Are the water from filtration machines safe?

[Ebumbu]

I won't plug a company, but finally found water-delivery service that is great. The bottles are transparent and seem spotless. Water tastes great. The normal water dudes in their pickup truck charged 10 baht. And it tasted like plastic or worse. So, it seems 50 baht will get you a large jug of clean water ... at least in Phuket. He threw in a free pump. Very polite. We communicate on FB messenger. First time, bottles are 300 baht. If someone wants to know the name, PM me. 

[Lacessit]

24 minutes ago, Ebumbu said:

I won't plug a company, but finally found water-delivery service that is great. The bottles are transparent and seem spotless. Water tastes great. The normal water dudes in their pickup truck charged 10 baht. And it tasted like plastic or worse. So, it seems 50 baht will get you a large jug of clean water ... at least in Phuket. He threw in a free pump. Very polite. We communicate on FB messenger. First time, bottles are 300 baht. If someone wants to know the name, PM me. 

What a ripoff. I get 2 litres of water from a street RO machine for 3 baht. Then I boil it.

No wonder he's polite. He's making a fortune.

[goegoe]

6 hours ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

Go to home pro. Ask for the most expensive filter system pay for installation ,go to pub job done.

 

If it was so easy, everybody would do it.

 

But unfortunately the filters must be changed too often and they are a scam.

 

I will keep drinking and cooking exclusively with my mineral water.

 

 

[fathersicksendmoney]

19 minutes ago, goegoe said:

 

If it was so easy, everybody would do it.

 

But unfortunately the filters must be changed too often and they are a scam.

 

I will keep drinking and cooking exclusively with my mineral water.

 

 

 

Most dont do it because most rent and chunking 8k into it is silly

For home owners a family of 4-5 every 3 to 6 months for the main filter..forget the name but its a part of the 5 tubes in the system and less fir the others. Im solo so a worst case every 12 months or best case well over 2 years. I know for certain when the water stream starts to slow due to the filters clogging . Still going strong here nearly 2 years

Cant even imagine dragging several liters of mineral water a day to my condo..

Edited July 19, 2018 by fathersicksendmoney

[Andrew Dwyer]

I used to use the street water machine but noticed an unusual taste so moved to another machine, gf showed me some tiny things floating in the water !!, tried another one , the water was coming out so fast it was obvious there was no filter element fitted .

 

That was enough for me. !!

 

Now buy the Tesco's own brand drinking water, 6 litres for 30 baht, luckily have a Tesco Express just down the road !

[goegoe]

14 minutes ago, fathersicksendmoney said:

 

Most dont do it because most rent and chunking 8k into it is silly

For home owners a family of 4-5 every 3 to 6 months for the main filter..forget the name but its a part of the 5 tubes in the system and less fir the others. Im solo so a worst case every 12 months or best case well over 2 years. I know for certain when the water stream starts to slow due to the filters clogging . Still going strong here nearly 2 years

Cant even imagine dragging several liters of mineral water a day to my condo..

 

But as you have no way to check the quality of your water, you just HOPE that your water is still good to drink...

 

I have no way to check my mineral water, but I am sure that the companies selling it do it sometimes to avoid a big scandal.

 

 

 

[fathersicksendmoney]

18 minutes ago, goegoe said:

 

But as you have no way to check the quality of your water, you just HOPE that your water is still good to drink...

 

I have no way to check my mineral water, but I am sure that the companies selling it do it sometimes to avoid a big scandal.

 

 

 

The filters will clog and the water slows. Its newtons 3rd law every action has an equal and opposite reaction . The filters are still working even at half the flow rate which is about when I change mine, it really isn't rocket science . The other option is simply go by the manufactures filter change intervals which for sure will be more frequent but at least a piece of mind.

 

 

[david555]

Reading all the reply's from those who have bad experiences from the water machines I must conclude I am as the natives become immune to the water ? ,as I never got sick or diaria from it, in let see ….in 10 years , I just used the most clean looking ones before , but at least 8 years te ones from the condo management now !

I think you must be more frightened for the ice cubes in you bar drinks.... 

Edited July 20, 2018 by david555

[muffy]

I like Sprinkle

[lvr181]

2 hours ago, muffy said:

I like Sprinkle

Annie?  

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, david555 said:

 

I think you must be more frightened for the ice cubes in you bar drinks.... 

Beer yenn yenn mai ow narm khaeng.

Ice in beer? Yuck.

