29 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

I add 1 drop of plain chlorine bleach to 2L tap water which imo is fine to drink in central Bangkok anyway. Any leftover boiled water from the kettle is added to the 10L bottle which also reduces the taste of chlorine.

 

Buying water in plastic bottles .5l to 6l is just for losers. Can't damage the environment more by trying.

 

No one please post telling me the perils of drinking chlorine. Thank you.

 

Edit: used to do the RO but machines were filthy and they'd disappeared from streets anyway.

 

Adding chlorine, like boiling, addresses only bacterial contamination and does nothing for removal of pesticide residue and other heavy metals.  It is important to note in an urban setting like Bangkok that even if the original source water is OK, by the time it has made its way through what may be very old and corroded pipes, it may have picked up heavy metals.

 

The only thing that will remove those types of contamination is RO. RO works fine, the problem with the streetside machines is not the RO technology but the distribution machines which often build up bacteria and are not regularly cleaner.

2 hours ago, Excel said:

That is true what you say but I always take the further safer precaution when I boil water to drink by asking my wife to drink it first ????????

She probably grew up with it. It won't help you.

1 hour ago, J Town said:

Not necessarily. 
https://earth911.com/business-policy/recycling-plastic-bottles-myths/

I'll bet the old guy that pushes his MB with sidecart that takes my mt's takes them in for some change.

 

So you're saying the recycling centers pay money for plastic that's not used, doesn't seem like good business.

1 hour ago, Excel said:

We have the huge 20 litre ones delivered locally, 2 or 3 times a week, 10 baht per bottle. Bottles are sterilised at the plant and re-used. Don't now the life cycle of these bottles but I would guess a few hundred times. I used to boil the water and drink it but stopped when my wife told me I was starting to glow in the dark ????

Which part?

1 hour ago, LazySlipper said:

I have a 7000bht clarte water filtration system with a uv light. Haven't bought water in 6 years. I would NEVER settle for just boiling water.  When I change my filters they are brown and nasty and nothing will get that out of the water, especially only boiling. Do yourself service and forget about how long it takes to break even, as most cheap charlie foreigners do and splurge on yourself. We are 70% water apparently...

A few probably 85% beer.

I've been running my own RO system with a UV sterilizer for all my drink water needs for the past 6 yrs never had a problem to date  ( I do a quality  test once a week )  my drinking water is as pure if not better quality than most of the bottled waters on the market ...I would rather filter and test my own water  than  rely on a third person getting paid 300baht a day who doesn't really give a Sh&t once it leave the filtration plant ..

28 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

@Jeffr2, I guess it doesn't matter if you are saying RO water, itself, is not healthy to drink.

If that's the case, I won't even research or look into newer studies on the machines.

right now spending a good 3000 baht month on drinking water,  seems like something that I should be able to lessen the expense in some manner.

I'm not saying that at all.  There are some who say because of the process, it leaches minerals out of your body.  Most of the websites that say this are a bit dodgy.  I'll try to find a credible one, but not had luck yet.

 

RO water is fine to drink.  Much better than the tap water here!!!

11 hours ago, BananaBandit said:

i'd prefer to avoid water machines these days

 

so is it safe enough to drink tap water after boiling it?

It's safe to drink without boiling it. 

If you don't like the taste, get a filter jug or buy bottles.

Just now, Neeranam said:

It's safe to drink without boiling it. 

If you don't like the taste, get a filter jug or buy bottles.

In Chiang Mai we drink it right out of the tap (80 PPM).

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

In Chiang Mai we drink it right out of the tap (80 PPM).

Some people think we're living in 1970's

I live about 50kl south of Khon Kaen.
Twice I have had nematodes in the tap water, once at a local hotel and more than once at my own house which has direct govt. water supply.
Water can be sandy sometimes especially at the start of the rainy season or when govt. pipes have been repaired.
I use tap water for shower and garden only.

I use bottled water 5 litre refills from someone I know and use a tabletop Seagull 5 litre dispenser; 5 baht per litre empties collected and delivered - never an issue.

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

Yes, except for heavy metal contamination.  Which is a huge problem here in Thailand.  Especially from agricultural chemicals seeping into the ground water.

My thought too.  Our bore hole is very deep but we are surrounded by rice fields and we know that chemicals are sprayed and have been sprayed on the fields for years.

A few years ago a mates lad arrived at my house and he went straight to the outside tap for a drink , he is still alive but he is also Thai.  As for me I would rather drink out of the 20 litre bottles deliverd to my door every Friday at 12 B each.

36 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

If anyone is interested  Bangkok  posts its daily water quality here (english and Thai)

https://twqonline.mwa.co.th/EN/map.php?type=

 

I was surprised to see transparency and  would say  they are more open than many western cities.

 

Bangkok's water from the plant has a very good reputation, and kudos to them for that. 

 

It's what happens to it when it goes through some pretty old and often not well maintained pipelines...   It really needs to be tested at the end user.  Another case where your mileage may vary depending on what part of BKK you live, and how old your water pipes are.

