Water & Air Filtration Products

[NaiGreg]

Since my wife and I now have a newborn (due next week, actually) and a toddler, I am especially concerned about air and water quality at home.

Part I. Water.

Okay, the neighborhood Amway distributor (a very nice lady, hard to say NO) has convinced my wife that the city water (Rimtai - Mae Rim) AND the bottled water (Glacier) we use are dangerous. I'm inclined to agree to a point, but the Amway answer is a complex (36,000 baht) filtration system.

I've heard that the Singh brand of bottled water is the safest (NSF) and the beer is not bad either. But there is no home delivery. Are there any other choices around here? I think the town water is fine for everything but drinking and cooking.

Part II. Air.

I have convinced my wife that if the air quality next cold season is as bad as last year, we are going to need to close a few sleeping rooms and condition/filter the air.

Again, Amway has a 50,000 baht per room Hepa filtration system that seems outrageously priced!

Aside from building an oxygen tent around the house, can any one (or two) experts suggest a solution? This topic is not meant to be a debate about air/water quality, but rather a discussion of home products/solutions in Chiangmai.

And I suggest that any Amway discussion deserves it's own thread!

Thanks,

-Naigreg

Edited November 7, 2005 by NaiGreg

[lopburi3]

What do the local restaurants use/serve? Are people dropping like flies? I agree those prices are very high and there is no need to pay that even if you want to be safe (which probably is not that good an idea - people learn to fight bacteria by exposure so you do not want to live in a hospital operating room environment).

Water filters are available at Lotus here in Bangkok so expect they are up there also. A ceramic filter (with silver to make cleaning easier) is probably all you need but these usually come as a set with activated charcoal/resin and are the kind you often see in restaurants. That should be all you need for a city water supply. You can go higher with UV or reverse osmosis and still buy for less than the Amway price.

For air filters you can buy good models for much less but if you use an air conditioner why not let that do the work by adding "Filterete" electrostatic fiber filter made by 3M over the built in air filters. That should be all you need.

[Thetyim]

I use a Lux air filter in the bedroom.

I think the model is Royal AC2

Had it for several years, works fine, cost umm......20K....I think

[johnh101]

I am a bit concerned with the bird flu epidemic. The other day a poster pointed out that bird flu is transmitted from bird to bird from their faeces.

Most of the houses in the country collect rainwater from roofs to use for drinking and cooking, and birds crap on the roofs. 1+1 = 2

Does anyone have any ideas about filtration where the water is stored in those large ceramic / pottery barrels ?

[Dustoff]

~

Agreed about Amway (or whatever name they use now) - priced way too high, perhaps because so many people upline are reaping their rewards for signing on.

Singha water is IMHO the best around and I have it delivered. Problem is that you have to have space as they insist you buy 10 cases (4 six-liter plastic bottles each - roughly a 13" cube) at a time. No prob for us and even tho it is only a bit cheaper than Lotus, hauling water is a real pain in the you-know-what.. And we have used other filtered waters here, including ones that insist they use rev-osm but the leavings on the inside of the glass after a few drinks tells the true tale.

I somewhat agree that we can overprotect but I have seen the garbage that comes out of my faucets even with Govt. water. I'll brush my teeth (but only while using Listerine) and shower with it but that is about it.

Pollution is a major problem here in CM and a concern. If you, like us, don't like the dryness of air conditioned air, try a couple of those water air coolers (they call them swamp coolers in the southern US) sold at the power center on the top floor of the airport plaza. They drop the temp by a few degrees and even more if you put ice in them - great for your sleeping space! And I am sure you can add a tighter filter over the air intake. Other than that, like living in LA or Denver, if you don't like the air quality, moving away is the only sure cure...

[lopburi3]

I am a bit concerned with the bird flu epidemic. The other day a poster pointed out that bird flu is transmitted from bird to bird from their faeces.

Most of the houses in the country collect rainwater from roofs to use for drinking and cooking, and birds crap on the roofs. 1+1 = 2

Does anyone have any ideas about filtration where the water is stored in those large ceramic / pottery barrels ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are you a bird?

I would always boil rainwater myself, as it is subject to all kinds of contamination, and that does not require water pressure or electric service to do.

[NaiGreg]

Thank you for the replies, so far.

I just need to start to do some serious shopping around, but the "Filterete" suggestion (lopburi3) has piqued my curiosity. Seems like a great idea (2 of our 3 bedrooms have good A/C units) and 3M is known for their innovative products. I'm googling in another Window as I type this. There is a question about particle size that needs to be looked at.

I can breathe easier, now!

As far as water quality goes, I am more concerned about chemical toxins than common pathogens.

-Naigreg

[p1p]

We use a Unilever RO system for our water. Our water supply comes from a mix of mains (10% or so) and artesian water. Have used it for about a year, it cost just over 20K to install and have yet to replace a filter. Very good water quality, nice flavour and clean.

At my restaurant we used Dew Drop water. They were on 053 235 982, but the number might have changed. They deliver daily. Plenty good enough to drink although the, more expensive Mae Wang water tastes better. We used to use that at home. They only deliver once per week.

We have always used the white, plastic 20 Litre water bottles. Placed upside down on top of a water cooler/heater, they give a constant supply of potable drinking water. It is not hot enough to make good tea though. ;-(

Personally I find Amway products to be very good quality, but vastly over priced. The problem with their water filter, when we arranged a comparitive test a while back, was that the warning when the filters were over loaded was not efficient and it still allowed, potentially dangerous, water to flow.

If you might be interested in more details about the Unilever filter, (my wife used to be an agent), PM me and I'll ask her to put you in touch with someone who can help.

As regards air filters, we now have none and would be interested in suggestions. We tried an Amway filter for a while, but weren't happy with it.