My tap water now tastes great and has a consistent 7.0 alkaline ph level. Very easy to use charcoal pieces. I boil them once a month and let them dry according to the handy instructions and there is a 4 month reminder included. I purchased on Amazon, 6 nonleaded glass bottles with stainless steel lids. I keep two bottles reserved for each charcoal stuck. I pour that water once it sits for about 2-3 hours into an empty the bottles. I dont drink from any of the bottles and I have a constant supply of great water to use for cooking or drinking. After 4 months I will crush up the sticks for my compost pile. I reordered another package of the charcoal sticks already. These bottles are easy to travel with and I just keep them in the sturdy box they came in. FYI, I checked the ph level using water from my RO filter system and 5.0 was the number, very acidic. So use tap water with these charcoal sticks, I love em! Been using them for 4 months and I haven’t had any physical problems.