The winter months inevitably bring with them germs, bugs and colds. Factor in the horrendous weather of late, and you could soon find your workforce reduced to a skeleton staff.

Unfortunately, unless you have the power to control the weather (and if you do why on earth did you let these storms go on so long?) there is not much you can do in regards to the elements. When it comes to keeping your staff healthy in the face of colds and germs though, there is a lot more you can do.

If you haven’t already, consider having a hot water boiler and water cooler fitted. The hot water boiler will speed up the drink-making process, and the water cooler will give your staff access to filtered drinking water.

These two additions to the office will help fight germs for a number of reasons. The hot water boiler will give staff the option to concoct good old fashioned flu remedies such as hot water, lemon and honey to fend off sore throats, while the water cooler presents a great way to enhance your staff members’ water intake. You can even invest in a selection of healthy tea and coffee alternatives to pique their interest.

Regular water intake is hugely beneficial to us for a number of reasons. It can help boost the immune system by aiding the delivery of various germ fighting essentials through the blood stream. It is also a handy way to hydrate the skin – not a bad thing when you factor in the inevitable skin dryness that comes with winter.

To top off the water based additions to your work’s kitchen or tea making point, why not add a fruit bowl if you haven’t already?

A fruit bowl presents another way for people to get their daily water intake. Many fruits also contain a healthy dose of vitamin C, a handy tool in the fight against bugs and colds.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

We’ve dedicated thousands of words on this blog to the benefits of drinking more water. With water making up around 60 per cent of our body mass, it should come as no surprise that quaffing more H₂O can have multiple health benefits.

But we admit there’s a big metaphorical elephant perched behind the water cooler – what if you’re just not too keen on the clear stuff?

Well, you needn’t worry. There are plenty of ways to complement your intake of water that don’t involve drinking the oft-quoted eight glasses a day.

Fruit, for example. Lots of fruits are excellent water sources. Eat lots of fruit along with your water intake and you’ll feel hydrated, as well as getting all the health benefits that come with a fruit-rich diet.

Watermelon leads the pack, with a water content of 90 per cent. But you can also enjoy other melons, as well as citrus fruits like grapefruits and oranges, and still be confident you’re putting lots of water into your system.

But be careful – fruit contains natural sugars which can rot teeth, so don’t go overboard.

Fruit juices can also be good water sources. But these often contain added sugar, as well as their own natural sugars, so dilute with plain old H₂O to curb the rot.

Other foods like yogurts, smoothies and soups contain lots of water too, so pack some in your lunchbox to make sure your workplace meal plays its part in maintaining your daily water intake.

Contrary to popular belief, coffee and tea both ‘count’ as water. They are diuretics (meaning they make you need the toilet more!) but this doesn’t counteract their hydrating properties. They’re packed with caffeine though, so it’s always best to avoid them if possible.

On the other side of the coin is alcohol. Boozy drinks are best avoided if you’re trying to increase your water intake, as they can significantly dehydrate you. If you must have a glass of wine or beer, have a glass of water afterwards to replace some of the lost fluids.

And it’s always best to complement these hydration methods with a few glasses of pure water, so if you really can’t stand the taste, try adding a sprig of mint or a squirt of lemon juice to make it more palatable.

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The journey of water before it reaches our taps is an interesting one.

It begins with a mixture of water, be it from rain, reservoirs or other manmade resources, which is then transported via a number of pipes to the nearest treatment works.

Once there, the water has to be cleaned up (as you can imagine!). Once it is filtered, it is then pushed along pipes, known as trunk mains.

Depending on the land these pipes are running through, the water may pass through these trunk mains – which often measure upwards of 1.5 metres in diameter – either using gravity, or via pumps if the land is particularly flat.

These pipes are typically paired together, so even if one breaks, bursts, or is otherwise out of action, the water can always still run along the other pipe.

The next destination for water to visit before it reaches your taps is either an underground service reservoir or a good old fashioned water tower.

If the water is directed to a water tower, it will be pumped to the top, before gravity then takes over in order to transport it to homes, factories and other such buildings.

There is one last part to the journey however, involving smaller mains and large networks of pipes across towns and cities.

