Is water from pipes safe for brushing teeth?

[Fairynuff]

18 hours ago, Chazar said:

Anyone suggesting "its  fine"  is  plain nuts especially in Thailand, get a  sample and get it tested then youll have a REAL answer . I did this with my well water. It came back fine.  The  village "pipe water" contains shells/snails and other crapp god  only knows what else is in it

Seriously paranoid! From my very first visit here I showered and cleaned my teeth without a thought. I had ice in my drinks and ate food on the street and local restaurants. I have never yet been sick from food or water here. I did however, a few years ago  spend 3 days in bed after eating an egg mayo sandwich from a major chain back home.

[TSF]

Unless you want to use bottled water for brushing teeth & rinsing mouth, and for washing all your fruit & veg & for washing/rinsing all your dishes & cutlery, then there's no avoiding contact with tap water in Thailand. Everything you eat in restaurants - salads, fresh veg, fruit - has been washed/rinsed in tap water, all your plates/glasses have been rinsed in tap water. I once saw a fresh orange juice seller at Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya, he squeezed the orange juice then topped up the bottles from a tap outside the toilets there.

[ChakaKhan]

18 hours ago, TooPoopedToPop said:

Always use bottled water for brushing your teeth.

And beware the ubiquitous bum-guns... germs and microbes can enter your body through your rectum just as easily as through your mouth.

Hmmmm good point--I LOVE the bum gun over TP....but never thought of this when I get tummy pangs

As my bum gun sometimes is like on turbo blast and might blow out my O ring!!!!

[ChakaKhan]

Do NOT drink the tap water in LAOS..I did ONCE..learned a life lesson that day..woooo boy......urp!

 

I have used the street water machines up north, mostly to boil but seems those filters are never swapped

[Fairynuff]

The more you look for trouble the more likely you are to find it. I have never given the water here a second thought, I use it exactly as I would at home....this IS home and the water is fine.

[FritsSikkink]

19 hours ago, Chazar said:

Anyone suggesting "its  fine"  is  plain nuts especially in Thailand, get a  sample and get it tested then youll have a REAL answer . I did this with my well water. It came back fine.  The  village "pipe water" contains shells/snails and other crapp god  only knows what else is in it

Done it for over 30 years and am still fine, get over it.

[Bangkok Barry]

20 hours ago, Chazar said:

Anyone suggesting "its  fine"  is  plain nuts especially in Thailand, get a  sample and get it tested then youll have a REAL answer . I did this with my well water. It came back fine.  The  village "pipe water" contains shells/snails and other crapp god  only knows what else is in it

 

Where do you get the testing done? We use bottled water for drinking, from 6 litre bottles that cost the same (10 baht) as a tiny one in the supermarket, which just shows how much profit the water producers make. We pump water from underground and it would be interesting to know how pure it is. Of course, that purity could change at any time.

[Bangkok Barry]

18 hours ago, moontang said:

Oh, and the ice is safe, but you'll simply look like an idiot if it is in your beer. 

 

Not in Thailand you won't. They'll think you're an idiot if you don't use ice. Even in wine, in the days when people could afford to buy it. 

[Hanuman2547]

I've been living in and visiting Thailand for over 36 years.  I've always used tap water for brushing teeth.  I don't swallow it or drink it.  As for cooking with tap water, I've always used it and have never had a problem.  Yes, everybody has gotten the Bangkok Belly at some point, but trying to determine if it came from the tap water is a little difficult to determine.

[Tayaout]

21 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Where do you get the testing done? We use bottled water for drinking, from 6 litre bottles that cost the same (10 baht) as a tiny one in the supermarket, which just shows how much profit the water producers make. We pump water from underground and it would be interesting to know how pure it is. Of course, that purity could change at any time.

You use a lab like this one: http://www.omicfoodsafety.com/html_eng/bankoku.html

 

They will send you a kit that you send back by mail. 

