masuk Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 A neighbour of mine is a professor at CMU, and has done a water analysis of what we're currently drinking and cooking with. Seems there's a high lime content, and there is a concern that if we cook and drink this for long enough, we're going to end up with kidney stones. Anyone amongst TV members who has professional experience in this sort of thing? On another totally related subject, I buy bottled water, which proudly announces that it's ozone treated. There's no analysis on the bottles of any water that I've seen here, and therefore can't help wondering if we're drinking ozonated water with a high limestone content. I can imagine Londoners laughing at this; in my year there, I've had a tea kettle 'fuzz up' in a few weeks with lime. Coffee makers had to be soaked in vinegar regularly to remove the lime build up, so can't help wondering if it's all that bad here. Any long-term CM residents had problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worgeordie Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Yes there is a high instance of people suffering from Kidney stones due to the hard water here,myself included and would not wish them on anyone,that was 10/12 years ago a received treatment on the new ultra sound machine that the hospital had just gotten,been new i think they did not really know how to use it,and me been a large Farang i think they set the machine too high. It was 25K bht for a course of treatment ,i think it was until all the stone was gone, but i never went back for a 2nd treatment,the first nearly killed me,ate very little for a couple of months,peeing blood and bits of flesh,never had a problem since (touch wood), well only once a couple of years ago ,got up in the morning for a pee, and could feel something going through my urinary tract until it got stuck!!, could not pee,shaking like a leaf,wondering how they where going to extract the stone,so i sat around for a few hours not wanting to face what would happen at the hospital, now i am bursting so went to the toilet and i suppose with the pressure behind it and me forcing it out,was like a pea shooter,as the stone bounced around the bowl,and was i relieved, very relieved ! I dont know what you can do to get water free of calcium, I suppose the only way would be to get a Reverse Osmosis filter and filter all the water you drink. regards Worgeordie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masuk Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Yes there is a high instance of people suffering from Kidney stones due to the hard water here,myself included and would not wish them on anyone,that was 10/12 years ago a received treatment on the new ultra sound machine that the hospital had just gotten,been new i think they did not really know how to use it,and me been a large Farang i think they set the machine too high. It was 25K bht for a course of treatment ,i think it was until all the stone was gone, but i never went back for a 2nd treatment,the first nearly killed me,ate very little for a couple of months,peeing blood and bits of flesh,never had a problem since (touch wood), well only once a couple of years ago ,got up in the morning for a pee, and could feel something going through my urinary tract until it got stuck!!, could not pee,shaking like a leaf,wondering how they where going to extract the stone,so i sat around for a few hours not wanting to face what would happen at the hospital, now i am bursting so went to the toilet and i suppose with the pressure behind it and me forcing it out,was like a pea shooter,as the stone bounced around the bowl,and was i relieved, very relieved ! I dont know what you can do to get water free of calcium, I suppose the only way would be to get a Reverse Osmosis filter and filter all the water you drink. regards Worgeordie The village I lived in, in central Java, drew its water from limestone aquifers. Quite a few of the folk there had kidney stone problems also. It would be nice to avoid that sort of thing. So, do you use only filtered water for your tea/coffee? It's a bit of a worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyecatcher Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The wifes sister was recently treated for kidney stones but there was no mention to me that it could be the water. As I understand if the water here is hard then to soften it you can either boil it...or commercially add line (calcium hydroxide). Even with hard drinking water which apparently had a bitter taste they will add the lime to neutralise the metallic taste. Would seem then that only by boiling first and then re bottleing are you going to eliminate this c.h compound. In fairness we can have the same negative discussion about tomatoes, salt, corn oil, apples....there if an inherent killer in everything we eat but until some scientist tells us after his 20yr research then we are none the wiser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante99 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) The water quality in Chiang Mai is the same as it has always been = not to be relied on. Is the OP talking about his tap water or his bottled water? What brand of bottled water? Many different tap waters, where is his tap water coming from? Edited February 19, 2014 by Dante99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masuk Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Well, our little moo baan is just off Canal Rd, down from Suthep Rd, and I notice a water works on the side, so maybe that's the treatment set-up. When I first got here, 7 months ago, I had to clear all the tap filters of charcoal granules, also used in the water production business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaptainrob Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Water softeners are available from ~ 8k to 30k for calcium and magnesium removal. ~monthly backwash required depending on water use. Soft water is better for laundry, hair washing ... lathers up easy. I've noticed a slight softening in CM water thru Jan/Feb ... perhaps due to lack of rain, dam water mineral settling ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBrad Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I don't think anyone will be able to offer a universal answer that fits all of us, whether in town (or maybe even what part of town), or in a housing development outside of town, or in any number of villages and smaller towns in the greater Chiang Mai area. It would be helpful to know what one's water quality is, however. Who provides that service? On a somewhat related note, lately--just for lack of anything better to think about--I've wondered how sanitary the 1-liter refillable bottles are. You know, the ones that come in a case of 20 and are sitting in a corner of your kitchen. I'm sure people do all kinds of vile things with those bottles, and eventually they find their way back to my kitchen. (The bottles, not the people.) Could there actually be a sterilizing process in place? I guess the same question would apply to the large jugs as well. Anyone have a clue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante99 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I don't think anyone will be able to offer a universal answer that fits all of us, whether in town (or maybe even what part of town), or in a housing development outside of town, or in any number of villages and smaller towns in the greater Chiang Mai area. It would be helpful to know what one's water quality is, however. Who provides that service? On a somewhat related note, lately--just for lack of anything better to think about--I've wondered how sanitary the 1-liter refillable bottles are. You know, the ones that come in a case of 20 and are sitting in a corner of your kitchen. I'm sure people do all kinds of vile things with those bottles, and eventually they find their way back to my kitchen. (The bottles, not the people.) Could there actually be a sterilizing process in place? I guess the same question would apply to the large jugs as well. Anyone have a clue? Just go to the factory and have a look around, if you dare. Sterilize process? There have been several threads including info about where water testing is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr chow Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 WHO, I repeat, WHO Drinks the water in Thailand that doesn't need too? Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sante Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I use boiled tap water for coffee, tea, and limeade--my daily liquid intake. So far I've remained healthy but then I've only been in Chiang Mai for about two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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