Safe Drinking Water In Chiang Mai

[femi fan]

I assume the water from water banks, from the big white plastic drums delivered to homes, bottles of aura or minere (for the mineral content) is not detrimental to our health, unlike drinking straight from the tap. But i remain in the dark with regard to what influence the plastic containers have on the quality of the water by the time we get to drink it.

I assume chiang mai tap water has chlorine, fluoride waste compounds, and other nasties added to it or that find their way into it by the time it comes out of our taps.

Considering how important water is to our health, this situation continues to nag away at me, and i'd really like to solve it. The obvious answer might be to get a filter system so that i can drink the water from my tap, and even another filter system so i can shower in clean water.

But what filter machine to get? Go into the shops, and it's all thai language, and all marketing, and all pushy pushy sales people who of course have the perfect system to give me perfect water. In addition they all look too big (the machines, not the salespeople) to install in my kitchen which is not mansion size, never mind in the bathroom. And then, do these shops sell the replacement filters?

I'm wondering if chiang mai posters have found their own solutions they'd like to share...

Have you found and installed a filtration system that you are confident filters out all the toxins, and that does not take up the space of half a kitchen?

Did it cost a minor fortune? Where did you buy it? Who installed it?

What gives you the confidence it does its job?

Or, have you found other non-filter alternatives to obtaining water you are confident is worthy of drinking and/or showering in?

Do we have our very own water filtration company in chiang mai?

Can anyone explain the basic science in easy language how we get rid of fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals, and so on?

No good now, but does anyone collect rainwater during the rainy season, and if so, any tips on how to make it drinkable?

Does anyone know of a company that supplies its reverse osmosis water in big glass containers, rather than half liter ones that cost too much as a default drinking water?

Any other comments on drinking water would be good to hear too.

[PoodMaiDai]

A bump for this thread because it's a good one.

I've been a bit concerned over Bisphenol-A that is probably in my water bottles and looking for ways to get better water, but coming up empty, because as you have seen for yourself, all the machines are in Thai only. I don't trust a single salesman in Thailand to sell me as much as a Snickers bar, let alone a water filtration system.

[Semper]

The obvious answer might be to get a filter system so that i can drink the water from my tap

How would you know if the filtered tap water would be any better than the water sold/delivered in the 20 L plastic jugs? Assuming it would be the same quality, how many years would it take before you would save any money from it?

[zippydedodah]

google is your friend as to the science of it...

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water... and it tastes great.

we have guests from USA, on the average about every other month... average stay around 2-3 weeks...they all drink our filtered water and no one ever gotten sick... we also use it for cooking and making ice. Some guests use it to brush their teeth, others do not...

no one has ever questioned the showering part.... never crossed my mind either.

As for filter cartridge refills, available at Big C and homepro... pretty much a non issue.

as for reverse osmosis...i have heard/read good and bad things about that...

and as for buying bottled, delivered water, i don't like that big plastic stuff... so forget it.

Yes, Bisphenol-A is an issue...but how much of an issue here in thailand, i don't know. In USA and Canada and i believe most of europe, it is pretty much banned for bottle production now. A brief sidebar.. my daughter was the one who filed the first class action suit in USA that helped turn the public information and put the eye on that particular chemical..so far all she got out of it is 6 stainless steel water bottles! hahahaha

[Semper]

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water

I've been drinking the water from the 20L jugs for more than a decade and never been sick from it.

[onthedarkside]

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water

I've been drinking the water from the 20L jugs for more than a decade and never been sick from it.

Me too

[worgeordie]

We have our water delivered by Glacier water company

24 x 500ml in glass bottles, bht 42,in my opinion the best

water in Chiang Mai,

Have been buying from them since they first began

operating,and never had a bad bottle,I prefer the glass

bottles .

regards Worgeordie

PS Those 3 stage filters might be OK ,BUT they must have there filters ,

UV lamps replaced regularly ,and they are expensive,so find it easier

to let someone else do it.

Edited January 9, 2012 by worgeordie

[zippydedodah]

We have our water delivered by Glacier water company

24 x 500ml in glass bottles, bht 42,in my opinion the best

water in Chiang Mai,

Have been buying from them since they first began

operating,and never had a bad bottle,I prefer the glass

bottles .

regards Worgeordie

PS Those 3 stage filters might be OK ,BUT they must have there filters ,

UV lamps replaced regularly ,and they are expensive,so find it easier

to let someone else do it.

i replace the filters once or twice a year, depending on how much we use the whole water filter.... they cost around 300 baht each, i think, but i could be wrong... i replace them when the water starts to taste funny, since that is their primary function... it is the black light which kills all the little bugs... and i have never replaced that (it still glows) in over 2.5 years...

