Safe Drinking Water In Chiang Mai

[Dante99]

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.

Think your should check your presumption about minerals remaining after distillation as distillation does remove minerals but perhaps not all of them.

Also you can get stainless steel filters in CM so no plastic worries.

[Semper]

Tip. Distilled water is for car/mc batteries, not for drinking.

[uptheos]

Tip. Distilled water is for car/mc batteries, not for drinking.

The distilling process removes most impurities, so what you are left with is virtually pure water and nothing that can interfere with the batteries requirements. It's safe to drink, but doesn't have any taste at all. However, it makes a nice cuppa.

[czGLoRy]

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.

this is no longer available, it is 300 baht deposit + 56 baht for 20 bottles now

[Familyonthemove]

There's an international testing and certification scheme operated by NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) from the US for bottled water and water filters. There's some NSF certified suppliers in Thailand. That may help to identify high standards for public health.

[BillyBobThai]

For someone who is that concerned of what is in their water, food and air, why would you ever move to Thailand in the first place??

[Semper]

For someone who is that concerned of what is in their water, food and air, why would you ever move to Thailand in the first place??

Meaning, the tap water in their home country woould be any better?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

For someone who is that concerned of what is in their water, food and air, why would you ever move to Thailand in the first place??

Meaning, the tap water in their home country woould be any better?

Most likely. It sure is in mine.

[vagabond48]

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

I have been using the local water dispenser which costs 5B for over 11 liters. We do boil the water to play it safe but I still wonder if the dispenser filters out all the bad impurities. The unit does have a list that appears to be past dated scheduled maintenance (I think, it's in Thai) every 3 to 4 months. Of course, it may not be reliable. For what it's worth, the water looks clear and tastes good.

[czGLoRy]

I ordered glacier water service.. I paid the deposit, got three crates, and we finished the water. I call them to order again, they ask for the receipt, which I threw away. I don't understand why thats important, but then they ask me for the number of the car that delivered the water.. again, how am I supposed to know this/why would anyone know? I don;t know, so they say there is nothing they can do. We sare stuck, unable to get more water, and have lost the 1000 baht deposit for the cases. Any idea how to get this solved?

[BradinAsia]

I ordered glacier water service.. I paid the deposit, got three crates, and we finished the water. I call them to order again, they ask for the receipt, which I threw away. I don't understand why thats important, but then they ask me for the number of the car that delivered the water.. again, how am I supposed to know this/why would anyone know? I don;t know, so they say there is nothing they can do. We sare stuck, unable to get more water, and have lost the 1000 baht deposit for the cases. Any idea how to get this solved?

Let's revive this thread.

Here's an update on the extremely poor service from Glacier.

We live in Wat Ket nor far from the train station. We had water delivered by Glacier.

The first two deliveries were quite slow -- 2-3 days wait. Then it got worse. I called

requesting delivery, they said "okay, we deliver tomorrow."

Next day no delivery. In the meantime, we're buying much more expensive water

and carrying it from 7-11. Called again. They said "sorry, tomorrow sure."

Next day no delivery.

Called again. They said "driver had accident, so sorry, call this number." Gave me

a phone number which I promptly threw away.

Don't know if I will ever get deposit back from Glacier, but looking for someone who

is running a legitimate water delivery business in Chiang Mai.

Any good suggestions?

[Jose]

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.

Bisphenol-A is probably the least of your problems in Thailand - much of the drinking water is transported out in the open in 20-litre non-food grade PVC containers, which degrade with UV exposure (leave one of these in strong sunlight for a couple of hours, and smell water on opening).

I get Dew Drop water delivered in glass bottles (200 Baht deposit/crate), but I suspect even this H2O may have some contaminants from commercial water filters (resins) and/or less than optimal filtering.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Jose

[hellodolly]

Tip. Distilled water is for car/mc batteries, not for drinking.

Why is that in Canada and the states you can buy it by the gallon in many of the supermarkets.

I understand that it would not have any of the minerals in it that your body needs.

I once went on a three day fast a real one nothing but distilled water. At the end of it my wife of the time said that my eyes were just sparkling. The reason being that the distilled water had nothing in it to cleanse out of the body so all the moisture escaping from my body had micro organisms and minerals that had built up in it.

I was on a holiday and staying home which helped a lot as the system works better when you are not producing a lot of body waste.

I did lose 6 pounds but that was just a side benefit.

