I’m always trying to get myself to drink more water. I’m not a huge fan of flat water, and I think buying bottled water is such a waste of resources.

However, I used to buy bottles and bottles of carbonated water/seltzer. And since I try to grocery shop as infrequently as possible, I would stock up on it, buying several two liter bottles at a time.

Not only did the lugging of the bottles get to be a big pain, but I had nowhere to store them except for along the bottom of my kitchen island. Not very feng shui and always in the way! The whole thing was a huge hassle.

But what was bothering me even more was how much waste I was causing just to have carbonated water. First, there’s the manufacturing of a new plastic bottle for every one I bought. Then there was the fossil fuel used to transport those bottles from the manufacturer to the supermarket.

 

Next, there was me having to drive to and from the store to stock up on water…something I can get readily from my tap. Finally, there were all these bottles that would have to enter the recycling steam every week. Our recycling was filling up surprisingly quickly!

I wasn’t feeling very good about these purchases. But my rationale was that sure, yes, I can get water readily from my tap, and I do have a water filter on my faucet, but it’s not bubbly water. And in order for me to get myself to drink more water, I needed bubbly water.

SodaStream (via my partner) to the rescue

Well, I wish I could say I thought of it myself, but I didn’t. My partner and his brilliance had the clever idea of getting me a SodaStream to make my own carbonated beverages at home. One of the single best additions to our kitchen ever.

Of course, my partner uses it as much as I do. But since it’s ‘officially’ mine, I wanted to write this SodaStream review myself.

Whole lotta love for it

What’s nice is that there aren’t a “whole lotta” parts. There’s the SodaStream unit itself, the carbonation tank, and your refillable bottle.

It’s super easy to use. You just fill your refillable bottle with water, attach it to the SodaStream unit and and press the carbonating button a few times to bubble-fy your beverage!

Fave flaves

If you like flavored carbonated beverages, SodaStream has more than 100 types of concentrated familiar flavors you can add, from colas, to juices to teas, including many diet varieties.

We’re not big on sweetened sodas, so we’ve never tried any of the soda flavorings. But we know that they’re popular with his niece and nephews. And his diabetic father with a sweet tooth really likes the diet soda mixes.

There are also some unsweetened soda mixes that come in a variety of fruit flavors that I would be interested in trying at some point. There seem to be enough flavors to suit just about everyone.

DIY is easy and affordable

Sometimes I like to add my own fresh fruit such as lemon, lime, or orange for variety and extra zest. You can even try mixing your home made sparkling water with a splash of juice, like cranberry. Just make sure the juice isn’t loaded with sugar. Sugar has a way of sneaking up and making a seemingly healthy drink extremely unhealthy.

We’re also finding that we’re saving money since the cost of making it seltzer ourselves with the SodaStream is about one third the cost of what we were paying to buy it at the supermarket. Plus, no more lugging heavy soda/seltzer bottles.

Bottle it up

One thing we did get for ourselves is a spare SodaStream bottle. That way there’s always a cold one in the fridge when we empty the other bottle. We got the one with the stainless steel base and cap because we liked the aesthetics and have room for only extra bottle.

But SodaStream does sell extra bottles in two packs. They even have a variety of color options.

There is one thing to make note of, and it’s clearly marked on the bottles, but I am also going to put a reminder here. Most SodaStream bottles are not dishwasher safe, nor safe to wash with hot water. Be careful not to ruin yours.

If you do want to wash it in a dishwasher, SodaStream does make a dishwasher safe carbonating bottle.

They also sell spare bottle caps separately in a few different colors should you ever find the need to replace yours.

The right SodaStream for you

Regarding the actual carbonating unit, there are several SodaStream models to choose from.

Some are more hi-tech than others for those who like the latest and greatest in gadgets.

We own the basic model that allows for both a 60 liter carbonator tank or a 130 liter carbonator tank.

However, not all models allow for both size tanks. Something to keep in mind when selecting yours.

How to refill

When your tank eventually runs out of CO2, you simply remove the tank and bring it to a local retailer that sells SodaStream. The empty tank gets you a discount toward a newly filled tank.

Ours came with the 60 liter tank, but when we finished that we swapped it out for the 130 liter refill since we use it every day. Now we even have a second 130 refill tank so we never run out completely. That’s how addicted we are.

But this is a good addiction. We know so many people who are addicted to sweetened bottled soda. As we all know, all that sugar every day adds up over time and contributes to all sorts of serious health issues including obesity and diabetes.

Even those sweetened so called “healthy” iced teas and juices can be just as bad. Look at the sugar content the next time you’re at the market, you’ll be amazed.

Sodastream review in review

These undeniable health benefits are why we figured sharing our thoughts by writing a SodaStream review here at LoveLowFat.com would be a good idea. If you can swap out even just a few of those sugary drinks a week for some clean, sparkling home-made seltzer, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor.

The one drawback I have to say is that a couple of our cats are not crazy about the sound when we carbonate a fresh bottle. But one of our kitties doesn’t care at all, so it’s really not that bad.

All in all, even though some of our feline family members would disagree, we highly recommend the SodaStream for anyone who wants to cut back on sugary drinks but still wants to enjoy a bubbly beverage.

And you’ll help save the planet by not contributing to all the waste that goes into making and transporting canned and bottled drinks. A refreshing win/win for sure!