Drinking water from plastic bottles in cars safe

[marko kok prong]

I would like to see some of the posters here whinging about water in a survival situation,where it can be drink or die,"ooh it might upset my tummy mummy", generally the one's that die,ye god's there are some little lord Fauntleroy's on here.

[ScreamingEagle101]

That's all right then. Just drink that manky old water that's been heated up 10 times in the sun.

Just make sure there's a toilet handy as there may be an urgent need and don't forget the paperwork.

I thought by leaving the BKP I would be escaping Mr Bart. Apparently, no such luck.

In the USA they do take safety seriously and there are many independent labs. Still, there are those with an agenda, producers, water companies, environmentalists, general nut jobs. There is never any agreement.

If you want to fight off plastic bottles, the most logical way, IMO, is on a waste basis. The amount of plastic waste that won't break down is just to much. So, I buy large bottles and refill my small bottles until they are no longer usable. Sadly, I am still alive.

[Emster23]

In Thailand, the danger comes from being in a car, not some hot water in a bottle. Piffle (did I use that right?)

[steve73]

Well I keep a tea-bag in the car - then if my water gets too hot at least I can make a cup-o-tea.....!

[FangFerang]

And elsewhere in the news, the moon is a silvery bright satellite, the ocean is wet, and no one in their sober mind enjoys luttefisk (well, maybe sometimes).

[Estrada]

When you do water testing, you have to test specificly, for each trace element you are looking for and there are over 300 different elements which are bad for you in water from a plastic bottle. You cant just put a water bottle in a car for a month or more and then take it out an say now lets test it for chemicals. Not possible.

If the pH-Value are 6.5 or 7 its safe to drink no chemicals are in the water. If the pH-Value on water is lower or higher dont drink it since heavy metals are water soluable. If it is ass low as 3.5 in pH there is Aluminiom or Cadmium in it and that is pure poison.

a Good rule is dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water. But its your life. I know I am not drinking water left in a hot car, for many days.

Cheers

What a load of rubbish. Firstly, you are confused, there are only 118 known elements. What you may mean is compounds. Nevertheless as a water expert we can test for any chemicals that may have leached into water.

Even if copious amounts of plasticizers were released into the water (which there will not), the pH will not rise or lower since these materials are not acidic nor alkali. The are no metals or cadmium in plastic. 70C is not the temperature at which some chemicals get released into water, you are confused with the temperature for pasteurisation of water or milk products.

Lastly, the extremely small amounts of materials that may leach into the water have been found to be way below any level that may be harmful for human consumption. Bottled water manufacturing is closely controlled by the FDA so there is nothing to fear.

[chongtak]

That's all right then. Just drink that manky old water that's been heated up 10 times in the sun.

You should read the article again. Or maybe you are not a native English speaker...

[PattayaPhom]

Most cars have air con these days, what are they talking about,

[thaicookingchef]

Don;t they feel ridiculous ? Even to my family I would not dare to tell such utter BS !

[katana]

When you do water testing, you have to test specificly, for each trace element you are looking for and there are over 300 different elements which are bad for you in water from a plastic bottle. You cant just put a water bottle in a car for a month or more and then take it out an say now lets test it for chemicals. Not possible.

If the pH-Value are 6.5 or 7 its safe to drink no chemicals are in the water. If the pH-Value on water is lower or higher dont drink it since heavy metals are water soluable. If it is ass low as 3.5 in pH there is Aluminiom or Cadmium in it and that is pure poison.

a Good rule is dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water. But its your life. I know I am not drinking water left in a hot car, for many days.

Cheers

Que? There are only 117 or so known elements in the periodic table.

[DrTuner]

No worries, I only intake water as part of beer. Heard it was toxic when drunk straight up, too. To be sure better line up the gut with some good 'ol red meat and have a cigar to coat the gullet first.

And cognac for dessert, naturally. Thinking about health nuts driving their stress levels up and shortening their masochistic lives gives you a nice chuckle.

[JRSoul]

That's all right then. Just drink that manky old water that's been heated up 10 times in the sun.

Leaving manky water in plastic bottles in direct sun for a few days is a reasonable way to make it safe for drinking (UV knocks off the bugs). It's used in places where safe drinking water is not readily available.

OK, maybe not in your car.

Definitely not in your car, as the glass in the windows blocks nearly all UV. That's why motorcyclists with a face shield get sun-burnt noses, but people in cars don't get burnt at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection

[The Deerhunter]

When you do water testing, you have to test specificly, for each trace element you are looking for and there are over 300 different elements which are bad for you in water from a plastic bottle. You cant just put a water bottle in a car for a month or more and then take it out an say now lets test it for chemicals. Not possible.

If the pH-Value are 6.5 or 7 its safe to drink no chemicals are in the water. If the pH-Value on water is lower or higher dont drink it since heavy metals are water soluable. If it is ass low as 3.5 in pH there is Aluminiom or Cadmium in it and that is pure poison.

a Good rule is dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water. But its your life. I know I am not drinking water left in a hot car, for many days.

Cheers

Actually there are methodologies that allow you to test for, identify, and quantitate, unspecified chemicals in water. I am an analytical chemist and own and operate an environmental testing laboratory.

There are no metals (or at least there shouldn't be) in plastic. Most of the bottles are low density polyethylene. Quite safe. The pH of the water should be around 7, if it is significantly off that value, it did not happen in the bottle, and the entire production run that filled that production lot is suspect and should be recalled.

As for "dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water", well it is very dependent on the chemical not the temperature. It will depend on the solubility of the particular chemical in question. Temperature simply increases the solubility. There is no 70 degree actuation point.

Water that got hot after bottling is just that... water that got hot. Nothing more. No need for fear mongering.

Ever boiled water, to let it cool down before use?