[hellodolly]

I ordered glacier water service.. I paid the deposit, got three crates, and we finished the water. I call them to order again, they ask for the receipt, which I threw away. I don't understand why thats important, but then they ask me for the number of the car that delivered the water.. again, how am I supposed to know this/why would anyone know? I don;t know, so they say there is nothing they can do. We sare stuck, unable to get more water, and have lost the 1000 baht deposit for the cases. Any idea how to get this solved?

Let's revive this thread.

Here's an update on the extremely poor service from Glacier.

We live in Wat Ket nor far from the train station. We had water delivered by Glacier.

The first two deliveries were quite slow -- 2-3 days wait. Then it got worse. I called

requesting delivery, they said "okay, we deliver tomorrow."

Next day no delivery. In the meantime, we're buying much more expensive water

and carrying it from 7-11. Called again. They said "sorry, tomorrow sure."

Next day no delivery.

Called again. They said "driver had accident, so sorry, call this number." Gave me

a phone number which I promptly threw away.

Don't know if I will ever get deposit back from Glacier, but looking for someone who

is running a legitimate water delivery business in Chiang Mai.

Any good suggestions?

I think Glacier does not deliver it is a private service. Each driver has his own customers. We used to have it delivered to the Condo and there were a lot of customers and then all of a sudden about a year ago they said they would not do it any more.

We now use Pole Star in 920 ml. Almost a Liter. It comes in clear plastic bottles and the cost is 60 baht for a crate of 24 delivered to the door. It might be less but we just pay it at the desk and they see to it that it gets to the proper rooms. It is up to us to take the empties down to the lobby with are name tags on them. Once a week delivery.

the bottle says reverse osmosis and ozone on it.

[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.

[HullyGully]

UV lights should be replaced ever year

[worgeordie]

I ordered glacier water service.. I paid the deposit, got three crates, and we finished the water. I call them to order again, they ask for the receipt, which I threw away. I don't understand why thats important, but then they ask me for the number of the car that delivered the water.. again, how am I supposed to know this/why would anyone know? I don;t know, so they say there is nothing they can do. We sare stuck, unable to get more water, and have lost the 1000 baht deposit for the cases. Any idea how to get this solved?

Let's revive this thread.

Here's an update on the extremely poor service from Glacier.

We live in Wat Ket nor far from the train station. We had water delivered by Glacier.

The first two deliveries were quite slow -- 2-3 days wait. Then it got worse. I called

requesting delivery, they said "okay, we deliver tomorrow."

Next day no delivery. In the meantime, we're buying much more expensive water

and carrying it from 7-11. Called again. They said "sorry, tomorrow sure."

Next day no delivery.

Called again. They said "driver had accident, so sorry, call this number." Gave me

a phone number which I promptly threw away.

Don't know if I will ever get deposit back from Glacier, but looking for someone who

is running a legitimate water delivery business in Chiang Mai.

Any good suggestions?

I dont know why you have problem with Glacier Water, they have been delivering to my house ,Wednesday and Saturday,without fail for at least the last 15 years,never a problem.

Maybe it was because you did order as a one off, you need to tell them you need regular deliveries,they must cover the whole of Chiang Mai so should not be a problem.

You are NEVER going to contact them if you threw the phone number way !! don't understand why you would do that .

Thailand is not known for customer service,but I cannot fault Glacier.

regards Worgeordie

[hellodolly]

I ordered glacier water service.. I paid the deposit, got three crates, and we finished the water. I call them to order again, they ask for the receipt, which I threw away. I don't understand why thats important, but then they ask me for the number of the car that delivered the water.. again, how am I supposed to know this/why would anyone know? I don;t know, so they say there is nothing they can do. We sare stuck, unable to get more water, and have lost the 1000 baht deposit for the cases. Any idea how to get this solved?

Let's revive this thread.

Here's an update on the extremely poor service from Glacier.

We live in Wat Ket nor far from the train station. We had water delivered by Glacier.

The first two deliveries were quite slow -- 2-3 days wait. Then it got worse. I called

requesting delivery, they said "okay, we deliver tomorrow."

Next day no delivery. In the meantime, we're buying much more expensive water

and carrying it from 7-11. Called again. They said "sorry, tomorrow sure."

Next day no delivery.

Called again. They said "driver had accident, so sorry, call this number." Gave me

a phone number which I promptly threw away.

Don't know if I will ever get deposit back from Glacier, but looking for someone who

is running a legitimate water delivery business in Chiang Mai.

Any good suggestions?

