Can You Trust The Street Water Purification Slot Machines?

[partington]

Would you trust those machines that you see around some areas of BKK that deliver safe purified water extremely cheaply? They say 'reverse osmosis' on the front.

I'm wondering if they ever get maintained or checked and so can you be certain that they are dispensing genuinely germ-free water?

I ask because there's no bottled water left anywhere for miles around where I live, yet I pass two of these machines regularly, and I haven't seen a single person using one - not even over the last week, when you'd think the demand would be enormous. It would seem to be much easier than boiling vast quantities.

Do they know something I don't? Anyone tried this water?

Cheers

[soomak]

I'm using it for a long time, and didn't notice any problem.

Best way to check is if you see many Thais using a specific machine, than it must be safe.

I wouldn't bet that it gets checked or maintains as it should.

[ThreeProperty]

I have been using them for years for all of my water, usually 40 litres a week~

I have never been sick.

Boiling water is no good also as it does not filter out the chlorine and carbon / metals.

Edited October 23, 2011 by ThreeProperty

[DavidSL]

I've been using these since I came here about eighteen months ago. In fact, me and my girlfriend buy new bottles every few weeks and wash and re-use them when they are empty by filling them with these machines. You'll save a fortune by not buying new bottles every time you need a drink! Plus, once you need to replace the bottles (I say 'need', I really just mean after a few weeks of use it's probably best) you can give away the old empties to someone who can take them to be recycled (our condo managers get all our empty plastics).

Had absolutely no problems with the water, and it tastes fine - much like the tap water from England.

[DP25]

Those machines are all I use for drinking water. It's perfectly safe. Normal tap water in Bangkok is safe too, but it tastes a lot better after going through one of these machines. Germs aren't a problem in BKK tap water, metal can be from pipes and this gets rid of any. Tastes great.

[BKKdreaming]

Here is the problem with those machines....

Clean water in, cleaner water out.....so thats just fine ,

but badly polluted water in, not as polluted water out , so if the imput water is really bad that machine is not up to the task of cleaning the river muck out of the imput water,

And how often are the changing out the filters ?

If it gets bad I might pay the 5 baht to get better water but anything I was going to drink or clean food or myself with I would boil or add bleach

Just my thoughts......BK

[partington]

Thanks , this is useful.

I know reverse osmosis is dependent on the cleanliness of water going in, and wouldn't be much good at all for flood water contamination, but from what I've heard so far BKK tap water hasn't been compromised yet, so a quick trip to one of these machines is on the schedule for today.

(I certainly wouldn't trust untreated tap water in Bangkok, despite water authority's assurances that it's safe. It may well be when it's tested at the water treatment plants, but after travelling through miles of dodgy cracked pipes and plumbing filled the brim with virulent microorganisms, assorted unidentified solids and the odd enterprising but now deceased rat I doubt that it continues to be....)

cheers

[BKKdreaming]

Here is a nice Youtube viseo explaining how the reverse osmosis machines work

BK

[partington]

Interesting, thanks.

As a quick follow up , the reason the two water vending reverse osmosis machines I mentioned earlier were never being used was because they're both dead. Despite having green lights illuminated all coins inserted came immediately out of the rejected coins slot and nothing happened.

I did find another machine just outside a big condo in a nearby street, but this looked a lot more dodgy. It was labelled something like "bio-former", and had a diagram of water going through a set of about six consecutive filter columns. Worryingly it declared that the last step in the process was "magnetisation" of the water.

This is clearly magical thinking of the worst kind, as this would have no legitimate effect on any aspect of the water's quality. Also I assumed that the filters have never been replaced since the machine was first installed, so were probably not actually functional.

Since I was carrying my 5 litre bottle I did put money in, and water did come out, but I 'm going to treat it as if it were just tap water, and boil it before use. At least it can't be worse quality than untreated tap water, I suppose....

Edited October 24, 2011 by partington

[DP25]

Interesting, thanks.

As a quick follow up , the reason the two water vending reverse osmosis machines I mentioned earlier were never being used was because they're both dead. Despite having green lights illuminated all coins inserted came immediately out of the rejected coins slot and nothing happened.

