms of your mental health, hydrotherapy can be extremely relaxing, helping to reduce stress levels and anxiety, even helping to manage some symptoms of depression. This relaxation effect can improve quality of sleep, too, which is important for anyone recovering from an injury or dealing with chronic pain, as well as those managing their mental health.

At Mountain Park Spring Water, we deliver fresh spring water to your home or office to help look after your physical and mental wellbeing. Get in touch to find out more about our services, accessories, or the quality and source of our water, with bottled water delivery across Virginia and North Carolina.

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Tap Water vs. Bottled Water

There are a lot of facts and opinions out there about which is better, bottled water or tap water. It seems like everyone has something to say about it, which can make it confusing to understand the truth. If you’re unsure about whether you should be drinking tap water or bottled water, let’s look at how they fare in various categories.

Taste

One of the main reasons people choose bottled water over tap water is the taste. Tap water can pick up a lot of different minerals and traces of other materials on its journey to your glass. This is what can influence the taste. Some people claim, for example, that their tap water has a slight metallic taste from the pipes it runs through.

Bottled water, on the other hand, usually has a much more pleasing taste. Purified water contains no minerals, so it is generally thought to have no taste at all. This makes it good for using to make other drinks because it does not interfere with the taste of the drink. Some bottled water is spring water. This does contain naturally occurring minerals and is generally thought to have a nice taste.

Cost

This is where tap water typically wins over bottled water. The price of water from your tap is minimal compared to buying bottles of water. However, bottled water becomes highly affordable when you buy large bottles of water in bulk rather than single-use bottled water from the store. Our bottled water delivery service can cost you and your family less than $25 per month.

Safety

Some people believe that the water that comes from our tap is not safe to drink. While this may be true in some countries, the municipal water supply is heavily regulated in the US, making it safe to drink in most cases. Rare situations such as plumbing problems and contamination of the municipal water supply can lead to problems with your tap water, however. While tap water is generally safe to drink, bottled water can be a better guarantee of safety.

Health benefits

Obviously, drinking water has lots of health benefits since it hydrates us well and contains zero calories and sugar. But what’s the difference between tap and bottled when it comes to these benefits? The minerals naturally found in bottled spring water have a number of health benefits. Spring water often contains elements like calcium and magnesium, which contribute to good bone and cardiovascular health. Tap water can also contain some healthy minerals, but also has the risk of containing others like chlorine, which can have negative effects on our health.

Both are great for keeping us hydrated, but bottled water generally offers better safety and health benefits than tap water, and it comes at affordable prices when you choose a bottled water delivery service like Mountain Park. Get in touch to arrange your service around North Carolina or Virginia.

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Tips on How to Stay Hydrated in Winter

It’s come to the time of year when we can see our breath when we exhale. When we were kids, this was a fun way to pretend we were dragons. But now that we have to be “mature” adults, it should come as a reminder that we’re losing water and need to drink more to stay hydrated. To help you stay hydrated this winter, here are some useful tips for you to follow.

Remind yourself to drink water

When it’s hot, staying hydrated is normally at the forefront of our minds. But when the weather is colder, it is easier to forget about becoming dehydrated. If you tend to forget to drink water, then set up some reminders for you to drink water throughout the day. You could stick a “drink water!” post-it on your computer screen, for example, or get one of those refillable water bottles marked with guidelines of how much you need to drink by certain times of the day.

There are also lots of mobile apps that remind you to drink water and even gamify the process to make it more interesting.

Eat a diet rich in water

If you struggle to drink enough water over winter, then the food you eat can help you out. Soups and stews are a good way to increase water intake and warm you up at the same time. A lot of fruits and vegetables also contain high concentrations of water. Here are a few you should eat more of:

  • Watermelon
  • Apples
  • Strawberries
  • Cucumber
  • Oranges
  • Lettuce
  • Celery
  • Peppers

Have enough salt in your diet

Salt is one of those things that you shouldn’t get too much of or too little of. You probably know the dangers of a diet that’s too high in salt, but too little salt can cause you too become dehydrated and cause your muscles to cramp. We lose sodium when we sweat, so make sure you replace salt levels through your diet, especially if you are working out in the winter.