 

You can use a home kit but it won't detect virus, bacteria, etc so its almost useless: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.ZJ3sp

Edited November 8, 2019 by Tayaout

[jak2002003]

Been here 14 years full time, and traveled to many parts of the country.  Always used tap water to brush my teeth and shower, wash dishes etc, NEVER had a problem.

 

I use the water dispenser machines around my area for drinking water, very cheap and not creating plastic waste either.  Again, NEVER a problem.  Go out often to many Thai places, food stalls, bars and restaurants, and always use the Ice they provide.... again NERVER a problem.  

 

For some of you paranoid people here.... did you know that bottled water has been found to alter your hormones and give you cancer because of the chemicals in the plastic?  That might be the reason some of you guys are turning into worried old women lol.  

 

 

 

 

[KIWILEE]

One night in Nong Khai 20 years ago I had this gorgeous young woman staying with me and cleaned my teeth with tap water before bed. Twenty minutes later I had to run to the toilet and spent the rest of the night there. Next morning lady left untouched and I had to stay close to the loo. Never ever cleaned my teeth with tap water again. Cooking at least boils the water and by now I have probably built up some immunity.

[ExpatOilWorker]

 

[atyclb]

21 hours ago, Denim said:

Fine. Just remember you don't have to swallow if you don't want to.

 

That advice has been useful to me

over the years with the girls I have known.

 

 

 

 

dam n, didn't any of your girlfriends not have penises??

[atyclb]

15 minutes ago, KIWILEE said:

One night in Nong Khai 20 years ago I had this gorgeous young woman staying with me and cleaned my teeth with tap water before bed. Twenty minutes later I had to run to the toilet and spent the rest of the night there. Next morning lady left untouched and I had to stay close to the loo. Never ever cleaned my teeth with tap water again. Cooking at least boils the water and by now I have probably built up some immunity.

 

you attribute diarrhea with brushing teeth??  seriously?

[CharlieH]

4 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

you attribute diarrhea with brushing teeth??  seriously?

""If you swallow water that's contaminated with certain types of bacteria, you can get gastrointestinal illnesses, vomiting, diarrhea for example," explained Dr. Fred Lopez, an infectious disease expert at LSU Health Sciences Center. ... Use bottled water to brush your teeth "

 

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/contaminated-water-could-cause-vomiting-diarrhea-and-other-health-problems/289-477388929

[Tayaout]

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

""If you swallow water that's contaminated with certain types of bacteria, you can get gastrointestinal illnesses, vomiting, diarrhea for example," explained Dr. Fred Lopez, an infectious disease expert at LSU Health Sciences Center. ... Use bottled water to brush your teeth "

 

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/contaminated-water-could-cause-vomiting-diarrhea-and-other-health-problems/289-477388929

This is the least problematic. You can also get lifetime parasite or hepatitis A. 

[Max69xl]

21 hours ago, david555 said:

Same for me 10 years …., reminds me the "look" my that time GF gave me when I let her cook with 7/11 bottle water (as I came as a newbie …) and later I realized how stupid I acted as over cautious farang

.

Don't drink it I would still say , but cooking or pasting safe enough , you can always use Listerine after if you doubt still ...

There's no problem what so ever brushing your teeth in tap water, unless you drink the water. A few drops won't do any harm. My gf buys the cheap water from the purifying machine outside for cooking,and drinks the water from Tesco. 

[atyclb]

38 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

48 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

you attribute diarrhea with brushing teeth??  seriously?

""If you swallow water that's contaminated with certain types of bacteria, you can get gastrointestinal illnesses, vomiting, diarrhea for example," explained Dr. Fred Lopez, an infectious disease expert at LSU Health Sciences Center. ... Use bottled water to brush your teeth "

 

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/contaminated-water-could-cause-vomiting-diarrhea-and-other-health-problems/289-477388929

 

in the context of diarrhea "20 minutes after brushing teeth" it would be extremely unlikely/unusual. there is another concept that is called "inoculant dose" means one would need to swallow a sufficient quantity of infected water and typically people brushing teeth do not. additionally 20 minutes speaks against it as bacteria typically takes hours to days(incubation period) from a medical perspective what likely happened was diarrhea from dietary intake, etc that coincidently began 20 minutes after brushing teeth.