You at least seem to know what you are talking about. I worry more about released plasticisers as in the toys that there have been problems with. Do any of the bottle types in common use in Thailand have danger issues with plasticisers. I am suspicious of the soft semi-trasparent commercial water bottles, not the ones like they put soft drinks, coke Pepsi etc in.

[Crushdepth]

When you do water testing, you have to test specificly, for each trace element you are looking for and there are over 300 different elements which are bad for you in water from a plastic bottle. You cant just put a water bottle in a car for a month or more and then take it out an say now lets test it for chemicals. Not possible.

If the pH-Value are 6.5 or 7 its safe to drink no chemicals are in the water. If the pH-Value on water is lower or higher dont drink it since heavy metals are water soluable. If it is ass low as 3.5 in pH there is Aluminiom or Cadmium in it and that is pure poison.

a Good rule is dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water. But its your life. I know I am not drinking water left in a hot car, for many days.

Cheers

Actually there are methodologies that allow you to test for, identify, and quantitate, unspecified chemicals in water. I am an analytical chemist and own and operate an environmental testing laboratory.

There are no metals (or at least there shouldn't be) in plastic. Most of the bottles are low density polyethylene. Quite safe. The pH of the water should be around 7, if it is significantly off that value, it did not happen in the bottle, and the entire production run that filled that production lot is suspect and should be recalled.

As for "dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water", well it is very dependent on the chemical not the temperature. It will depend on the solubility of the particular chemical in question. Temperature simply increases the solubility. There is no 70 degree actuation point.

Water that got hot after bottling is just that... water that got hot. Nothing more. No need for fear mongering.

Ever boiled water, to let it cool down before use?

You at least seem to know what you are talking about. I worry more about released plasticisers as in the toys that there have been problems with. Do any of the bottle types in common use in Thailand have danger issues with plasticisers. I am suspicious of the soft semi-trasparent commercial water bottles, not the ones like they put soft drinks, coke Pepsi etc in.

I doubt it, but styrene food containers are looking like a bad idea. A big problem with toys in the region is the use of paints containing large amounts of lead.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[kieran2698]

When you do water testing, you have to test specificly, for each trace element you are looking for and there are over 300 different elements which are bad for you in water from a plastic bottle. You cant just put a water bottle in a car for a month or more and then take it out an say now lets test it for chemicals. Not possible.

If the pH-Value are 6.5 or 7 its safe to drink no chemicals are in the water. If the pH-Value on water is lower or higher dont drink it since heavy metals are water soluable. If it is ass low as 3.5 in pH there is Aluminiom or Cadmium in it and that is pure poison.

a Good rule is dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water. But its your life. I know I am not drinking water left in a hot car, for many days.

Cheers

Actually there are methodologies that allow you to test for, identify, and quantitate, unspecified chemicals in water. I am an analytical chemist and own and operate an environmental testing laboratory.

There are no metals (or at least there shouldn't be) in plastic. Most of the bottles are low density polyethylene. Quite safe. The pH of the water should be around 7, if it is significantly off that value, it did not happen in the bottle, and the entire production run that filled that production lot is suspect and should be recalled.

As for "dont lets water get over 70 degrees C in a plastic bottle, since that is also when some chemicals get released into the water", well it is very dependent on the chemical not the temperature. It will depend on the solubility of the particular chemical in question. Temperature simply increases the solubility. There is no 70 degree actuation point.

Water that got hot after bottling is just that... water that got hot. Nothing more. No need for fear mongering.

Ever boiled water, to let it cool down before use?

"There are no metals (or at least there shouldn't be) in plastic."

Plastic could contain bromine, cadmium, chromium, lead or mercury. Plastics containing these harmful metals are banned in the EU but they keep finding them in imports and they will be making it through to the consumer, in Thailand who knows?

"Most of the bottles are low density polyethylene."

The majority of water bottles are made from PET not LDPE. LDPE is the type of plastic that we use for milk and things like cleaning products.

"Quite safe."

PET does not contain metals but it does contain metalloids which tend to be rather dangerous elements. PET releases antimony trioxide and antimony pentafluoride, both are hugely damaging but are released in small quantities over long periods of time and the use of PET is approved by all governments.

"Water that got hot after bottling is just that... water that got hot."

Heat is a factor contributing to the release of these chemicals. For this reason PET should not be used to microwave anything in. It can be assumed that a plastic bottle left in the sun will have more antimony released into the water than one that was kept cool. Whether this is likely to be to unsafe levels, I have no idea.

LDPE and HDPE are much safer but they leave a plastic taste. The 5 Baht 70cl opaque bottles are LDPE but I find they taste too much of plastic for me to choose them over the tasteless antimony enriched PET variety.

[alocacoc]

By the way...what is wrong with Nestle water? Within the last months, i bought some bottles were the water smells somehow bitter. I just open another bottle, yesterday bought in a 7/11. Smells bad. Ok, never again Nestle water.

[DrTuner]

By the way...what is wrong with Nestle water? Within the last months, i bought some bottles were the water smells somehow bitter. I just open another bottle, yesterday bought in a 7/11. Smells bad. Ok, never again Nestle water.

Pour it in a glass and check again. I recycle the water bottles and fill them with water from my filtration system. After I've taken a sip and waited for a few hours, the mouth of the bottle has already developed a bacterial colony that stinks. Put the same water in a fresh glass -> odorless.

I have no idea whatsoever why new bottles bought sealed from shops don't seem to develop the same problem. Maybe they use antibiotics

[alocacoc]

Thanks DrTUner. I think i know what you mean. I drink two 1.5litre plastic bottle of water a day. Mostly i don't use a glass. But this bitter smell appears only with Nestle Pure Life Water. From the first sip. May be, they stored the water wrong....in the sun.... Anyway. I will not buy Nestle anymore.