Over half of water vending machines in Bangkok unsafe to drink

[ChrisY1]

I have asked my wife and various other Thais about testing of drinking water quality. The usual response is something like - its drinking water so you can drink it !!! Typical Thai response. If I ask if anyone - e.g. government inspector - ever tests the water quality - I have never met anyone who ever even considered the possibility or who knew anything about it.

Does anyone ever test the water? Is it possible to get water independently tested? - any drinking water. Does anyone know how or where to do it?

Most Thai people do not consider the possibility because doing so would give a person wrinkles, headaches, and all the other woes brought on by thinking too much.

http://www.alsglobal.com/

This company has an laboratory in Rayong.....

There are several other companies in Thailand that test water

[SoiBiker]

I've been getting the large (probably 18.9 litre) bottles through my neighbor's account, it may be Sprinkle, not sure. In any event, I'm beginning to wonder where they're getting their water and how they're filtering it, that is if they actually are filtering it.

Seriously?

Sometimes you just have to take things on trust, rather than assume everyone in the country is trying to kill you.

Yeah, right!

But when it comes to my drinking water and food (plus items on a much larger list) it's never one of those times with me.

You must be kept pretty busy then, investigating the contents, kitchens, supply chains and provenance of everything you eat and drink. Which lab do you use for your analysis?

[waldroj]

I've never had any problems with the machine at my apartment in five years! But, I will take it up with the building manager.

Guaranteed regular cleaning may solve much of the issues.

[Estrada]

No surprise at all !!

can anyone say they have EVER seen anyone replacing the filters on these machines ?

to be honest, with the amount of usage of the Water machines, the Filter would need replacing every 6 months or less to be able to do its filtering job effectively!! Let alone the Bacteria that builds up in the filters and its casing in a Hot and Humid Climate (such as Thailand) !!

Reverse Osmosis Filters also need to be checked (for holes in the membrane) which would allow the street water to go directly through the filter without being filtered). and also they need to clean the 'gunky' bacteria and filth off the filter too.

this is NOT just an issue with Water vending Machines!!

Every time you drink that glass of water given to you for free at Swensons or any other place that you go to eat... THINK AGAIN!!!!

these places usually FAIL to bother to replace their water filters.

I have personally seen a Swensens filter opened up.. and OH MY GOD!!! it was FILTHY and SLIMY and full of Muck !!!

I used to have a similar filter in Bangkok and it gets FUNKY after just 2 or 3 months (of regualr home usage).

buy your OWN proper filter if you can. (and clean and replace filters regularly)..

the recommended 1 or 3 years of filter life is B/S!! its marketing hype to make you want to buy their filter.

in this humid and hot climate, bacteria accumilates so much faster.

the 1 or 3 years suggested usage of a filter is based on PERFECT conditions in a cooler climate.

Yes... I see them come and service them regularly as they are under contract.

[tomyumchai]

words that have no meaning to a thai......

maintanence

(replace) filters

regular cleaning (on something that doesnt affect THEM)

responsibility to others

.......but look on the bright side, the more crap you eat the less you get the spreads. i can eat almost anywhere now and still be alive in the morning.

[simonuk]

Those machine, true to Thai form of My pen Rai, loaded with salmonella and other water bourn bacteria

frolicking in the water tanks and the surrounding fixtures, not until some one will die of it, the government

or the health department will do something about it, you see, some one has to die here before anything

will be done and the relevant agencies will scurry around like rats on a sinking ship to remedy the problem...

You think someone dying would prompt them to do something?...

[Bruce404]

I agree with EnglishJohn's comments that this report was missing the most essential testing that should have been done. As it is said, "the proof is in the pudding", not the exterior package.

Where are the counts of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, common toxic metals, other inorganic or organic contaminants, and perhaps residual amounts of the beneficial chlorine that is used in water supply systems to kill any harmful bacteria that get into the pipes somewhere between the water treatment plant and the consumer?

These are the common assays for testing water quality, as nicely summarized here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_quality

The investigators might also have purchased some major bottled-water brands for side-by-side testing and comparison with the water vending machine output. Now that might have some surprising results.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Bruce404

[Thian]

The part of this article that concerns me the most is "It said 93.8% vending machines use tap water to produce drinking water".

So in a few months time when BKK gets salty water out of the taps then those machines also produce salty drinkingwater?

Then all the poor grandma's have to buy water from the 711.

[Koguma]

Well, that report tells me everything except the quality of the water. Did they even test it ? - or did they just look at the outside ?.

I'm interested in what is in my bottle when I stand it under the nozzle and fill it up. Is it safe ?. It doesn't touch the outside so I don't care too much if it is dirty.

it says over half of the machines have water that is unsave to drink

Yes, that is the headline they want you to read.

But if you read it more closely you will see that the only reasons they give are cleanliness of the machine and it's surroundings.