[sikishrory]

I been using the RO machine in the condo downstairs for months and done same in past condos. Never noticed an issue but last few months I have noticed as the op says the water gets an odour after after 7 days and starts to turn brown. The bottles after being reused for a few weeks also get a brown residue in the bottom.

This machine has a board next to it with photos of the filters and parts being cleaned under a tap. People also sign this board to indicate it has been cleaned. Obviously something is amiss.

When i was young we had a terracotta water filter with a ceramic filter inside that used to give nice water but i am unable to see any on lazada.

I am sceptical on most of these lazada filters. Brita jugs don't work but there is a similar device called a zero water filter jug that works very well but also unavailable here it seems.

Theres a lot of good comparisons on youtube of different filters being tested.

These machines though seem dodgy. Brown water can't be good for you.

[jak2002003]

16 hours ago, goegoe said:

 

If it was so easy, everybody would do it.

 

But unfortunately the filters must be changed too often and they are a scam.

 

I will keep drinking and cooking exclusively with my mineral water.

 

 

Hope you recycle all that plastic afterwards!

 

And you don't care you are supporting all that pollution from transporting the heavy water around the country (or world).

 

As an extra note, did you know that some of that mineral water in supermarkets has been found to be over 7 years old.. from bottling, storage, transportation, sitting in warehouses in hot temperatures, and sitting on the shelf in the supermarket.

 

The chemicals in the plastic get into that drinking water... which are carcinogenic... linked to cancer of the brain, prostrate and female reproductive system... and the chemical mimic hormones.. leading to developmental and behavioural problems in children.

 

I will stick to using a clean water vending machine thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lvr181]

6 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

 

I will stick to using a clean water vending machine thanks.

You're joking, of course? "clean water vending machines" would be an oxymoron 99.9% of the time. 

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, sikishrory said:

I been using the RO machine in the condo downstairs for months and done same in past condos. Never noticed an issue but last few months I have noticed as the op says the water gets an odour after after 7 days and starts to turn brown. The bottles after being reused for a few weeks also get a brown residue in the bottom.

This machine has a board next to it with photos of the filters and parts being cleaned under a tap. People also sign this board to indicate it has been cleaned. Obviously something is amiss.

When i was young we had a terracotta water filter with a ceramic filter inside that used to give nice water but i am unable to see any on lazada.

I am sceptical on most of these lazada filters. Brita jugs don't work but there is a similar device called a zero water filter jug that works very well but also unavailable here it seems.

Theres a lot of good comparisons on youtube of different filters being tested.

These machines though seem dodgy. Brown water can't be good for you.

The brown residue could be plain old rust from a steel component, or fungal matter. Rust is not toxic, although it does give water an unpleasant metallic taste. Mould is a different matter.

The RO machine could probably do with a good acid cleanout. Tap water cleaning won't cut it.

[HHTel]

Some of the bottled water is advertised as taking thousands of years filtering through rock and the like........so....... why does it have a sell by date on the bottle!!!!!

 

[sikishrory]

42 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The brown residue could be plain old rust from a steel component, or fungal matter. Rust is not toxic, although it does give water an unpleasant metallic taste. Mould is a different matter.

The RO machine could probably do with a good acid cleanout. Tap water cleaning won't cut it.

I tried to find an explanation online and every post said rust but was mostly talking about water coming out of a tap visibly brown.

I don't think that is the case here as the water is fine for around a week before it starts to deteriorate which indicates some change taking place in the water. Rust would be visible from day 1.

[jak2002003]

16 hours ago, lvr181 said:

You're joking, of course? "clean water vending machines" would be an oxymoron 99.9% of the time. 

Oh, OK.  Can I have you chemical and biological test results for the water vending machines you are so clearly an expert on? 

 

I am surprised that you found 99.9 percent of the time they are 'dirty' right?  Seems quite high.. I will look you scientific lab test results with interest.  Did you send the random water samples to a university?  

 

 

 

 

[lvr181]

4 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Oh, OK.  Can I have you chemical and biological test results for the water vending machines you are so clearly an expert on? 

 

I am surprised that you found 99.9 percent of the time they are 'dirty' right?  Seems quite high.. I will look you scientific lab test results with interest.  Did you send the random water samples to a university?  

 

 

 

 

NO.

 

It is about 'trust'. That, I don't have. 

[Lacessit]

On 7/20/2018 at 10:01 PM, sikishrory said:

I tried to find an explanation online and every post said rust but was mostly talking about water coming out of a tap visibly brown.