They might have the same problem I've run in to. The water machine I use won't accept any new coins and spits them back out. New Thai coins are slightly lighter and thinner than the old ones and the machine rejects them. No new 1B or 5B coins work in it, I have to hoard any old coins I happen to come across for use in it. If you hold up a new and an old 5B coin on edge you can clearly see the size difference. 10B coins usually work though. I often have to spend 10B to fill up a 5L bottle because I've run out of old coins.

[DavidSL]

Interesting, thanks.

As a quick follow up , the reason the two water vending reverse osmosis machines I mentioned earlier were never being used was because they're both dead. Despite having green lights illuminated all coins inserted came immediately out of the rejected coins slot and nothing happened.

They might have the same problem I've run in to. The water machine I use won't accept any new coins and spits them back out. New Thai coins are slightly lighter and thinner than the old ones and the machine rejects them. No new 1B or 5B coins work in it, I have to hoard any old coins I happen to come across for use in it. If you hold up a new and an old 5B coin on edge you can clearly see the size difference. 10B coins usually work though. I often have to spend 10B to fill up a 5L bottle because I've run out of old coins.

Yes, I have this exact problem with the machine at my condo, and the one down the road. I use my old, dirty one bahts for the machine. In fact, I've just come back from filling some bottles, and it's worth taking more than you need, that's for sure! A little trick is to trying 'spinning' the coin into the machine. Occasionally this will work, and very occasionally, though perhaps this was just before our machine was fixed - you'll get 50 baht for your 1 baht coin. I was taught this trick by the condo manager, but, alas, it no longer works.

I love these machines, though - 1 baht per bottle!

[partington]

Now that is really good information! I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years , as I have not been here long enough to know that there is a major difference between old and new coins.

(I did actually try two 10B coins as well, being willing to lose 5B to get the water, but they didn't work either.)

Do you know approximately (or even exactly) what the date cut off is for old versus new coins? I might try to collect some old ones and have another go!

[kurnell]

We have one of those high tech water filters at home that uses 3 different methods to purify the water and I have noticed that during the last couple of weeks, the water has more of a chemical taste, I am assuming from the extra chlorine that now seems to be in the water.

[BKKdreaming]

We have one of those high tech water filters at home that uses 3 different methods to purify the water and I have noticed that during the last couple of weeks, the water has more of a chemical taste, I am assuming from the extra chlorine that now seems to be in the water.

if you watch the video above you will see that the first charcoal filter MUST remove the chlorine because it will damage the membrane in the second stage.....

Not sure what is making the chemical taste .....

BK

[zorro1]

I saw bear grills drink swamp water filtered through his sock. Not anything like the clear tap water in Bkk and Pattaya, Phuket ,Samui and he lived

I have a bad feeling that some folks will die of dehydration before drinking the local tap water

[bkkjames]

I might try it if I have ever see somebody either actually clean it or change a filter once.

[meom]

I saw bear grills drink swamp water filtered through his sock. Not anything like the clear tap water in Bkk and Pattaya, Phuket ,Samui and he lived

I have a bad feeling that some folks will die of dehydration before drinking the local tap water

Before drinking swamp water why not start with the local beers?

Still plenty of those around.

[AyG]

My partner is a chemist specialising in water treatment. To be honest, it gets a bit tedious every time we eat out when he checks the label on the water bottles and declares whether or not it's "his customer". (Usually it is.)

He refuses point blank to drink the water from those machines. In fact, knowing what is happening at various commercial producers of bottled water, there are some brands of them that he won't drink.

In short, whilst most of those drinking water from these machines haven't died yet, that's more down to luck than the quality of the water.

Incidentally, he informed me 2/3 days ago that all the commercial water bottling plants have now stopped production. Things are going to get bad. And people are going to get very sick.

[DP25]

In short, whilst most of those drinking water from these machines haven't died yet, that's more down to luck than the quality of the water.