Not once does it make any reference to the quality of the water they got out of it. If they did, it would have references to bacteria and other contaminants. All we get as the justification of the entire report is "These factors included unclean body part of vending machines and locations where they were installed.". That doesn't mean it is unsafe to drink.

I got my water from one of those machines for a long time at my last condo and never had any problem - even storing it in a plastic water bottle for several days.

"Only 6% of vending machines displayed water quality test, and only 7% had water filter replacement."

That basically tells you everything you need to know about these machines. Tap water is probably cleaner.

[balo]

I dont understand why people are still using these machines ? Water is cheap here, I pay 59 baht for 9 litres in the supermarket. Do you really want to gamble with your health to save 40 baht ?

And where does the bottled water you buy at the supermarket come from?.........

It too comes from an RO plant....run and managed by Thais......looks clean and tastes fine.....but have there ever been any water quality tests carried out?

True , but I only buy Namthip water after reading a test about water quality a couple of years ago. You can also buy your own test kit to make sure the water is "clean". I drink a lot of cold fresh water from Namthip and never been sick .

[KevWaters]

It doesn't comment on the heavy metal content of the water. Metals are removed by reverse osmosis. Thesw metals are a much bigger concern than dirty machines as they can lead to early onset alzeimers.

I ordered a large 6litre bottle every week that was delivered from a supplier to homes, shops etc. After 2 weeks one time I noticed it was green and smelly inside. I have also seen worms in water machine water bottles. I think the results would be frightening if they publhshed heavy metal analysis tests. Also, I dont drink Nampthip water from Coca Cola as it probably isnt much better. Google Danone water Thames and you will see how Coca Cola just bottled river water in England and sold it on the shelves

[Gutenberg]

Evian or nothing.

[anotheruser]

I have asked my wife and various other Thais about testing of drinking water quality. The usual response is something like - its drinking water so you can drink it !!! Typical Thai response. If I ask if anyone - e.g. government inspector - ever tests the water quality - I have never met anyone who ever even considered the possibility or who knew anything about it.

Does anyone ever test the water? Is it possible to get water independently tested? - any drinking water. Does anyone know how or where to do it?

Most Thai people do not consider the possibility because doing so would give a person wrinkles, headaches, and all the other woes brought on by thinking too much.

But there is little concern for wrinkles, headaches, and all the other woes brought on by drinking too much Chang.

For this they delegate the worrying and wrinkles to the dear leader.

[KevWaters]

Has anyone here ever conducted water tests on different bottled waters? I'm interested to know which has the safest amount of heavy metals. At the moment I'm drinking Singha. I would never buy Nestle because of their ethics, and I dont trust Coca Cola Nampthip because of them selling bottled river water from the Thames over on the UK. Anyone got any figures on presence of Aliminium etc?

[SoiBiker]

Google Danone water Thames and you will see how Coca Cola just bottled river water in England and sold it on the shelves

Presumably you mean 'Dasani' water - which was actually tap water which had been processed through reverse osmosis.

The idea that anyone could get away with selling Thames river water is ridiculous.

[craigt3365]

It doesn't comment on the heavy metal content of the water. Metals are removed by reverse osmosis. Thesw metals are a much bigger concern than dirty machines as they can lead to early onset alzeimers.

I ordered a large 6litre bottle every week that was delivered from a supplier to homes, shops etc. After 2 weeks one time I noticed it was green and smelly inside. I have also seen worms in water machine water bottles. I think the results would be frightening if they publhshed heavy metal analysis tests. Also, I dont drink Nampthip water from Coca Cola as it probably isnt much better. Google Danone water Thames and you will see how Coca Cola just bottled river water in England and sold it on the shelves

Tap water in Bangkok (and the rest of the country) definitely still contains chemicals and heavy metals. As we know, disposal of hazardous waste doesn't happen properly here. Nor in many other countries. Tap water here is normally chlorinated to kill bacteria and filtered to take out heavy sediments.

RO does help get rid of a lot of chemicals and heavy metals, but not all. It's the best solution we have at this point though. Here's a good guide to water filtration systems:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/household_water_treatment.html

Be careful of many articles on the web about this. They are supported by companies that make these unit! LOL

[craigt3365]

Google Danone water Thames and you will see how Coca Cola just bottled river water in England and sold it on the shelves

Presumably you mean 'Dasani' water - which was actually tap water which had been processed through reverse osmosis.

The idea that anyone could get away with selling Thames river water is ridiculous.

Many years ago, they were doing this here. Interesting article here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/385634-bottled-water-is-it-safe/#entry3768711

“The raw water that the drinking water companies use is taken from the same sources as the public tap water: Thailand’s rivers and canals. The only difference is in the treatment,” Suksom said.

