do these require special water? My brother says they do but I don't think so.

They do not. I have one and we have a filter on our sink and i always put the filtered water in it but that's only because the city advises us to have one. It can take regular tap water.

well, my mother has one and she say's you do; so it probably depends on the brand.

well, my mother has one and she say's you do; so it probably depends on the brand.

The Keuring brand and Mr Coffee brand machine are what I and my parents have neither take special water

It's best to use bottled or filtered water to prevent lime scale build up in the machine. My Mom always used bottled water in the coffee machines to prevent this build up. Before she used bottled water she would delime the coffee machine once a month by running vinegar through the machine to clean it out.