 

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

RO removes most of the heavy metals.  The water goes through a RO filter, gets hit by UV and ozonation.  Pretty good water. 

 

I grew up being able to drink water right out of the tap.  Not sure what you're talking about.

Very informative thank you. A pleasure to read this thread. Our tap water comes from a bore hole. Not sure whether it is classed as 'deep'? I assume that surface water including the agricultural chemicals mentioned and seepage from soak-aways and other commercial foul/waste water eventually finds it's way into underground aquifers. I read somewhere that the soil, pebbles and rocks that it percolates through filter and remove many 'nasties' making bore hole water safe (or safer) to drink.

2 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Very informative thank you. A pleasure to read this thread. Our tap water comes from a bore hole. Not sure whether it is classed as 'deep'? I assume that surface water including the agricultural chemicals mentioned and seepage from soak-aways and other commercial foul/waste water eventually finds it's way into underground aquifers. I read somewhere that the soil, pebbles and rocks that it percolates through filter and remove many 'nasties' making bore hole water safe (or safer) to drink.

Sadly, ground water here can be very contaminated.  Massive amounts of chemicals are used on the fields here.  One of which has been banned in almost every other country.  But not here.

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I go next door and buy the big bottle 17/bht for cooking, not going to drink it.  Plastic bottles are all recycled

That is a pretty naïve statement. 

 

91 Percent of Plastic Isn’t Recycled

3 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Sadly, ground water here can be very contaminated.  Massive amounts of chemicals are used on the fields here.  One of which has been banned in almost every other country.  But not here.

Thanks again!

Many years ago I lived in Plymouth , Devon.  When I went to visit my mother who lived close to the North Downs I would take a flask of coffee for a stop on the way on my Enfield .

On leaving to come home I would fill the flask with water as the water from there tasted so good.   In fact at the time the biggest vineyard in England was behind her house , the Romans I believe  made wine close by.  Growing up there I suppose we were use to drinking good water .

i doubt the water will kill anyone here, but a poor diet and alcohol will

My gf's family has a bottling plant in Issan that has a license number from the government, and their own proprietary name on the bottles (the whole thing is actually in her name).  All I know about it is that they have their own private bore hole and a filtration system. 

But here in Bangkok she gets water from the RO machines in the building which are only used by residents, and then boils that in the kitchen before putting it in 1.5 liter bottles for our personal use.

Duplicate 

 

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

We get the big bottles delivered.  50B,  Works great, and no plastic bottles.  Which I hate!!! LOL

 

What material are the big 50 Baht bottles made of?

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

 

What material are the big 50 Baht bottles made of?

Plastic.  But it's cleaned and then reused.  The bottles are in great shape.  If not, they bin them! LOL

 

We pay an extra 5 or 10 Baht per bottle to carry them from the truck to the back of our house.  It's a bit of a walk, and we only get 3 a week.  So, a tip to the guys for carrying them for us.

1 hour ago, AlfHuy said:

She probably grew up with it. It won't help you.

Why would she have grown up with it ?

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

We get the big bottles delivered.  50B,  Works great, and no plastic bottles.  Which I hate!!! LOL

 

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

What material are the big 50 Baht bottles made of?

The 19ltr bottles are made from durable plastic which can be used many times over. Small bottles are single use which is the real menace and as I pointed out above, according to National Geographic 90% of plastic is NOT recycled. here is the link

In wine there is truth

In beer there is freedom

In water there is bacteria

----------

The choice is yours

 

Thank you Ben Franklin

30 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

The 19ltr bottles are made from durable plastic which can be used many times over. Small bottles are single use which is the real menace and as I pointed out above, according to National Geographic 90% of plastic is NOT recycled. here is the link

 

Biggest risk is if plastic bottles are exposed to heat or sunlight.

3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

We get the big bottles delivered.  50B, and they'll even put them on if the other bottle is empty.  If I need to bring water out with me, I have metal drinking bottles.  Several.  And some are insulated.  Works great, and no plastic bottles.  Which I hate!!! LOL

Crazy price , were you live! In Loei i pay 15 bth/bottle whit delivery. In Udon my friend has that bussines and he take 20 bth/bottle!

1 hour ago, The Fugitive said:

Very informative thank you. A pleasure to read this thread. Our tap water comes from a bore hole. Not sure whether it is classed as 'deep'? I assume that surface water including the agricultural chemicals mentioned and seepage from soak-aways and other commercial foul/waste water eventually finds it's way into underground aquifers. I read somewhere that the soil, pebbles and rocks that it percolates through filter and remove many 'nasties' making bore hole water safe (or safer) to drink.

 

you can get your water tested for arsenic and other heavy metals and I suggest you do at elast once. Or else use a filtration system that removes heavy metals.

 

Arsenic and other heavy metals can be present even in deep wells.

Here's an interesting discussion about plastic bottles etc.