Would like to purchase a small lightweight refillable water bottle to carry with me.

[JimmyJ]

Many types of plastic, such as typically the plastic bottles already containing water, are dangerous to reuse as the plastic leaches harmful substances.

 

Saw several empty bottles sold for my purpose, but the labels were in Thai and I didn't see the number markings designating which type of plastic they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by JimmyJ

[CGW]

Better off using Stainless steel! another problem is trying to find clean water to put in the "safe" container ????

[ChaiyaTH]

19 minutes ago, CGW said:

Better off using Stainless steel! another problem is trying to find clean water to put in the "safe" container ????

Hehe yeah or getting water that was from a plastic bottle otherwise if purchased, so not helping with waste too. 
Would be so annoying to always carry it around and can consume drinks at the local businesses for little money, they can use the support as well. 

Anyway, best if you get a foldable one they use a lot in sports too. It is light weight and quite small when folded. Lazada will have it:
https://www.lazada.co.th/products/umiwe-collapsible-silicone-sports-bottle-outdoor-drinking-cup-retractable-portable-camping-picnic-travel-water-bottle-i254366158-s392676174.html

Edited February 4, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[donnacha]

If you are currently breathing Chiang Mai air, any potential risk from plastics are the least of your worries.

The standard plastic bottles water is sold in are fine. All the big brands use exactly the same plastics used in the West and currently considered food-safe. Just avoid buying from stores where they store any bottles outside in the sun. In particular, avoid the free bottles they sometimes give when you buy fuel, they tend to sit in the sun all day.

For a refillable, go for steel or, better, one of those strengthened glass bottles with a foam sleeve to prevent it cracking if dropped.

Edited February 4, 2020 by donnacha

[ChaiyaTH]

7 minutes ago, donnacha said:

The standard plastic bottles water is sold in are fine. All the big brands use exactly the same plastics used in the West and currently considered food-safe. Just avoid buying from stores where they store any bottles outside in the sun. In particular, avoid the free bottles they sometimes give when you buy fuel, they tend to sit in the sun all day.

The ones in crates, that they pick up and supply weekly, are of a special plastic that protects from the sun etc (at least the ones we get). 
For the thin big ones at gas stations I agree, it increases the chance for breast cancer with women quite a lot too.
Don't want cheap plastic bottles under the sun for long.

Edited February 4, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[CGW]

Basic guide to markings:-

 

[donnacha]

4 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

For the thin big ones at gas stations I agree, it increases the chance for breast cancer with woman quite a lot too.

Right. The American singer Sheryl Crow attributed her breast cancer to years of drinking water from bottles that had been shoved up against the windows in tour buses.

 

6 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

The ones in crates, that they pick up and supply weekly, are of a special plastic that protects from the sun etc (at least the ones we get). 

I would treat any such claim with extreme suspicion. In my experience, the quality of water from that category of local supplier never reaches the standards of the larger factories. The bottling depots, run according to the best Thai corner-cutting standards, look significantly worse than the crates.

I highly doubt that any plastic has been properly tested under the level of abuse that those bottles receive during the years they are kept in rotation. The more you use ANY plastic, bang it around, and expose it to different environments, the more chemicals will leech. Single-use plastics mass-produced and filled to the standards of an International corporation such as Nestle, Singha, or Tesco are always going to be your safest bet.
 

 

19 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Don't want cheap plastic bottles under the sun for long.

Best to avoid any sun exposure at all. I usually buy a trolley full of 600ml and 1.5L bottles at a mall Tesco or BigC.

[observer90210]

Boil the water, put it in the fridge (that reduces the lime scale) and store (but not more then 12 or 24 hours max, don't remember the exact figure) and transport in a glass bottle. Works fine no matter where....well almost anyhwere.

[canthai55]

No one do any research before posting B ...

 

"For now, go ahead and use that bottle for the tenth day in a row. No cancerous chemicals are leaking into your water, and if you skip washing it out once or twice, I won’t call you out on it. "

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/reuse-water-bottles-not-bad-for-you

[JimmyJ]

Collapsible stainless steel sounds good.

 

Will look for that or something similar.

 

[Matzzon]

20 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Many types of plastic, such as typically the plastic bottles already containing water, are dangerous to reuse as the plastic leaches harmful substances.

 

Saw several empty bottles sold for my purpose, but the labels were in Thai and I didn't see the number markings designating which type of plastic they are.

I have reused bottles for almost 20 years. I guess I will drop dead soon then.

 

Even if you see a marking that will tell you what plastic it is, how would you be sure it´s correct in the land of fakes? Just buy a bottle and be happy.

[chingmai331]

Metal bottles may get stopped at every airport.  I suggest a plastic bottle, with a wide mouth for ice cubes, which formerly held fruit juice, not water.

Water bottles are the very cheapest and thinnest plastic possible.

Juice bottles made to take boiling juice and are much stronger.  Mine have lasted years.

I esp like the cone shaped top to slide into the backpack easily.

[Dante99]

48 minutes ago, chingmai331 said:

Metal bottles may get stopped at every airport. 

No problem with metal bottle and airports ever and have had one in my cary on bag for years. You are just tossing out garbage on this forum.

[Kerryd]

Lol - you "might" be at risk - maybe/possibly/eventually. 
Of course you "might/maybe/possibly/eventually" be at risk from a thousand or so other things as well. Keep in mind that the healthiest/wealthiest/most powerful and most holy all die eventually as well.