I don't think that is the case here as the water is fine for around a week before it starts to deteriorate which indicates some change taking place in the water. Rust would be visible from day 1.

I suggest the only way to establish what is happening is laboratory analysis. Seems to be a scarce service in Thailand.

[sirineou]

On 7/20/2018 at 10:22 AM, HHTel said:

Some of the bottled water is advertised as taking thousands of years filtering through rock and the like........so....... why does it have a sell by date on the bottle!!!!!

 

 because bottles are made of plastic not rocks, and is subjected to sunlight and heat.

[HHTel]

16 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 because bottles are made of plastic not rocks, and is subjected to sunlight and heat.

Some in glass bottles, especially the more expensive ones!

[sirineou]

13 minutes ago, HHTel said:

Some in glass bottles, especially the more expensive ones!

 but still exposed to environmental extremes and stagnancy  where while in the aquifer   it is in a relatively constant temperature , Usually cold and constantly filtated by the substrate it flows through.

PS: google plastic water bottle sunlight  

 

Edited July 22, 2018 by sirineou

[HHTel]

Oh for goodness sake.  I was restating a very old joke, and I mean really old.  I didn't expect someone to pick it up as a serious comment.

[lvr181]

31 minutes ago, HHTel said:

Oh for goodness sake.  I was restating a very old joke, and I mean really old.  I didn't expect someone to pick it up as a serious comment.

Just add emoticon - can simply clarify the intention or meaning of your statement. 

[HHTel]

Agreed, but didn't think such a well known joke needed clarification.  I'll be careful in future!

[timkeen08]

On 7/19/2018 at 9:46 AM, HHTel said:

It does depend on how well these machines are serviced.  My wife will go across town to a dispenser that her friend services.  You can see her friend daily changing filters and making sure the outlet nozzles are clean.  She doesn't trust any of the ones locally as she said, as pointed out above, that you never see the 'owner' servicing these machines.

So the moral is that unless you know the machines are being serviced regularly, then don't use them.

I think there was a report recently that discovered 70% of the machines tested were below par.

 

We live two doors down from my wife's cousin who operates the only water bottling and ice company in our village.  I have seen the operation and operators do their job from empty bottle to full.  He speaks good English and we discussed his operation, filtration process, daily cleaning, and filter maintenance.  He has his own schedule of filter replacement which is always sooner than the manufactures recommendation because he supplies so much water.  He supplies the entire village and would not do anything but supply a quality product.  After all, he is related to so many in the village and has a reputation to uphold.  10 baht for a five gallon jug of water is hard to beat, delivered.  When we pickup a pack or two of bottled water for tombun we always get extra thrown in free.  The trucks run up and down the road constantly as he supplies food vendors all over the amphur.

[Andrew Dwyer]

We live two doors down from my wife's cousin who operates the only water bottling and ice company in our village.  I have seen the operation and operators do their job from empty bottle to full.  He speaks good English and we discussed his operation, filtration process, daily cleaning, and filter maintenance.  He has his own schedule of filter replacement which is always sooner than the manufactures recommendation because he supplies so much water.  He supplies the entire village and would not do anything but supply a quality product.  After all, he is related to so many in the village and has a reputation to uphold.  10 baht for a five gallon jug of water is hard to beat, delivered.  When we pickup a pack or two of bottled water for tombun we always get extra thrown in free.  The trucks run up and down the road constantly as he supplies food vendors all over the amphur.

Then you ( and the poster you quoted ) are lucky !
The rest of us are taking a gamble on whether our local machines are being regularly serviced or not.

IMHO locals are buying a machine to make money with very little effort and due to the small amount of profits gained are unlikely to maintain properly I.e. changing filters and thoroughly sanitising.

Where I live these machines are abundant and rarely used. As I said you and some other posters are lucky and can guarantee a quality product, I cannot and am not willing to take the risk.

I live in a house and have a car so buying water in volume is not a problem, of course if I had stairs to negotiate and only a two wheel mode of transport then I would have a different approach.
EDIT: in this case I would probably visit my local water delivery depot to determine their level of higiene before using their delivery service.

[Nyezhov]

Just buy a big clear jug, filter the water into it and leave it in the sun for a day. Pure.

[Thian]

On 7/19/2018 at 3:31 AM, trawler said:

Just buy your own RO system,they are only around 8K and most vendors will fit them for you.Then you can change filters as often as you like..............

Exactly, and if you want condensed water from the air you use the dripping hose of the aircons....UV-filter is just a lightbulb in a plastic tube.