Refrigerated Drinking Water....is It Safe ?

[acerhodes]

I live in Hua Hin and have just had a Siemens fridge fitted with a built in water dispenser (which has a filter also built in)...........the water is plumbed into the fridge from the "mains"

My water comes from the Water company but via a storage tank in my garden together with my water pump.

I cannot get any firm assurances that this water is drinkable....................does anybody have any idea about this ?

Thanks

[garyh]

Do the locals drink the water?

[ballbreaker]

Why don't you install a reverse osmosis filter between main and fridge.

[acerhodes]

Why don't you install a reverse osmosis filter between main and fridge.

What is this type of filter? Would it make the water drinkable? Are they large or expensive?

Thanks

[cathyy]

Yep, a reverse osmosis filter would do the trick. Then the water would be drinkable for sure.

[ballbreaker]

Why don't you install a reverse osmosis filter between main and fridge.

What is this type of filter? Would it make the water drinkable? Are they large or expensive?

Thanks

Its a membrane filter that passes only pure water. Just google reverse osmosis for detail info.

They come in different sizes and price will be dependent on size. You can find them at Home Pro for sure.

Edited November 23, 2008 by ballbreaker

[acerhodes]

Does anyone have any actual experience of this type of filter.................google suggests that a massive amount of water is lost during the filter process...............where does it go?

Are they expensive?

Can anyone recommend a model?

[cathyy]

Back in the day reverse osmosis filters were indeed very inefficient, using as much as 12 gallons of water to get 1 gallon of potable water. Techniques have improved, and that ratio no longer holds. I have seen filters that advertise a 1:1 ratio, but I don't trust Thai advertising to be entirely truthful. At worst you'd get 4:1 these days, and I have heard the 1:1 is accurate from people who have these filters.

Define "expensive." I think the cost is highly reasonable for ensuring safe drinking water for yourself and family. A few thousand baht.

[ianh68]

Does anyone have any actual experience of this type of filter.................google suggests that a massive amount of water is lost during the filter process...............where does it go?

Are they expensive?

Can anyone recommend a model?

I would not recommend reverse osmosis water filters for several reasons, the main one being that they extract important minerals during the filtration process. See here

If you go to Home Pro the models all look the same and you have to read the small print to see if they are reverse osmosis or not.

I got a Clarte model from Home Pro and get it serviced every six months by Smart Electrical supplies, a most excellent company, www.clartethailand.com. Cost is 500 Baht for six monthly and 1300 Baht for annual (full) service.