1 baht street water machines - do they have filters?

[Mentors65]

In 15 Years living here i didnt use them once.

Some people use the water for cooking. 

[Jim Blue]

So no one actually got sick ?

Perhaps  best to go the cheapie route ?

[saakura]

We used the big RO water dispensing machine fitted in our condo public space for over 10yrs without any problems. Now using a Neo Plus fitted inside our unit.

[bunnydrops]

On 4/2/2025 at 5:49 PM, scubascuba3 said:

I use the 1 baht water for cooking and tea/coffee, but I'd still like to know which ones have filters.

 

To the experts out there, does the speed of water out the machine tap indicate whether it's filtered or not? sometimes slow, sometimes superfast as if straight from the mains

That depends, because the reverse osmosis filter needs a lot of pressure to push the water through, some systems store a few liters to dispense.

[bunnydrops]

It reminds me of when a few years ago I took a shortcut that led me behind a store in Mexico where I saw these kids filling old water bottles with a hose. They would then put a touch of super glue on the cap I guess to make the bottle feel like it hadn't been opened.

[actonion]

You would not want to drink water from the machine near my house, the old bird who takes care of it  doesnt know it has a filter i think

[Ctkong]

Invest in a good water filter system. They don’t cost much and water is the lowest denominator of good health. I read the RO water is acidic after filtration and cancer thrives in an acidic environment. 

[ronnie50]

Have four filters under the sink - and new - bought the new filters last year. Cooking with it is ok. But I tried washing fresh peeled fruit with it and had a weird stomach afterwards. So I'm only drinking store-purchased bottled water. As the tree huggers say, I'm paying mpre for the bottle than the water. So be it. My stomach thanks me for it.

[Rob Browder]

On 4/2/2025 at 2:32 PM, tomazbodner said:

Get yourself a T-D-S meter (total dissolved solids), looks like a large digital thermometer with a removable cap.

 

Fill cup with water from the filter and put in the T-D-S meter. The reading should be below 50, best below 20. If it shows 200-300 reading, then it's not filtering anything.

Additional thing, which is also important is whether you're planning on directly drinking this water or boil it/cook with it. That's bacteria which a removed RO filter obviously would not remove either, but even if it did, RO filters are slow, so to fill your bottle, it would have a tank somewhere in the box. If that tank isn't cleaned, bacteria could grow in it, and make you sick even if <removed> reading comes back in teens.

Good tip on the dissolved-solids meter.  But, RO doesn't have to be slow; that noise the machines make (in my experience) is a pump which is forcing the water through the filters.  I have a multi-filter system at home, including RO, and it is slow w/o the pump running.

[scubascuba3]

11 hours ago, Ctkong said:

Invest in a good water filter system. They don’t cost much and water is the lowest denominator of good health. I read the RO water is acidic after filtration and cancer thrives in an acidic environment. 

My condo keeps water in big dirty tanks where once a year somchais use brooms to clean it out, I don't want to use that as the source even if filtered

[treetops]

On 4/2/2025 at 11:23 AM, FlorC said:

Why the yellow emojii's ?

 

Not my emojis, but perhaps from readers who think it's crazy to give your pets mineral water when they've probably been licking their own genitals and any other animals' butts when you weren't looking to keep their health tip top.

[EVENKEEL]

7 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Not my emojis, but perhaps from readers who think it's crazy to give your pets mineral water when they've probably been licking their own genitals and any other animals' butts when you weren't looking to keep their health tip top.

My dog drinks bottled water same as us. The market next door to us has the 20 L of water delivered, costs 20 baht. Only used for boiling foods, we don't drink it.  

 

Coffee made only with bottled water.

[treetops]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

My dog drinks bottled water same as us.

 

Going by FlorC's experience you might expect a few yellow emojis for this statement.

[daveAustin]

On 4/2/2025 at 4:56 PM, pomchop said:

google reverse osmosis

Ok for cooking and perhaps coffee, but RO is 'dead' water devoid of what the human body needs. Drink this stuff every day and guaranteed you will be dehydrated and misty-headed.

Op, do those machines at your peril. Have they changed the filter etc? Also, keep reusing bottles over and over again, you end up getting bacteria(lised). Better off buying bottles from 7, or drinking beer or gin... as they did in the day, even the kids!

[NativeBob]

Early 90-s I remember "purple crystals" in water at food stalls. Disgusting taste and didn't save me from getting severe infection. Just a flashback.