“The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) treats tap water in conventional ways, by filtering out turbidity [suspended particles] and disinfecting with chlorine to remove toxic bacteria.” Although the MWA sets and enforces standards for tap water in Bangkok, the standards do not approach WHO or other international water quality standards. Outside Bangkok, water treatment comes under the aegis of the Provincial Waterworks Authority, whose standards are even lower, according to Suksom.

“The quality of tap water in Bangkok further suffers in neighbourhoods far from the pumping station where standpipe pressures may be low, making them susceptible to outside contamination, both industrial and organic, when pipes leak.

“Individual buildings may also have rusting pipes or pipe fittings, increasing turbidity and metal contamination. Furthermore, owners often build systems that store tap water in large tanks, where the supply can stagnate and breed bacteria.”

[Vandadavid]

Good story good work and as suspected

[Vandadavid]

Honestly this is the most important thing of all time

These vendors and there machines are never serviced

There must be a law in place immediately !!

Across Thailand

[craigt3365]

This will make you think twice about drinking tap water:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/571167-just-one-fifth-of-wastewater-in-thailand-is-being-treated/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/761682-sattahip-investigates-water-supply-quality-after-610-fall-ill/#entry8411406

[shirtless]

There is one plan of action that will no doubt be followed , They will form a committee , after that nothing will change but you will get a big announcement about the committee.

[siam2007]

I've never had any problems with the machine at my apartment in five years! But, I will take it up with the building manager.

Guaranteed regular cleaning may solve much of the issues.

In the housing complex in Hua Mak where I lived for six years, the nearest water vending machine was operated by a lady who ran a small Minimart next to it. Initially, I did not use the vending machine, but I got tired buying huge 6-Liter Plastic bottles and carry them all the way down 700 Meters to where I lived from the nearest "seven". My sentiment was boosted when I saw the lady cleaning the actual machine several times. Even though that does not necessarily indicate that she replaced the filters as frequently as needed (those filters are expensive and make or break the deal for the operator), but it gave me a good feeling anyway. never had problems using this water, even though I only use it for cooking and to make coffee.

Where I live nowadways I am using those machines too, but I am less convinced that hygiene and service is up to standards as the machine does not look half as neat and I actually don't know who is operating it. But luckily until today, I never had a problem.

I would consider to get my water from those deliverers who bring on those huge canisters (some people in my building obviously use it) but not sure how to use them. Do you have to buy a dispenser, and if so, how much is it and where can you get it? or do those companies provide a dispenser if you buy from them on a regular basis? Talking about Bangkok here

Edited November 5, 2015 by siam2007

[siam2007]

This will make you think twice about drinking tap water:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/571167-just-one-fifth-of-wastewater-in-thailand-is-being-treated/

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/761682-sattahip-investigates-water-supply-quality-after-610-fall-ill/#entry8411406

I have a Farang buddy who is proud to tell everyone that he is drinking tap water here in Bangkok. Not sure why he does that, as he only saves a few Baht per month for sure, compared to those vending machines (and at the same time he spends a lot eating expensive Farang food and whoring).

Weird....

did I mention he does not have a health insurance LOL ?

[losworld]

Thai maintenance 101. The filters are expensive and only 7 percent replaced. <deleted>

[SoiBiker]

I would consider to get my water from those deliverers who bring on those huge canisters (some people in my building obviously use it) but not sure how to use them. Do you have to buy a dispenser, and if so, how much is it and where can you get it? or do those companies provide a dispenser if you buy from them on a regular basis? Talking about Bangkok here

Sprinkle provide a battery operated pump that you stick in the top of the bottle. They charge for it, but not very much as I remember.

[siam2007]

I would consider to get my water from those deliverers who bring on those huge canisters (some people in my building obviously use it) but not sure how to use them. Do you have to buy a dispenser, and if so, how much is it and where can you get it? or do those companies provide a dispenser if you buy from them on a regular basis? Talking about Bangkok here

Sprinkle provide a battery operated pump that you stick in the top of the bottle. They charge for it, but not very much as I remember.

interesting & thanks for the input.

Uncle GOOGLE found their website for me, looks good and is even available in proper English, but it seems they are actually only serving corporate customers ?

[SoiBiker]

I would consider to get my water from those deliverers who bring on those huge canisters (some people in my building obviously use it) but not sure how to use them. Do you have to buy a dispenser, and if so, how much is it and where can you get it? or do those companies provide a dispenser if you buy from them on a regular basis? Talking about Bangkok here

Sprinkle provide a battery operated pump that you stick in the top of the bottle. They charge for it, but not very much as I remember.

interesting & thanks for the input.

Uncle GOOGLE found their website for me, looks good and is even available in proper English, but it seems they are actually only serving corporate customers ?

There's nothing corporate about me, and they're happy to serve me!

[arunsakda]

Never Touched one, having an idea of what maintenance might be like.

Hopefully the Tesco and other bottle water I swill isn't naff as well.

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