[femi fan]

The obvious answer might be to get a filter system so that i can drink the water from my tap

How would you know if the filtered tap water would be any better than the water sold/delivered in the 20 L plastic jugs? Assuming it would be the same quality, how many years would it take before you would save any money from it?

Well, it's not about the money, it's about the health. I wouldn't know, but at least there'd be no issue of plastic leaching probably carcinogenic compounds into the water. But that's my point about filtration systems, there may well be decent systems for sale here, but i'm not in a position to know which ones are decent. That's why i started the thread, others may be in that position to recommend.

[femi fan]

google is your friend as to the science of it...

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water... and it tastes great.

we have guests from USA, on the average about every other month... average stay around 2-3 weeks...they all drink our filtered water and no one ever gotten sick... we also use it for cooking and making ice. Some guests use it to brush their teeth, others do not...

no one has ever questioned the showering part.... never crossed my mind either.

As for filter cartridge refills, available at Big C and homepro... pretty much a non issue.

Thanks for the reply, but i don't want to rely upon taste! Any damage water will do to one's health, assuming it's not obviously dirty, will take many years to show up. Cancer doesn't just suddenly afflict somebody, it takes years of toxic abuse for it to rear its ugly head.

And i'm afraid that thai tap water is probably cleaner than american tap water, so that might explain why your guests don't get sick.

The problem with the showering is what cumulative damage showering in chlorinated water will do, but that's a problem faced in most countries anyway.

[femi fan]

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water

I've been drinking the water from the 20L jugs for more than a decade and never been sick from it.

Are they the cloudy plastic jugs? I understand that if one is to use plastic for water this is the most stable kind. It's a definite option. Bit bloody heavy though, no?!

[femi fan]

We have our water delivered by Glacier water company

24 x 500ml in glass bottles, bht 42,in my opinion the best

water in Chiang Mai,

Have been buying from them since they first began

operating,and never had a bad bottle,I prefer the glass

bottles .

regards Worgeordie

Now, this is an attractive option. That's just under four baht a liter and no plastic... and delivered. And it would cut down dramatically on our use of plastic, which would also be good news for the environment!

You wouldn't happen to have their phone number would you? Do you know where they do their bottling, or are they all over chiang mai?

[hellodolly]

We have our water delivered by Glacier water company

24 x 500ml in glass bottles, bht 42,in my opinion the best

water in Chiang Mai,

Have been buying from them since they first began

operating,and never had a bad bottle,I prefer the glass

bottles .

regards Worgeordie

Now, this is an attractive option. That's just under four baht a liter and no plastic... and delivered. And it would cut down dramatically on our use of plastic, which would also be good news for the environment!

You wouldn't happen to have their phone number would you? Do you know where they do their bottling, or are they all over chiang mai?

We used them until the flood and all of a sudden we could not get them any more. Don't know why but I liked the idea of the glass bottles.

Now we get a case of 950 mm almost a liter for 40 baht. It comes in plastic but it is a clear plastic we get it from pole star. There was a 300 baht deposit on the case.

I had always heard that the cheap plastic bottles (cloudy) would let some of those carcion thingies into the water over a period of time and constant use it would have a negative effect on one. And I for one plan on drinking it for decades.

It says on the bottle that it is treated by reverse osmosis and ozone.

Edited January 9, 2012 by hellodolly

[barefoot1988]

anyone using "pure water" dipenser? there is just one around my apartment and i always use those to filled up my singha plastic bottles

[elektrified]

We have our water delivered by Glacier water company

24 x 500ml in glass bottles, bht 42,in my opinion the best

water in Chiang Mai,

Have been buying from them since they first began

operating,and never had a bad bottle,I prefer the glass

bottles .

regards Worgeordie

Now, this is an attractive option. That's just under four baht a liter and no plastic... and delivered. And it would cut down dramatically on our use of plastic, which would also be good news for the environment!

You wouldn't happen to have their phone number would you? Do you know where they do their bottling, or are they all over chiang mai?

