A self confessed 'tap water hater' who only bathes in bottled water has claimed that they spend £4,000 a year filling up the tub. John Junior, who identifies as gender fluid, says cutting out tap water has improved their health and wellbeing.
The 34-year-old claims that switching to bottled water has stopped their anxiety, migraines and eczema. John splurges £12 a day in Co-op buying supermarket water to wash with and Fiji water to drink.
This works out at roughly £360 a month or £4,300 a year - which they insist is a small price to pay. Manchester Evening News reports that a wash in the bath requires a whopping 30 litres of water.
John bathes in cold bottled water and adds just a single kettle of hot water to feel comfortable. In order to afford their bottled water lifestyle, they claim to have cut down on other luxuries.
John said: "I'm not a scientist - but it's genuinely changed my life I don't know why it works for me. Maybe I'm allergic to the chlorine that they use to disinfect the water. But there must be something in it to make me feel so bad."
Despite being unable to drive, John says they manage to transport bottled water from his local store by delivery. They also rely heavily on the help of friends to fuel the 30 litres plus of water needed daily.
John said: "I always call [tap water] the devil's drink - even though my friends always laugh at me for it. I don't use it at all. I don't drink it, wash with it, I wash my clothes in bottled water. I used to struggle with extremely bad anxiety constantly and migraines, and after a while I did loads of experiments on myself to try and stop it.
"I cut loads of different things out of my diet, and eventually I just thought that it just had to be the water - so I tried cutting that out and I just feel so much better now. I used to have migraines that would leave me feeling sick and unable to move, but now I get them way less."
John says they struggled with mental health problems following the death of his father. However, they admitted that the switch has helped ease his symptoms.
John said: "I have PTSD as well after seeing my father die in front of me in 2018, which has become much better since I cut out the tap water. I'd been offered medication to help fight the PTSD but it didn't work for me, along with loads of other holistic ways like going to the gym, swimming and stuff - none of it seemed to help.
"From then I'd struggled with my anxiety and even my eczema, but now I've cut out the water it feels better. I actually feel healthier - I genuinely think [tap water] is the devil's drink.
"I think it's a multitude of things, like PH balance - there's more magnesium in bottled water for example, which helps with anxiety. I believe that the water must pass through sewage farms and that must effect it somehow.
"Water all around the country just tastes rank - almost metallic. Sometimes I have to shower in my local gym and I find the water there almost feels like bathing in rain water or something. It smelled as well - it's horrible. If I have a drink of water, or a brew, I feel vile."
John says that the cost might seem steep - but insists it is manageable if you make sacrifices. They said: "It does cost £12 a day, which seems like a lot. But if you go to Starbucks with your mates and get a coffee and a cake - you're already spending nearly that much anyway.
"I just cut down on my extra spending, and not it doesn't seem like it costs so much. I don't mind paying the extra money to feel better."
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