Nothing have changed over 40 years though. Your health is in your own hands, please don't count on primary school knowledge of some vendor who makes money on those "drinking water dispensers". 

No need to analyze "do they pour clean water", "how RO works" and "what is RO after all"
We are in TH. Almost everybody here had the "unlucky" case of "local responsibilities". 
Just say NO.
How difficult is it?

[scubascuba3]

People get very animated about water but disregard they have a bad diet and lifestyle which ultimately will lead to their death, not water

[FlorC]

10 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Not my emojis, but perhaps from readers who think it's crazy to give your pets mineral water when they've probably been licking their own genitals and any other animals' butts when you weren't looking to keep their health tip top.

Ok.  You are right , they lick dirty things and I caught them drinking from rain puddles. Inside they get the good water . The 1 baht machines are not for drinking because you can't trust the filters and maintenance.

[BerndD]

They are working on the basis of Osmose and Filtering. Some include also Ultraviolet Radiation, to kill bacterias.

This all is OK, if they are regulary maintained. But it is mostly not the fact.

[thailand49]

I've had one for over 15 years allow to service the first thereafter I did some research and did it myself.  I went to look for shops that sold he equipment and replacements. Some machines the filters or outside majority are in the inside.  In general, you have a Carbon, Risen, Mircon, then the filter that do the reverse osmosis.

 

Years ago, I read an article, the government standard said every two months but didn't specify which filter or all need to be replace. If replacing all it makes no sense since the cost exceeds profit. Replacing all cost was 3000 baht, years now I've found shops total filter replacement 1600 baht.

 

You will find some with stickers at top when they were serviced but that is rear,  many machines are just dirty from the outside owners don't take the time to even wipe them down. Thais are funny they think the newer the machine the cleaner the water.  I once had to call for service to replace a motor the service guy said your machine is old should replace it once he got it up running commented you water is really cleaned! 

 

In the beginning being the only one in the area my better half was making a killing, 6-7 baht a month.  Each month I monitor the filter and examine them then read the more water you sell the more often makes sense but the main filter is to replace the Mircon 50, these are very cheap like 50 baht which today I change each month regardless.  The rest based on the volume I sell it has come down to every 6 months.

 

There is a clue as to when, every machine has a blue vent pipe that water comes out, if filter isn't changed or starts to clog more water will start to run out of this pipe if still not change it will back up and start to leak from the inside.  This is a clear sign for me at least to stay away!

 

Otherwise it is a crab shoot!  But they are cheap!

[Expat68]

16 hours ago, BerndD said:

They are working on the basis of Osmose and Filtering. Some include also Ultraviolet Radiation, to kill bacterias.

This all is OK, if they are regulary maintained. But it is mostly not the fact.

A few years ago my friend installed his own water filter. The guy who fitted it also did a test on it, my friend up to then used to get the very large container bottles you see being delivered on the back of pickups. The guy did a test on the remainder of water in the said bottles, much to my friends dismay the quality of water was way below standard of the filtered water he had just installed 

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, thailand49 said:

I've had one for over 15 years allow to service the first thereafter I did some research and did it myself.  I went to look for shops that sold he equipment and replacements. Some machines the filters or outside majority are in the inside.  In general, you have a Carbon, Risen, Mircon, then the filter that do the reverse osmosis.

 

Years ago, I read an article, the government standard said every two months but didn't specify which filter or all need to be replace. If replacing all it makes no sense since the cost exceeds profit. Replacing all cost was 3000 baht, years now I've found shops total filter replacement 1600 baht.

 

You will find some with stickers at top when they were serviced but that is rear,  many machines are just dirty from the outside owners don't take the time to even wipe them down. Thais are funny they think the newer the machine the cleaner the water.  I once had to call for service to replace a motor the service guy said your machine is old should replace it once he got it up running commented you water is really cleaned! 

 

In the beginning being the only one in the area my better half was making a killing, 6-7 baht a month.  Each month I monitor the filter and examine them then read the more water you sell the more often makes sense but the main filter is to replace the Mircon 50, these are very cheap like 50 baht which today I change each month regardless.  The rest based on the volume I sell it has come down to every 6 months.

 

There is a clue as to when, every machine has a blue vent pipe that water comes out, if filter isn't changed or starts to clog more water will start to run out of this pipe if still not change it will back up and start to leak from the inside.  This is a clear sign for me at least to stay away!

 

Otherwise it is a crab shoot!  But they are cheap!

Good info thanks.

 

I've finally decided to go full HISO and use Makro 1.5L water, saves the doubt