It can often take up to a week for the water to get from the treatment works to your tap, and typically chlorine is added to the water to make sure it is still clean when it comes out of your tap.

So there you have it, the journey of water to your tap is a lot more involved than you might think!

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

If you’re a new parent, you might be wondering when it’s okay to wean baby off bottles of milk or breast milk, and onto other drinks.

The NHS recommends you start introducing cups instead of bottles when your little one is around six months old. This should be ideally be a normal cup (without a teat), or a beaker fitted with a special free-flow lid. If you give your child a ‘training’ beaker with a teat, it could encourage ‘comfort sucking’ – when baby sucks the teat of the beaker like they would when feeding naturally. This is the number one cause of tooth decay amongst babies and young children, as they tend to take longer to drink, and hold the fluid in their mouths for longer.

However, this doesn’t mean you can switch baby’s milk for just any drink when they reach their half-year anniversary. The NHS has clear guidelines on which drinks are suitable for very young children.

The only drinks that are okay for very young babies (under six months) are breast milk, infant formula (based on cows’ milk), or water.

If you give water to young babies, though, make sure it’s been boiled and cooled to sterilise it.  Bottled water may contain sulphates and salts so is not recommended – but if you have to use it, make sure the sodium level of the water is lower than 200 milligrams for every litre, and the sulphate level is lower than 250 milligrams per litre.

Babies who have been drinking formula from a bottle may need a little water on hot days, but babies who have been breastfed should get all the nutrients they need from suckling.

After six months, says the NHS, you can start giving baby kitchen tap water that hasn’t been boiled.

Other drinks, like cows’ milk, fruit juices, squashes and fizzy drinks shouldn’t be given to young babies. Sugary drinks are not recommended for babies and toddlers at all, whilst natural fruit juices can be given to kids after they’re six months old – just make sure you dilute it (10 parts water to one part fruit juice).

There aren’t enough nutrients in cows’ milk to sustain young children, so it shouldn’t be given to young babies. You can start giving kids cows’ milk as a supplementary drink when they’re 12 months old. Even then, though, you should use whole milk rather than skimmed or one per cent milks, as only whole milk has enough vitamins and energy. Only when your child is five years old should you consider switching to skimmed milk, or other lower-fat milks.

Soya formula and other non-milk-based formulas shouldn’t be given to baby unless your GP says it’s okay.

By the time your little one reaches their first birthday, they should have stopped using bottles with teats altogether, and have moved on completely to cups or beakers.

This information is for reference only. For advice specific to your child and your needs, talk to your GP or another registered health advisor.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

Whilst many people may swear to lose weight, exercise more, lay off the chocolate, or cut down on the booze with the turn of a new year, why not aim for something a little different and try to save water as well?

Saving water in your home could be one way to keep money in the bank, you then might have the necessary funds to invest in going to the gym or buying exercise apparel – so it’s a win-win situation!

30% of an average home’s water usage is taken up just by flushing the toilet!  This is significantly higher than the 21% used when bathing and using taps, which again is a lot higher compared to 12% of water usage from taking showers.

Digging deeper into the statistics, clothes washing weighs up to be around 13% of a UK household’s water usage, with general washing eight per cent of a home’s water usage. Interestingly, only around four per cent of water usage is actually for drinking purposes!

So with these figures in mind, how can you help yourself save money by saving water?

The most obvious switch to make is from baths to showers, if you haven’t already made the change the stats alone show a huge difference in the percentage of water usage between the two.

Another habit to get out of if you’re one of the guilty individuals, is to stop running the tap as you brush your teeth! A running tap can use more than six litres in a minute, so if you stick by the two-minutes-to-brush-your-teeth rule, that’s a possible 12 litres of water you waste twice a day – if all your family have the same habit, that’s a lot of water to waste each week.

About to turn on the half empty dishwasher? Stop. If you use a dishwasher, or any other washing machine for that matter, try and only use it when it is full. This will save you money, energy and water to boot!

With toilet flushes accounting for an epic 30% of water, it may be worth limiting flushes. Similarly avoid flushing the odd tissue paper or something you can easily throw in the bin instead.

A little change of habits here and there can make a big difference, so make the commitment to save water today!

Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

If you’re looking to rejuvenate your office in 2014, there are plenty of things you can do – especially if you’re talking of literally rejuvenating your employees rather than an giving your office a physical facelift.  If so, why not look into installing water coolers and bringing in a number of water-based goodies?

January and the winter months in general can be pretty hard on your staff. The cold weather can leave their skin dry, lead to colds and bugs floating round the office, and generally put a dampener on coming to work.

However a water cooler, or more accurately, the crisp filtered H₂O they produce, can combat a lot of these issues.

Water naturally hydrates the skin for example, so this will keep your workforce’s skin glowing. Similarly, water can also help fight off bugs and germs, helping the body circulate a lot of necessary good stuff to your organs.

To continue the theme of rejuvenation in the new year, why not also look at ordering in fruit deliveries?

Whilst some might say they want biscuits or other sweet treats to energise themselves, a delivery of fruit each week is a great way to provide your staff with a much healthier way to snack. What’s more, because fruit is water-rich, they’ll essentially be eating their way to their recommended allowance of water each day.

To top off the rejuvenation in the work kitchen or refreshment area, why not also look at a hot water boiler for the warm drinks your staff will be looking to keep them going in the harsh winter months?

Whilst you can provide coffees and teas, you should put a particular emphasis on healthy options such as green tea or other herbal teas. Perhaps have a few lemons delivered with the fruit, and have a lemon and pot of honey handy – another old-school cure for colds and sore throats.

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

With 2014 being the year of the World Cup, many people might take it upon themselves to set up a new office football team. And what better way to make a combined effort to stay healthy in the new year?

After all, playing a sport might be a commitment people are more likely to stick to than going to the gym or cycling to work each morning. It’s fun, competitive, and there is always the potential of a post-match pint or curry (ok, now that part is not so healthy, but you get the idea!).

If you want to get started on establishing your new work team, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind.

First of all you will need to establish a regular training routine, if no-one is committed to training, the chances of you actually being able to put a team into a Sunday five-a-side league are slim at best.

Next, you’ll have to make sure the new players in the team have their positions sorted out. You don’t want your players tripping over themselves as they go for the same ball!

Similarly, establish a captain early. This might not necessarily be you, but if you’ve taken the lead on establishing the team in the first place, you’ve obviously shown some of the necessary leadership skills!

It is also important not to consider your attire and equipment. You will need to have kits and bibs sorted out, and you will also need to consider things such as water bottles. After all, water is a vital component of keeping your ‘batteries’ charged in a sports environment. Water fits in to the training regime too, as we’ll explain.

Whilst a training routine will obviously involve tactics, set plays and such forth, it is equally important to drill your team members in the need to keep themselves well hydrated with water before, during and after the games.

With these few pointers you can start to get your team in place. You should keep plenty of water bottles to hand, which will help keep everyone on top form – but, at the end of the day, your success  will depend on the skill of your team members, so try to pick more Gareth Bales than Ali Dias!

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.

December and January can be pretty heavy-hitting months on the average human’s immune system.

It doesn’t take much to think why either. The amount of alcohol we consume increases with work parties and family shindigs over the festive period – and excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to diminish the effectiveness of the immune system.

These social obligations also mean we are, naturally, more likely to be with groups of more people – generally sharing germs with a wider circle than normal.

You will have seen the first signs of bugs and colds naturally emerge from early December, with more and more people around the office getting sniffles and runny noses.

The question is then, with all these factors contributing to a weakened immune system, just how can you fight a winter cold?

Whilst there are many medicines on the market to deal with colds, what you really need is a preventative – beating the cold to punch.

That is where water comes in. Yes, plain old H₂O could well be your saviour when it comes to avoiding the unsavoury bugs and colds spreading round the office like wildfire in the winter months.

The reason for this is simple: water plays a vital part in helping your immune system do its job.

Not only that, but water can also give your skin a natural, healthy-looking glow, it can help your digestion – which is especially important after the festive period!

It is also said to sharpen brain functions – just don’t count on water to get you through that tough Sudoku puzzle book you got for Christmas!

So with staff coming back off their holidays with red noses and colds, make sure you make the water cooler your first destination this winter!

• Latest news from Angel Springs, leading UK supplier of office water dispensers, bottled and mains-fed water coolers and eco boilers.