Choose tea over coffee

You probably find yourself reaching for the kettle more over winter than you usually do. A hot drink on a cold day is a lovely way to warm yourself up. But caffeinated drinks have diuretic effects on your body, which means you’ll lose more water through urination. Caffeine can be especially dehydrating, so make tea your hot beverage of choice, or even a nice hot chocolate. Don’t go crazy with the mulled wine, either, as alcohol is another diuretic.

Hydration is not just a summer game. Make sure you keep your hydration levels in check over the winter, too. If you need a bottled water delivery service to keep fresh water readily available to you over winter, then contact us for home or commercial water delivery across North Carolina and Virginia.

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Bottled Water Myths

Water is a strangely controversial topic these days. There are groups of people that demonize tap water but then there are other groups of people that demonize bottled water. How can we win? Short of collecting rainwater to survive off, the best thing to do is dispel the myths that are being spread about.
Bottled water is crazy expensiveSome figures state that bottled water costs consumers 1,000 times what tap water does (this article from a few years ago ups this figure to 2,000). This would mean that the amount of water you’d pay a cent for out of your tap would cost you $10 if you bought it bottled from a store.
Perhaps if you sought out the fanciest brand selling the most luxurious sparkling water, you might find something akin to this price. But, most bottled water is much more affordable than this and you can buy it extremely cheaply if you buy large bottles of water in bulk.
Bottled water is less strictly regulated than tap water
It is not true that bottled water is not regulated as much as tap water. The FDA stringently regulates the safety of bottled water while the EPA stringently regulates the safety of tap water. You can read more about the regulations of bottled water on the FDA’s website.
Bottled water companies are just bottling tap water
This would be a savvy, albeit illegal, way to earn money. Bottle tap water and sell it off at a premium. But going back to it being illegal, bottled water companies would not get away with doing this. Although some brands do source their purified water from municipal water sources, the water then goes through various treatments to ensure that it meets the FDA’s high standards of purified water and is bottled in a sterile manner.
Water bottles are bad for the environment because they can’t be recycled
This is false. Plastic water bottles can 100% be recycled, and that includes the cap and the label. The sometimes shocking statistics about plastic use come from how they are used, not the materials in the water bottles themselves.
Unfortunately, a high percentage of plastic water bottles are not recycled properly, but this can be combatted by us all being more conscientious in how we dispose of water bottles. Opting for large water bottles and water delivery services rather than small, single-use water bottles can also help this. We properly dispose of all water bottles after collecting them from our customers.
If you’re interested in arranging a bottled water delivery service for your home or office in North Carolina or Virginia, then contact us to find out more.

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Can You Get Dehydrated in Cold Weather?

When you’re dripping with sweat from the heat, it’s easy to remember the risks of dehydration. So, we’re more likely to keep water with us and remember to drink it in hot weather. But what about the cold, winter seasons? Some people mistakenly think that you can’t get dehydrated in cold weather. At the very least, it won’t be at the forefront of our mind like it is in the heat.
To understand the idea of cold weather dehydration better, read on.
You can still get dehydrated in cold weatherYes, dehydration is still a risk when the weather is cold. It can even be more of a risk because we tend to experience feelings of thirst less intensely when it is cold. This means we’re likely to be drinking less throughout the day without even thinking about it. But, just like in the summer, we still need to drink a certain amount of water each day to stay hydrated and healthy.
How do we lose water in the cold?
When it’s cold, our bodies still lose water in a variety of ways, including:
Sweating – When you exercise in the cold, even just walking somewhere, you may not notice your body sweating as much as you do in the heat, but you do still produce sweat. If you’re taking part in outdoor sports like skiing, then you’ll also be wrapped up warm, which can increase the amount you sweat.
Our breath – You know how you can see your breath when the weather is cold? This vapor contains lots of tiny water droplets that are leaving your body through your breath.
Urinating – You still go to the toilet when it’s cold, which means your body is still losing water. This reflex can even be increased when it’s cold because of the increased blood flow trying to warm your body up. This means more blood flowing to your kidneys and, therefore, more frequent urination. Plus, all the hot drinks you’re having to warm yourself up can act as diuretics.
The importance of staying hydrated in the winter
As you can see, it’s just as important to stay hydrated in cold weather as it is in the summer. Check out our blog for tips on how to stay hydrated in the cold weather. If you would like a water delivery service to help you stay hydrated, then get in touch with Mountain Park Spring Water today.