5 Best Soda Makers

Soda makers dissolve carbon dioxide into the water in a process known as Carbonation. Though it sounds relatively straightforward, this process was realized after a couple of centuries after continuous research and experiments. 

The main reason behind this difficulty was that carbon dioxide and water molecules have different shapes, making it incredibly hard for them to get mixed.  

The water’s temperature during the carbonation process is another critical factor.

When the carbonation occurs at freezing temperature(0 degrees Celsius), the water molecules can accommodate five times as much carbon dioxide as it can at 60 degrees celsius. 

Most soda makers are devices that force CO2 into the water, thus making it fizzy. The package includes three main components: the carbonation apparatus itself, a CO2 cylinder, and a beverage bottle. 

The beverage bottle holds the water, and when it is fixed onto the machine, compressed CO2 from the cylinder is injected into the water, thus triggering the carbonation process.

There is a wide range of concentrated syrups that can be used with carbonated water to develop a variety of soft drinks.

When the carbonated water is inside the pressurized chamber, it does not possess any fizz. The bubbles result from a drastic pressure change when the liquid is released from the pressurized chamber to the atmospheric pressure.

Carbonated water’s carbon dioxide is 16,000 times more than regular water. That equates to about five standard glasses of carbon dioxide for every glass of water.

When you open the soda bottle, the pressure is reduced, and this causes the carbon dioxide molecules to be released from the bonds and return to a gaseous state. The gas then escapes to the surface of the liquid as bubbles.

Having looked at how the carbonation process takes place, let us now explore the advantages of soda makers.

Cost-effective 

In the first place, landing yourself the soda maker comes with the immense potential of helping your home save a significant amount of money annually. It generally means you will keep all that cash you pump into things like bottles and cans of soda drinks.

The only things you might have to pay for all year round are the cartridges, carbonator exchanges, or any other replaceable parts associated with the process of refilling.

In general, although these machines can come in with inflated price tag upfront, the long term value supersedes the initial investment. Thus making them an incredibly wise choice for everyone with a massive taste for carbonated drinks. 

However, it’s worth noting that you need to be a bit more careful when looking to use flavoured soda. Some flavour syrups can be expensive and can easily cost you a lot in the long run.

Therefore, you may need to compare between manufacturers or consider formulating your own.

Self-made flavours are the go-to for most enthusiasts as they mean greater control and considerably less expenditure. 

Time, effort, and space saver 

Time is a precious commodity. One thing you don’t want to spend it on is packing numerous bottles of water in some shopping cart, and the travelling time to and fro, not to mention the time-consuming challenge of storing them appropriately.

When purchasing soda maker cartridges, the only thing you have to do is have them ordered online before they are shipped to your doorstep.

Additionally, if you can get them in bulk, you can have just enough supply to get you going for a good number of weeks. The cartridges also eat up considerably less space than the bottles, even if the soda machine itself may need much space.

Environmentally friendly 

Although regular plastic bottles are generally recyclable, getting this done implies an extra hassle. Additionally, purchasing them means increased demand, and their production is still a harmful process to the environment.

Most of them are dumped in landfills where they need a couple of decades to decompose, or in oceans where they are generally toxic to wildlife.

As users, our purchases influence how production companies think, even though it’s a little margin. By moving to soda makers, you can cut down on the volume of waste created as carbonators are considerably compact.

This translates to lower amounts of waste produced by a single litre of soda compared to regular bottles.

Another remarkable advantage is that carbonators can produce healthier sodas than commercially produced ones. For instance, a regular can typically contain up to 40 grams of sugar, which translates to around 150 calories.

The fact that you can control what goes into your soda drink through a carbonator makes it far healthier.

How to clean the soda maker?

Effective cleaning of the soda maker involves meticulous attention to its key components. Let’s go through how you can go about cleaning each component.

The bottle

Bottles are not dishwasher safe. Thus they need a lot of attention. In fact, they are usually the most unhygienic component.

Firstly, you need to rinse all the remaining soda from the bottle with warm water. Secondly, add a small amount of dish soap into the bottle, then pour in some warm water before shaking and swirling the bottle vigorously.

Once you notice that the bottle is filled with bubbles, leave it for about 10-20 minutes. After this, rinse the bottle again until it’s free of any soap. At this point, you can take out the bottle in a dish rack for further drying.

The Machine

The machine is quite easier to clean than bottles. Firstly, use a damp cloth to swipe any impurity off the surface of the machine. A little soap to the damp cloth is great, but it’s not usually necessary.

Also, ensure that you reach all the crevices, nooks, and corners for complete coverage. If you happen to use some soap, make sure you re-wipe it to get the soap removed. After this, you can then dry it with another dry cloth or simply let it air-dry on its own.

Removing smell and stains

Soda maker bottles can take up some unpleasant smell after a period of usage. Most of the smell comes from the build-up of  bacteria inside.

The first step of taking care of this is by filling the bottle with warm water and then pouring in some lemon juice.

The lemon and warm water create an acidic environment that is unideal for bacterial survival. The lemon juice will also help with neutralizing the smell caused by the microorganisms. 

If the stains and smell are too strong, you can use a specially-prepared bottle scrubber. Just ensure that whatever you get is not too aggressive as these can create tiny scratches inside the bottle, which can be good breeding grounds for bacteria.

Always be sure to avoid overly aggressive chemicals with the water bottles for the simple reason that this is a place where you store something you consume. Any residues of strong chemicals may pose some serious health concerns on top of compromising the integrity of your bottle.

Again, never put the bottle into dishwashers for the sole reason that they are usually made of PET plastic, which can easily disintegrate in the dishwasher.

They can not hold against the elevated temperature. Glass bottles are the only exception as they are strong enough to hold against the high-temperature levels.