I dont know why you have problem with Glacier Water, they have been delivering to my house ,Wednesday and Saturday,without fail for at least the last 15 years,never a problem.

Maybe it was because you did order as a one off, you need to tell them you need regular deliveries,they must cover the whole of Chiang Mai so should not be a problem.

You are NEVER going to contact them if you threw the phone number way !! don't understand why you would do that .

Thailand is not known for customer service,but I cannot fault Glacier.

regards Worgeordie

As I stated earlier each driver is a private business. If you get a driver who does not want to deliver in your area you are out of luck. If you know some one who is getting it from Glacier get the phone number of the driver and call him. We were getting two cases a week here and I would estimate about 30 cases a week in the whole condo. Not all in glass bottles but never the less from the same distributor. Why he dropped us I don't know but he did, Perhaps because he had to come to each door where now we take the empties to the lobby and the hotel brings them to the room.

[whatsupdoc]

Tip. Distilled water is for car/mc batteries, not for drinking.

Why is that in Canada and the states you can buy it by the gallon in many of the supermarkets.

I understand that it would not have any of the minerals in it that your body needs.

I once went on a three day fast a real one nothing but distilled water. At the end of it my wife of the time said that my eyes were just sparkling. The reason being that the distilled water had nothing in it to cleanse out of the body so all the moisture escaping from my body had micro organisms and minerals that had built up in it.

I was on a holiday and staying home which helped a lot as the system works better when you are not producing a lot of body waste.

I did lose 6 pounds but that was just a side benefit.

The human body surely needs minerals and micro-organisms. Taking them out by drinking distilled water doesn't sound healthy to me, certainly not for a prolonged period.

[DeeMockMark]

Where can to get shower filters in CM? Any hints on a good one to buy?

[ThaiHerbs]

I use a Berkey Water Filter http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ and find the water excellent. No electricity required, healthy minerals not removed, been around quite a long time, optional fluoride filters available (I use), can filter water from a polluted ditch so great in emergencies. I have no connection to the company, just a happy customer.

Doug

[wolf5370]

With respect to Bisphenol-A, I would be more worried about canned drinks (especially those manufactured outside of Europe/USA/Canada/Aus/NZ) - for BPA to leach from the plastic, it needs an acid reaction (or hot temperatures - approaching boiling), water is just not acidic enough to cause leaching (although detergents used in cleaning the bottles could - but one assumes after heavy detergents the bottles would be sufficiently washed out - otherwise no one would drink the stuff!). The banning of BPA was mostly political (especially wrt baby bottles), many studies, but all need quite significant amounts per Kg to do any damage. Low doses has been seen to have noticeable effects on the reproductive and breast tissue of mice, but it is also known that mice are susceptible to hormones associated with BPA. Btw, BPA is banned from babies water bottles in many countries, but not from tins of baby milk powder (which is acidic) or liquid breast milk cartons/cans!

A lot has been drawn from the fact that higher doses of BPA has been found in obese children and the (not very sound) conclusion that BPA attributes to obesity - ignoring the fact that these studies are mostly US based and canned soda consumption is a major cause of obesity in children in the US, canned soda is acidic and cans are often coated with resin containing BPA - bet they also had very high concentrations of sugars too -- kind of like suggesting that smokers produce higher quantities of ash, therefore ash must be the cause of higher rates of lung cancer! (as opposed to the massive amount of poisons found in cigarette smoke http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/smokingandtobacco/whatsinacigarette/smoking-and-cancer-whats-in-a-cigarette).

We get 30 1ltr bottles delivered every other day for 35 baht from our local Mom&Pop store (they are delivered daily from the bottling plant just down the road) - I used to use tap water to make coffee (in a keep-boiling-type kettle), but the local water is pumped into those huge mushroom stuff, and when they work on it, the water is black for the first hour (stains the toilets!) - I fear heavy metals, which boiling does not affect of course, so no longer do that. Brush teeth and shower in mains water though - tend not to drink either!

[waterox]

I started using one of those classic Thai silver cups to place water on an altar.

Using bottled water supplied at Nakornping condo in Chiang Mai.

I noticed after the water evaporated, little mounds of white powdery deposit were left.

I'm using the same cup in London and no powdery deposit.

Any ideas what that stuff could be?

[Jose]

Could be aluminium sulfate residue - sometimes used as a coagulant to clear and precipitate solids in drinking water.

[waterox]

Thanks, that makes sense. The amounts were very high for a small cup. Alum has been linked to Alzheimer's.