Millions of people live on the water from those machines every single day without getting sick. Maybe you're partner's insistence on only drinking from 'his customers' isn't completely objective or reasonable.

[DP25]

I might try it if I have ever see somebody either actually clean it or change a filter once.

How often does the filter need to be changed? I don't think it's likely to ever catch someone changing one even if it is changed regularly.

The water from the machines I use does not taste the same as tap water, someone must be servicing it and collecting money although I've never seen them

[BKKdreaming]

I might try it if I have ever see somebody either actually clean it or change a filter once.

How often does the filter need to be changed? I don't think it's likely to ever catch someone changing one even if it is changed regularly.

The water from the machines I use does not taste the same as tap water, someone must be servicing it and collecting money although I've never seen them

Before it was good water in , maybe better water out

now its not so good water in , and not so good water out ,

so NOW it matters more !

BK

[eq2]

Ive had no problem using three of of these machines for 4 months.

[hyperdimension]

Can anyone explain the lights? Some machines have the lights on, others have one or more lights not on. Does a light being off mean either reverse osmosis or U.V. is not enabled? I'm concerned that some machines that are meant to do both only do one or the other, when they should be doing both reverse osmosis and U.V.

[balo]

I have been using water machines for 2 years at my condo ans the quality is always good.

I have seen they have repaired /changed filter so its good to know that they look after them.

[roamer]

My partner is a chemist specialising in water treatment. To be honest, it gets a bit tedious every time we eat out when he checks the label on the water bottles and declares whether or not it's "his customer". (Usually it is.)

He refuses point blank to drink the water from those machines. In fact, knowing what is happening at various commercial producers of bottled water, there are some brands of them that he won't drink.

In short, whilst most of those drinking water from these machines haven't died yet, that's more down to luck than the quality of the water.

Incidentally, he informed me 2/3 days ago that all the commercial water bottling plants have now stopped production. Things are going to get bad. And people are going to get very sick.

1. A lot of these posters have pointed out they have been using these machines for years with no ill effects.

However the situation over that time is very different to what it is at present. This is a new ballgame.

2. If commercial water bottlers are stopping production I would imagine its because their production methods are unable to cope with the quality of the supplied water and the subsequent product fails their analytical tests. If that is the case then how do you think your machine is functioning ?

[BKKdreaming]

This is a new ballgame.

YEP

2. If commercial water bottlers are stopping production I would imagine its because their production methods are unable to cope with the quality of the supplied water and the subsequent product fails their analytical tests. If that is the case then how do you think your machine is functioning ?

Part of the problem is getting new bottles and returned bottles to use again.....

BK

[OliverKlozerof]

I've used the machine, which is owned by my landlord, on my street for the past few years, and it's been great. Except for just as the flood started getting serious: Then both my tap water and the water coming from the machine tasted like dirt. The landlord said he thought it was still safe, but around that time I got diarrhea. Of course I thought I just got a little bad street food or something. Then I was away for 10 days and no diarrhea. When I came back he said he'd serviced it, but still tasted like dirt, plus I got a little diarrhea again after drinking a little.

Because of this, plus that there was no cheap water to be bought on my street (Langsuan in Chitlom), I fled to Ko Chang. I guess I'll be back in town next monday though, so I'll see if there's been any improvement.

[roamer]

And for those of you thinking about whether the UV sterilisation part is working you might like to know that the water has to be very clear, no turbidity, for it to be effective.

It does not kill microbes but deactivates them by affecting their ability to reproduce. Water thus treated should be kept out of bright light to avoid reactivation.

[hyperdimension]

Water thus treated should be kept out of bright light to avoid reactivation.

Actually, the opposite is true. Leaving water out in direct sunlight in clear bottles can disinfect it. 6 or more hours is recommended. The water should be clear beforehand, otherwise the radiation would not be able to get into all of the water. Labels should also be removed to allow more light to go through. See Solar water disinfection.

Edited November 16, 2011 by hyperdimension

[balo]

Well as long as we have no flooding in the area we live I will continue to use the water machines, Also the tap water looks normal to me so we have been lucky so far .

Edited November 16, 2011 by balo