Personally I use these bottles I found on Lazada. They are 1 liter, (supposedly) BPA free and have a spout (though I just unscrew the lid and drink from the bottle). I've frozen them and they work fine after thawing but don't put hot liquids in them.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/1l-big-large-bpa-free-sport-gym-training-party-drink-water-bottle-cap-kettle-colorblue-capacity1-l-i281525023-s456716151.html

Edited February 5, 2020 by Kerryd

[Tayaout]

I just got this one: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.0Ur4P

It's BPA free, the bottle is flexible and can be rolled and it has a charcoal filter. 

[ChaiyaTH]

3 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

I just got this one: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.0Ur4P

It's BPA free, the bottle is flexible and can be rolled and it has a charcoal filter. 

Many people forget that using all those filters is kind of bad, as it also filters some good things. But most people do not have additional filters to add these good things back. At least this counts on most people using charcoal and other filters on their water taps in Thailand. 

Most drinking bottles nowadays are BPA free too.

Edited February 5, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[ChaiyaTH]

On 2/4/2020 at 2:04 PM, donnacha said:

I would treat any such claim with extreme suspicion. In my experience, the quality of water from that category of local supplier never reaches the standards of the larger factories. The bottling depots, run according to the best Thai corner-cutting standards, look significantly worse than the crates.

I highly doubt that any plastic has been properly tested under the level of abuse that those bottles receive during the years they are kept in rotation. The more you use ANY plastic, bang it around, and expose it to different environments, the more chemicals will leech. Single-use plastics mass-produced and filled to the standards of an International corporation such as Nestle, Singha, or Tesco are always going to be your safest bet.

If there is a company I trust less it would be Nestle and Singha, LOL, trusting corporations in 2020 is about the lamest thing to do. They are the cause of most problems.

In terms of the local company we use, it has a very high quality service and so are the bottles, they have a good reputation and been in business longer than some corporations. Almost everyone buys and drinks this water since decades, so I do trust it. Nonsense to warn people from it, warn them from Coca Cola / Nestle companies instead. I can taste the freshness of the water we have as well feel the bottles are quite different, aside of them always being sealed. 

With big corps, it could be done equally good or better but the local transport companies can still <deleted> it up, you just do not see that,
that they leave their open trucks for a full day in the sun etc. Most cheap water from bottles in supermarkets here tastes like <deleted> in my opinion.

Talking about this I miss home, where I can drink water while standing under the shower. Good old Netherlands.

Edited February 5, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[Tayaout]

3 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Many people forget that using all those filters is kind of bad, as it also filters some good things. But most people do not have additional filters to add these good things back. At least this counts on most people using charcoal and other filters on their water taps in Thailand. 

Most drinking bottles nowadays are BPA free too.

It's not reverse osmosis and doesn't remove minerals. It will even let virus throught. 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Tayaout

[Kerryd]

11 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

I just got this one: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.0Ur4P

It's BPA free, the bottle is flexible and can be rolled and it has a charcoal filter. 

Looks like something I'd want to use for camping more than day-to-day use around the home. If I was back in Canada I'd probably be ordering a couple of those though.

[DogNo1]

All of the variously located Central Department stores carry both metal and plastic bottles.  Usually there are some English-speaking staff who can tell you the type of plastic in the bottles.  Some come with built-in straws but, of course, these require frequent and careful washing.  I have five-liter bottles of mineral water delivered to my apartment each week.

[geisha]

Central shopping malls have many kinds. Sports shops too.

[rickudon]

If you are paranoid enough to worry about the safety of PET water bottles, you shouldn't live in Thailand, far more dangerous things here than them.

[Iron Tongue]

Stainless or eventitanium if you want to spend the money, but don't mistakenly get an aluminum one.

[TPI]

Buy a 12 Baht bottle of water, drink it , refill it......there done!

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, TPI said:

Buy a 12 Baht bottle of water, drink it , refill it......there done!

Where does this come from?  Somebody that would pay 12 Baht for a bottle of water but it has to be more(less) than that.

[donnacha]

On 2/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

If there is a company I trust less it would be Nestle and Singha, LOL, trusting corporations in 2020 is about the lamest thing to do. They are the cause of most problems.

The post is specifically about avoiding contamination in the water you consume.

I am not saying that transnational corporations are more moral. I am saying that, by necessity, their operations are built upon processes applied worldwide, including in countries with rigid health & safety standards, by highly-educated executives who understand that the safety of customers is a financial imperative.

I have no problem with people signaling their wokeness, but it is a mistake not to recognize that large businesses have far more to lose if employees take shortcuts. If a small local bottler doesn't replace his filters as often as the manufacturer recommends because the owner's son would rather spend the money on bringing his mia noi to Danang that weekend, no one will notice. If customers get sick, and it can somehow be traced back to him, he can quietly pay everyone off and continue on as before.

If Nestle or Coca Cola mess up, it hits the headlines worldwide and the executives responsible lose their careers.

I don't like or dislike Nestle or Singha or Coca Cola, but I do want my water to be as clean as possible.
 

 

On 2/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

In terms of the local company we use, it has a very high quality service and so are the bottles, they have a good reputation and been in business longer than some corporations. Almost everyone buys and drinks this water since decades, so I do trust it.

Take nothing on trust. Visit their bottling depot. This is the same as visiting a restaurant's kitchen - it is often shocking to discover what lurks behind the scenes in most small businesses, especially when they are family run. In Asia, being in business for a long time often means that they have been using the same worn out machinery for decades. Family businesses in S.E. Asian are not big on capital re-investment.
 

[gargamon]

Get something like this. Stainless steel, insulated. Add water and ice and it stays cold a long time.