I begin to realise that trusting water companies blindly in Thailand is a mistake.

I would recommend getting a decent filtration system even for bottled water.

[rhinoboy]

I have beem drinking the water from the tap here for six months without any problem. I went to the CMU and questioned them and also the water authority and they all said it was safe. Yah I know hard to believe but. i have no way to trust some old blue machine on the corner with 5 year old filters in it. Also a good friend runs a water company out of Singapore and he said most of the bottled water purity is BS. Oh well, what to do?

[Mekong Bob]

Ever hear of this product - Icelandic Spring water?

Apparently, it's available in Bangkok, Phuket, etc. How about Chiang Mai?

Price and availability?

Thanks

[Thighlander]

We've got the machine in front of the condo, but I still prefer to pay Glacier 42 thb for 20 1 liter bottles delivered to the door. I trust the big bottlers to do proper maintenance more than the machines...and I would say those paper filters lose their effectiveness quite rapidly. The water from the city is pretty good, and they can show you the data, but that doesn't account for the pipes and epoxies.

[searcher22]

I have beem drinking the water from the tap here for six months without any problem. I went to the CMU and questioned them and also the water authority and they all said it was safe. Yah I know hard to believe but. i have no way to trust some old blue machine on the corner with 5 year old filters in it. Also a good friend runs a water company out of Singapore and he said most of the bottled water purity is BS. Oh well, what to do?

Bottled drinking water is not meant to be pure. They all contain bacteria, but these usually aren't harmful. They're the same bacteria found on the fruits and vegetables we eat every day.

As for drinking water straight from the tap, it may well be safer than using the street water dispensers as long as the pipes are ok. That's the big "if."

[ThaiHerbs]

I use a Berkey Water Filter http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/ and find the water excellent. No electricity required, healthy minerals not removed, been around quite a long time, optional fluoride filters available (I use), can filter water from a polluted ditch so great in emergencies. I have no connection to the company, just a happy customer.

Doug

On recommendations from a very health conscious person I researched Aura mineral water http://aura.co.th/

https://www.facebook.com/AuraMineralWater

Wow, comes from a natural spring in Mae Rim, Chiang Mai. 100% natural, they only filter it and add ozone.

I now use my Big Berkey for cooking, coffee, tea etc and drink/sip bottled Aura throughout the day.

Between the two I feel I get

1) many/most essential minerals in natural form

2) absolutely clean water with nothing added

I consume approx 2 litres a day @ 15B/1.5 litre bottle at Macro.

5 minute video (repeats after 5 min) in English

couple articles below - Doug

Tipco's mineral water plant in the Chiang Mai district of Mae Rim welcomes visitors to its cold spring

...Spanning more than 80 rai of land, the Aura factory is located on a green mountain in Chiang Mai's Mae Rim district. The mineral water comes from a natural cold spring that persuaded a group of entrepreneurs to abandon plans to open a resort nearly two decades ago and set up a mineral-water factory instead.

...Today, the factory produces 100,000 litres of bottled mineral water per day using water from the natural spring. Believing that the fresh mineral water filtered by more than 300 metres of strata beneath a pristine high mountain is the best treatment, all Tipco Foods does during the manufacturing process is to let the water flow through a five-micron filter, go through ozonation, and then a one-micron filter. After that, it is put into clean bottles ready for distribution.

http://nationmultimedia.com/life/WATER-WITH-A-REAL-AURA-30176474.html

...Aura mineral water is packed with a wide array of beneficial substances that help boost body functions and good health. Sodium and Magnesium enhance nervous and muscles systems whilst Potassium helps relieve muscle spasms and promote regular heartbeat rate. Calcium and Silica play a vital role in strengthening bones and teeth. Nitrate helps maintain blood circulation system and Sulfate encourages cell’s efficiency in absorbing minerals. Aura mineral water has been tested that it contains all good qualities that pose no harms to your health. Aura mineral water earns its good reputation in terms of high quality. Consumers can assure that they have suitable mineral for human body when they drink “Aura” especially having OSA. (From science published research, they found value of Silica. It is called Orthosilicic Acid (OSA). There is no life without Silica. Silica is a essential mineral for human body. Normally we found Silica in epidermis, vessel, bone hair & nail) Research’s findings suggests that Si may be beneficial for cortical bone formation. Those taking Si of > 40 mg per day has higher BMD than those consuming

http://www.tivarati.com/general/102507/