History of the Water Cooler

History of the Water Cooler-Bottleless, Bottled to the Bottle Filling Station

Like most inventions that have transformed mankind, the water cooler idea came out of sheer necessity. After seeing his father die of typhoid fever in 1896 due to contaminated water, Halsey W. Taylor soon would offer a solution he believed would help such cases. As a Packard Motor Car Company’s plant superintendent, Taylor watched in horror as dysentery claimed the lives of workers at the company and he suspected the reason to be drinking water.

These experiences and their harrowing outcome made Taylor to think of a way of providing public safe drinking water places that were healthy and safe. His dedication paid off in 1912 when he came up with the Puritan Sanitary Fountain, produced in Warren, Ohio, the original manufacturing location.

1910s brought the world into a standstill as the First World War started. Safe drinking water in army camps, which were always overcrowded, was a serious problem. Halsey Taylor was concerned and came up with a bubbler idea capable of providing sanitary drinking water safe for human consumption. The invention was one of the most iconic in human history and culminated into the Double Bubbler development that has remained one of the most iconic innovations of the industry. The Double Bubbler projected two different streams of water converging to create a water pyramid at the stream’s apex for a satisfying and fuller drink.

During the 1980s, the world entered a new phase of plastic bottled water trend. There wouldn’t be bottled water today were it not for the move to plastic from glass that has popularised and made bottled water affordable today. This has also transformed the modern water cooler at the office or home.

The modern water dispenser or water cooler is a very handy device that not only dispenses water but cools it. Water coolers today are either bottled or bottleless. A bottleless water dispenser is connected to a water supply, but bottled water coolers must be picked up or delivered in large bottles.

Clearly, the innovation in the water cooler continues. A good example is the bottle filling station, such as the Elkay LZS8WSL2K – Filtered EZH2O Bottle Filling Station with Single ADA Cooler. It’s a unique drinking fountain and bottle filling station for the indoors providing chilled and safe drinking water. For every minute, the Elkay LZS8WSL2K lets out 1.5 gallons of chilled drinking water.

Bottle filling stations have a number of advantages across the divide. Apart from being great sources of clean drinking water and rapid water bottle fillers, they enhance sustainability through the minimization of dependency on plastic disposable water bottles.  Their rapid rate of filling makes them exactly what an institution or company with the highest traffic such as a health club, university, office, or school needs. Their wall mounted original design makes them appropriate for those with small rooms as well, including tight corners with short spaces.

Without a doubt, the effect of a water cooler is phenomenon in virtually every area of human life. Apart from a cup of healthy, cool drinking water the water cooler is the place employees gather around for a quick chat as they rehydrate themselves. The bottle filling station on the other hand keeps clean and cool drinking water coming.