Drinking Water at Home: Dispensers, Filters and Bottles
Every Kenyan household solves drinking water somehow — boiling, filtering, buying 20-litre bottles, or a mix. The right answer depends on how much you actually drink. Two adults get through roughly 5 litres a day, which is a 20-litre bottle every four days, or about seven a month. Once you know your number, the options compare properly.
How much drinking water you need
| Household | Drinking + tea per day | 20 L bottles per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 2.5–3 L | 4–5 |
| 2 adults | 5 L | 7–8 |
| Family of 4 | 8–10 L | 12–15 |
| Family of 6 | 12–15 L | 18–22 |
| Office of 10 | 15–20 L | 22–30 |
These figures include water used for tea and coffee, which is where most of it actually goes in a Kenyan household.
The four options, compared honestly
| Boiling | Filter jug / gravity filter | 20 L bottled + dispenser | Plumbed filter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handles germs | Yes | Depends on the filter | Yes | Depends on the filter |
| Handles taste and sediment | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Handles hardness / scale | No | Some do | Yes | Some do |
| Uses gas or power | Yes | No | Only if you use a hot/cold dispenser | No |
| Needs refilling / deliveries | No | Refill from tap | Yes — the main hassle | No |
| Works during an outage | Only with gas | Yes | Yes (room-temperature tap) | Yes |
| Ongoing effort | Daily boiling and cooling | Cartridge changes | Ordering and carrying bottles | Cartridge changes |
Boiling kills organisms but changes nothing else. It does not remove sediment, taste, or the minerals that scale your kettle. If your complaint is that the water tastes of chlorine or leaves deposits, boiling will not fix it.
The practical combination most households land on: filtered for taste and everyday drinking, with boiling kept as the fallback whenever supply is doubtful — after a burst pipe, or when the water arrives cloudy.
Choosing a dispenser
- Room-temperature only. Cheapest, no power, works in an outage. Perfectly adequate for most homes.
- Hot and cold. Convenient — instant hot for tea, chilled for drinking — but it draws power continuously, and the hot tank is the part that scales in hard water areas.
- Bottom-loading versus top-loading. Bottom-loading means you do not lift a full 20 kg bottle above your head, which matters more than it sounds. Top-loading is simpler and cheaper.
- Countertop versus floor-standing. Countertop suits a small flat but occupies precious counter; floor-standing needs floor space that Nairobi kitchens often do not have.
- Check the tap type. Push-taps are easier with a jug; lever taps are easier for one-handed use.
Hygiene, which people skip
A dispenser is a warm, wet plastic environment. Unmaintained, it becomes the problem it was meant to solve.
- Clean the dispenser every time you change a bottle, or at least monthly — wipe the seat and the tap.
- Sanitise the reservoir every one to three months according to the manufacturer, and rinse thoroughly.
- Wipe the neck of a new bottle before loading it. Bottles are stored and transported in dust.
- Never top up a partly used bottle from a tap.
- Keep bottles out of sunlight. Light plus warmth in a clear bottle grows algae.
- Change filter cartridges on schedule, not when you remember. An expired cartridge is worse than none, because it holds what it captured.
- Descale the hot tank if you are in a hard water area — see the same routine you use for kettles.
Buying and returning 20-litre bottles
- Buy from a supplier you can identify and who takes the empties back. Refill quality varies.
- Check the seal is intact before accepting a delivery.
- Inspect the bottle itself — heavily scratched or cloudy bottles are old and hard to clean properly.
- Keep one spare full bottle at all times. This is the equivalent of the backup gas cylinder: it removes the emergency entirely.
- Store upright, off the floor, in shade.
- Work out your monthly count from the table above and set a standing order rather than reacting when you run dry.
Water for appliances is a separate question
Drinking water and appliance water are different problems:
- Steam irons want distilled or deionised water in hard water areas — not filtered tap, and never borehole.
- Kettles and coffee makers last noticeably longer on filtered water where supply is hard.
- General washing and cooking can use tap or stored water; there is no need to filter what you boil for ugali.
Filtering everything is a waste; filtering the right things saves appliances.
Frequently asked questions
How many 20-litre bottles does a family need per month?
About 12–15 for a family of four, or 7–8 for two adults. That includes water used for tea and coffee.
Does boiling water remove everything?
No. Boiling handles organisms but does not remove sediment, taste or minerals. It will not stop your kettle scaling.
Is a filter better than boiling?
They solve different problems. A filter improves taste, sediment and sometimes hardness; boiling handles microbiological safety. Many households use filtered water daily and boil when supply is doubtful.
Should I get a hot and cold dispenser?
Only if you want instant hot water. It draws power continuously and the hot tank scales in hard water areas. A room-temperature dispenser needs no power and works during outages.
How often should I clean a water dispenser?
Wipe the seat and tap at every bottle change or monthly, and sanitise the reservoir every one to three months.
Can I top up a bottle from the tap?
No. It contaminates the remaining water and the dispenser.
What water should I use in a steam iron?
Distilled or deionised in hard water areas. Never borehole water.
Sort your water
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