Ever since we got our new well installed several months ago, I’ve had a new appreciation for “fresh” water. Turn on the water in our tap and you’re getting fresh, clean water, straight from an underground river located some 700 feet into the mountain. You can’t get much fresher than that.

Unfortunately, when you travel, you don’t always know where the water you’re drinking is coming from. Some cities provide reclaimed water as tap water. Reclaimed water, in case you weren’t aware, is sewage water that has been heavily treated with chemicals and purifiers to make what was flushed down your toilet “ready to drink” (and I almost feel bad typing those words.) Some countries blatantly tell you not to drink tap water – period.

While most of the US only uses reclaimed water for landscaping or agricultural purposes (like watering parks), some cities are starting to use reclaimed water as drinking water. While this may all be fine and dandy for the environment, I have a mental thing about drinking water that was formerly swimming with…well, let’s not go there.

At the same time, I drink water – whether I’m at home or travelling. So, I need a solution for helping me get over the “do you know where this water came from” question. A couple years ago, I posted this little trick for how to get free filtered water at most hotels. This is a way more affordable option than paying for those absurdly priced $4 bottles of water that sit on the table glaring at you.

The other incredibly convenient solution is a Brita Soft Squeeze Water Filter Bottle. You might have heard of these before – notably from the commercial where the woman walks up to an Eskimo, hands him the Brita water bottle and says “It’s from the drinking fountain at the mall.” The truth is, that water drunk through the Brita Soft Squeeze Water Filter Bottle actually does taste better than tap water. “All Brita^® bottles are NSF certified to reduce the taste and odor of Chlorine and particulates.” Since most of the country uses chlorine to help make water fit for human consumption, you can taste the difference when you drink from the Brita bottle.

The Brita Soft Squeeze Water Filter Bottle is one of my new must-haves when I travel. The soft plastic makes it perfect for stuffing into my carry-on bag, and once I get through security, I can fill it up at the nearest drinking fountain.

At the very least, drinking from my Brita filtered water bottle helps me forget about where the water came from and allows me to just enjoy a drink of water.