I can answer the last part. Glacier has their plant in Saraphee. I've been there and the place is spotlessly clean. I've been drinking their water for about 3 years now. They deliver 120 litres to my house every Saturday; 20 Baht for a 20 litre bottle. They have cloudy plastic bottles and clear plastic bottles. Deposit per bottle is 80 Baht for the cloudy and 350 for the clear. I get the cloudy and the water tastes good. For a while I was getting Aura delivered but I hated the taste of it, it was way too expensive, and they had a weird policy where you had to pay in exact change only. No change given by the drivers.

They aren't too helpful if you call the plant looking for service. Just flag down one of the drivers when you see them in your area and they will arrange to get you on the delivery route. The drivers I believe are all independent and working on commission so they will sort you out.

[dickyknee]

in my travels, I've drunk water that is sourced from:

- water run-off that has been captured in reservoirs from the hills/mountains.

- water run-off captured in tanks from the roof of my house

- ground water from an aquifer

- water sourced from the ocean/de-salination plant

- recycled water from human shit and piss.

now, what you really need to ask is why is Chiang Mai tap-water un-potable? in my travels, again the reason being is the bugs. a bit of a boil in the kettle sorts this out. a bit of clorine does too, as does a bit of UV light. i've used a bit of iodophor to treat water I'm unsure of. even then, is Chiang Mai tap water un-potable and why?

why would you want to remove floride? floride in water is good for the children's dental development, though the argument against it is based on ethics and removal of individual choice rather than it actually being bad for you.

[Semper]

Are they the cloudy plastic jugs? I understand that if one is to use plastic for water this is the most stable kind. It's a definite option. Bit bloody heavy though, no?!

Yes, they are the cloudy ones. The brand we buy is calle Dew Drop cost 25Baht/jug and are delivered to our door (live in a house). There are cheaper brands available starting from 10 Baht. Yes, they tend to be quite heavy if one has to carry them around (guess I'm out of shape)

[worgeordie]

Femi Fan Glacier Water co telephone number is 053 423 991 053 3438 211-3 they deliver

all over Chiang Mai, twice a week to our Moo banh, very reliable ,I buy the glass bottles as I feel

its better for me and the environment and at 42 bht for 24 x 500 ml delivered very good value.

.

Zippydedodah The UV light might be glowing but its lost all its power to kill the germs, they

should be replaced at least every 6 months at least depending on usage the other option is to

use a Reverse Osmosis filter that filters out all ,well 99% of germs,heavy metals, but they are expensive

and like other water filters require regular maintenance or you will just be drinking untreated water.

regards Worgeordie

[llp]

Has anyone bothered to get the water tested? I recall reading that it can be tested at a government lab or CMU. That would be the only way to know what you're really drinking.

[Semper]

Has anyone bothered to get the water tested? I recall reading that it can be tested at a government lab or CMU. That would be the only way to know what you're really drinking.

And if one should not be happy with the test results, then what?

[worgeordie]

Has anyone bothered to get the water tested? I recall reading that it can be tested at a government lab or CMU. That would be the only way to know what you're really drinking.

Yes I can remember gov. lab or CMU did a test on bottled water ,and found several of the bottled water suppliers,where selling

water that was well below standard, BUT in their wisdom did not name the companies !!!!, like when they found bacteria in some brands of toothpaste,but never named which ones, and I never heard of any been recalled.

Before I reported Glacier 500ml glass bottles X 24 were 42 bht the correct price is 52 Bht

regards Worgeordie

[elektrified]

Has anyone bothered to get the water tested? I recall reading that it can be tested at a government lab or CMU. That would be the only way to know what you're really drinking.

It is very expensive to get the water tested at CMU. The whole procedure which I believe includes the metals costs 15-16K Baht!

[zippydedodah]

Femi Fan Glacier Water co telephone number is 053 423 991 053 3438 211-3 they deliver

all over Chiang Mai, twice a week to our Moo banh, very reliable ,I buy the glass bottles as I feel

its better for me and the environment and at 42 bht for 24 x 500 ml delivered very good value.

.

Zippydedodah The UV light might be glowing but its lost all its power to kill the germs, they

should be replaced at least every 6 months at least depending on usage the other option is to

use a Reverse Osmosis filter that filters out all ,well 99% of germs,heavy metals, but they are expensive

and like other water filters require regular maintenance or you will just be drinking untreated water.

regards Worgeordie

thanks for that info..i will look into that... and probably end up changing my light

[femi fan]

I can answer the last part. Glacier has their plant in Saraphee. I've been there and the place is spotlessly clean. I've been drinking their water for about 3 years now. They deliver 120 litres to my house every Saturday; 20 Baht for a 20 litre bottle. They have cloudy plastic bottles and clear plastic bottles. Deposit per bottle is 80 Baht for the cloudy and 350 for the clear. I get the cloudy and the water tastes good. For a while I was getting Aura delivered but I hated the taste of it, it was way too expensive, and they had a weird policy where you had to pay in exact change only. No change given by the drivers.