Edited November 8, 2019 by atyclb

[NCC1701A]

21 hours ago, parafareno said:

guys whatis with water in pipes....is it safe to brush teeth at least? or not?

n.o. no.

21 hours ago, parafareno said:

and do restaurants use filtered water for cooking?

bottled water with ice of unknown origin, salads with lettuce, and not so clean eating utensils always a gamble.

[IAMHERE]

In school they told us to wash our hands with soap for at least 22 seconds to kill the germs. So, I do the same when brushing teeth.  Fifteen years and I haven't caught anything from the water that can't be blamed on street food.

[mlkik]

It depends where your water is from. If it is mains water which would have been treated or if it is pumped from the village pond/lake as does happen in many small rural villages.

In anither thread I mentioned that the Pooyai baan in her wisdom decided to transfer our village water supply from the mains to the supply coming from the village lake.

The people in the village all complained how dirty the water was and kicked up a fuss and just over a week later the normal mains water supply was restored.

 

The restaurants I have used and been abke to see their cooking water supply is from the large gallon bottles of water.

 

Ice is fine as it is produced in the many ice factories here and delivered daily.

[Tayaout]

11 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

In school they told us to wash our hands with soap for at least 22 seconds to kill the germs. So, I do the same when brushing teeth.  Fifteen years and I haven't caught anything from the water that can't be blamed on street food.

You wash your mouth with soap? My mother only did that once to me and it wasn't a memorable experience. 

[Moonlover]

Oh no! Yet more western paranoia regarding the rest of the world's tap water. Propagated by the "Lonely Plants Guides' no doubt with the approval (or more) of the world's bottled water industry. (whom I suspect is a close affiliate of big pharma)

 

Yes, I do clean my teeth using tap water. But no I do not rinse out with it, nor with bottled water or even mouth wash. I do not rinse at all ever since I came across this advise about a year ago.

 

http://www.healthgradespro.com/get-healthy/myths-about-your-oral-hygiene-you-always-thought-were-correct/

 

Since following the tips herein, my teeth have never felt cleaner, nor looked whiter. My gums are also very healthy.

 

And before the wags leap in, they are all mine, not dentures!

 

[TheFishman1]

My water runs threw 4 filters but I also always boil before drinking 

[moontang]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Not in Thailand you won't. They'll think you're an idiot if you don't use ice. Even in wine, in the days when people could afford to buy it. 

And you are an (snip)if you drink wine, here, period. Ice in beer is done by Thais led astray by EuroTrash, who don't hold the Thais accountable for lack of education and inability to properly use electricity and refrigeration.  Show me one manufacturer that suggests putting ice in it. 

[transam]

8 minutes ago, moontang said:

And you are an (snip) if you drink wine, here, period. Ice in beer is done by Thais led astray by EuroTrash, who don't hold the Thais accountable for lack of education and inability to properly use electricity and refrigeration.  Show me one manufacturer that suggests putting ice in it. 

I think you should withdraw the (snip) word....

Plus, you don't know what you are talking about....????

[Fairynuff]

I really am shocked at how many people are so scared of the water that in reality they shouldn’t leave their home country where their water is sure to be safe

[moontang]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

I think you should withdraw the "idiot" word....

Plus, you don't know what you are talking about....????

Surely, you can find a beer manufacturer's website.... Tiger says serve at 36F...it doesn't say store at room temp in the tropics and put in frig set on 7c..and add ice. 

[david555]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

There's no problem what so ever brushing your teeth in tap water, unless you drink the water. A few drops won't do any harm. My gf buys the cheap water from the purifying machine outside for cooking,and drinks the water from Tesco. 

I even drink the water from those  purifying machines from condo , no problems so far 10 years