Should You Consider a Touchless Water Dispenser at Work?

COVID-19 has changed much in our daily lives – even the simplest things we do, like getting a drink of water. It’s something we don’t think about when we’re working at home. Now, as more of us start to return to the workplace – or at least split time between home and the office – getting a drink of water suddenly requires a bit more conscious decision-making.

Hitting the bottle

The lockdown measures taken during the pandemic influenced many people to stock up and rely on bottled water. In March alone, U.S. sales of bottled water rose 52%. It seems only natural that people would maintain that preference at work or away from home. However, what’s become more apparent outside our homes is that we want to avoid touching as many surfaces and objects as possible. That includes refrigerators chilling bottled water. It’s enough of a concern that the Four Seasons hotel chain has removed minibars among other touchpoints in an effort to reduce opportunities for germs to spread.

You can’t touch this

Limiting touchpoints means you may want to avoid drinking fountains and bottled water coolers as well as the refrigerator. In fact, this is echoed by many experts, including those at the CDC. You could bring your own water from home, but that could mean lugging three or four liters of water with you each day just to stay properly hydrated.

Rethinking water dispensing

It could be time to consider a touchless water dispenser. As the name indicates, a touchless water dispenser lets you get that drink of water without physically contacting the machine. With a direct connection to an existing water line, a touchless dispenser eliminates the need to open a refrigerator door or flip open the tap on a water cooler. Some touchless water dispensers use an app or Wi-Fi connection to let you dispense a drink into your cup using your smartphone. On top of that, they can also offer some unexpectedly welcomed benefits for those looking for a refreshing water break at work.

Many dispensers are engineered with built-in filtration to remove chlorine, organic contaminants, pesticides, and microplastics. Those with internet connections can automatically notify the service provider when it’s time for resupplying or servicing.

Dispensers like those from Bevi, go one step further to register extended inactivity and then shutdown and display a message when sanitation is required. They also utilize their internet connection to notify a service provider who can dispatch trained professionals to get the dispenser back in working order.

So, how do you get that next drink of water at work? In many instances, it won’t be as simple as it was in the recent past, but you still have options. At the same time, this may be an opportunity to discover a better solution for your office or workplace. If you’d like to learn more about what a touchless water dispenser can do for you and your coworkers, such as save money, support employee health and wellness, and reduce plastic waste, please check out some of our other blog posts.