They aren't too helpful if you call the plant looking for service. Just flag down one of the drivers when you see them in your area and they will arrange to get you on the delivery route. The drivers I believe are all independent and working on commission so they will sort you out.

The same company that worgeordie gets his water in glass bottles from? I hope so because i live in saraphee! Whereabouts are they mate? I'd love to go along and watch their operations.

I really want to get away from all plastics though, so the glass option is what i want.

[femi fan]

Femi Fan Glacier Water co telephone number is 053 423 991 053 3438 211-3 they deliver

all over Chiang Mai, twice a week to our Moo banh, very reliable ,I buy the glass bottles as I feel

its better for me and the environment and at 42 bht for 24 x 500 ml delivered very good value.

Thanks mate. I'll try the first number but that second number's looking a bit dodgy... too many digits! Perhaps you mean 053 438 211?

I think at this stage you've solved my water problem, and i'm most grateful to you! I'm just not sure i can trust the filters and machines any more than the plastic. The sad thing is that i'm pretty confident that the water available to us in thailand other than tap water is clean and remarkably cheap when compared to say US or UK. I'm not even sure that the tap water over here is any worse than in those two nations.

[femi fan]

why would you want to remove floride? floride in water is good for the children's dental development, though the argument against it is based on ethics and removal of individual choice rather than it actually being bad for you.

If fluoride is good for children's dental development, then give them fluoride. Why should the entire adult population have to ingest it too?

But in any case, if you put a research hat on, you'll discover that it's not quite fluoride the municipalities add to our 'drinking' water, it's a waste byproduct from industry that they put in, a compound of fluoride. It is deeply poisonous, and attacks rather important organs in the body, and damages our immune systems. A total no-no. Of course, it'll take years before you get the cancer, but by that time it's too late to change! You do NOT want to be drinking water contaminated by the fluoride and chlorine compounds they add to tap water.

Incidentally, one by one, counties and states in the US are stopping this practice of adding the carcinogen to the water supplies. Awareness is growing fast!

[CPT]

now, what you really need to ask is why is Chiang Mai tap-water un-potable? in my travels, again the reason being is the bugs. a bit of a boil in the kettle sorts this out. a bit of clorine does too, as does a bit of UV light. i've used a bit of iodophor to treat water I'm unsure of. even then, is Chiang Mai tap water un-potable and why?

I'm not sure how applicable this is in Thailand but from my travels in other parts of the developing world the issue is not normally the water treatment process but rather the delivery infrastructure. As such, it's not a matter of determining whether Chiang Mai tap water is potable but rather if the water from a particular tap is potable.

[hellodolly]

why would you want to remove floride? floride in water is good for the children's dental development, though the argument against it is based on ethics and removal of individual choice rather than it actually being bad for you.

If fluoride is good for children's dental development, then give them fluoride. Why should the entire adult population have to ingest it too?

But in any case, if you put a research hat on, you'll discover that it's not quite fluoride the municipalities add to our 'drinking' water, it's a waste byproduct from industry that they put in, a compound of fluoride. It is deeply poisonous, and attacks rather important organs in the body, and damages our immune systems. A total no-no. Of course, it'll take years before you get the cancer, but by that time it's too late to change! You do NOT want to be drinking water contaminated by the fluoride and chlorine compounds they add to tap water.

Incidentally, one by one, counties and states in the US are stopping this practice of adding the carcinogen to the water supplies. Awareness is growing fast!

I thought that the cloudy bottles had carcinogen's in them that give years could be harmful to the human being.

[Mapguy]

we bought a 3 stage filtration system, made by Pur... includes the black light part (see google)... been using it for going on 3 yrs now and not a single sickness we would attribute to the water

I've been drinking the water from the 20L jugs for more than a decade and never been sick from it.

Me too

Me three!

[femi fan]

Does anybody have experience using water distiller machines? Are any for sale in chiang mai? I've seen a couple of american machines, one from a site in the US, $400, and one imported by a company from lad prao in bkk, 28,000 baht. Quite a lot of money, but no more plastic leaching into the water, and presumably minerals remain after the distilling.