Advice on water filter
New to Malaysia and I am given to understand that one cannot directly drink the tap water here. Need your advice and suggestions for a good water filter.
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thanks.
I use a Coway filter which you can buy in instalments normally over 2 years. Foreigners are required to pay 50% up front to cover the first year then the remainder during the second year in monthly instalments. Someone will come every two months to service the unit. My unit was the top of the range unit, supplying hot and cold filtered water and cost around rm3200 in total
I think whats going overboard are the scare tactics and pressure and sales tactics filter companies use to sell very expensive equipment. The most filtration Ive ever had is the double filter apparatus purchased at Giant for RM70, and then you replace the low cost filters when the water pressure drops or when the sediment filter becomes dark. I also bought another house line filter to attach at the meter but I have never installed it.
That said, how far should one go in filtering water? For me personally, the only way is distillation as it removes everything. I drank distilled water for at least 30 years in US. You can buy a suitable electric distiller on AliExpress for about US150, and those make about 4 gallons an hour.
Your choices otherwise are the large, outside tank filters you see everywhere, starting at about RM700. But on close examination of the guts, Im not convinced those filters do a good job at anything other that filtering dirt.
The village way to clean water is first to put water into large bottles and let them sit for a month so that all the sediment settles at the bottom, then pour the result into pots for boiling on the stove.
Berkey is believed to be a good system and what you can do is have the filters sent here from US and then go on Youtube to see how easy it is to make your own Berkey tanks. I wouldnt mind to do that.
Let me tell you some old news. In US, our water company issued reports and as far back as about 1990 said that some harmful contaminants simply cannot be filtered out and had already reached very high levels. As time has gone by, water contamination has worsened, with no further advances in technology to filter it out. Are we slowly dying from whats in the water? Sure, why not. What to do? Not much we can do. There is no house system that can filter petroleum contaminants, for example.
1. Dont worry too much.
2. Dont waste money on expensive systems that cannot do the job. How to know? Send samples to a lab for testing, you'll soon see how bad the filters are. INDAH is the water company in Malaysia and they have a lab.
3. Where expats can be helpful is to put undue pressure on the government to END the widespread practice of chemical dumping. Though there is no EPA here, there rules which are widely disobeyed. Where is the logic in believing that after someone dumps engine oil right on the ground, which then seeps into the ground water, that one can go to Tesco and buy a purification system for it? Seriously?
4. You want pure water? Its all around you and its free. Catch rain! Rain is distilled water and you can build (see on Youtube) an effective, simple and low cost rain water filter.
There is no easy answer for water that can simply be purchased, you (we) will have to fight for it. Nobody will willingly and happily give it to us. One way or the other, peoples' actions are required.
1) Bottled mineral water is relatively cheap.
2) I have family who use simple water filters (like ) and boil the water afterwards. They're nearly 70 now and healthy.
3) My own family bought a reverse osmosis water filtration system (around RM3000) many moons ago, keep in mind you have to get it serviced every so often, but for the sheer convenience why not.
I would stay away from buying RO water from the vending machines as studies have found E. coli in the water samples ().
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If you are living in a condo, the management should clean those giant water tanks on the roof every six months and also get the water tested, but some managements do it once a year or when the water is dirty. The water supply to condos is supposed to be potable but condos often install filters before the water is sent up to the holding tanks. Still, I'd recommend not drinking water from the tap.
If the condominium is an old one then the old GI water pipes might be rusted through and produce reddish water. If the landlord has done a major renovation of the apartment he should have replaced all the pipes and electrical system (I've done this in two apartments), so ask him. Renting a newer apartment will not have these problems because Malaysia stopped using GI pipe quite a while ago and UPVC pipes are now standard. So before signing a rental agreement for an older apartment it is worth to run all the taps just to check that the water is clear.
Installing a filter at the junction where your water meter is located is good in order to have clear water and I believe costs below a thousand ringgit (I never had one installed so I don't know the exact price). Unless you own the apartment, it is something that you could ask the landlord to install before agreeing to move in.
Even with a filter system in place, I'd still prefer not to take the risk of drinking tap water and instead go for the suppliers of osmosis water along with the free water dispenser.
"Why is reverse osmosis water bad for you?
Just about everyone knows that Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems excel at removing water impurities, but few are aware that they also remove the beneficial minerals. ... However "only a few months exposure may be sufficient 'consumption time effects' from water that is low in magnesium and/or calcium to create serious health problems"
Filtered tap water isn't the only source of calcium and magnesium. As long as you eat food you will get your daily requirements of both calcium and magnesium as well as most other minerals. Suggesting that by drinking Reverse Osmosis water and not drinking filtered tap water that you will get serious health problems is ludicrous.
Foods and drinks such as milk, cheese, beans, leafy veg, fish, nuts, yogurt, bananas, whole grain, avocados, broccoli, tofu, canned fish and so many others will easily provide your daily magnesium and calcium requirements.
And the great thing about these food and drink products that contain calcium and magnesium and most other minerals is that they are readily available in supermarkets all over Malaysia.
But to get to the original statement that even if domestic water has been filtered through these triple / quad filter systems still don't drink it! But drink Reverse Osmosis water....RO is just filtered water.聽 It's not magic it is just a marketing term for filtered water. They usually state, "Filtered under pressure"聽 if you look at the pressure it's about 1 bar...standard household water pressure.
But if you feel so strongly about it then by all means tell others to ignore my advice and to drink filtered water from the tap. I am not bothered. I just know that I wouldn't.
iskandarhack wrote:Who ever thought water quality was such a sensitive subject.
It's not sensitive really, just different people have different opinions.
Serving on some Management Committees and having changed piping in two of my apartments in KL just makes me more aware of the issue about water quality. The incoming water from Syabus, at least in Bangsar, is supposed to be potable or almost. But what happens to that water once it comes in to the water system of a condo depends on the regularity that the Management clean the tanks. Each cleaning requires a water test before and after the cleaning. Then once the water arrives at your apartment it can be affected by your own piping system. In a new condo there is nothing much to worry about as long as the tanks are cleaned every six months. However, some condos clean the tanks once a year and some even less.
Anyway, for all I know most people drink from the tap in Malaysia and have a filter system installed. I just feel safer drinking bottled water.
I won't buy one made in Malaysia, though.聽 They have a tendency to develop mildew in them.聽 I only buy ones that are manufactured in Korea.
No fancy machines, no expensive contracts.聽 Pour tap water in, delicious clean water comes out.
I highly suggest not to buy overpriced water filters that are always advertised like coway and cockoo...you'd have to pay by installment and its such a waste of money especially if you're not thinking of staying here permanently, not to mention the high cost of living here.
atleast in a month, the water supply would have problems and murky yellow water comes out
the acid water is useful too, it can be used to wash your face and for more effective sanitization
I only knew about this just few years back, and i find it pretty useful since i can use it for a lot of different purposes. worth it cz the price is just same as other water filters sold here but only offer purified water..besides, its Panasonic. I don't know anyone here who don't own atleast 1 household item that doesnt use this brand lol so i'm confident in using it la
Alia Zulkifli wrote:The types of water are the different pH values..there's alkaline, purified and acidic water, and the amount of pH levels is depending on the model you buy...each pH values can be used for different purpose, like to enhance your cooking or for lowering acidity in stomach...etc
the acid water is useful too, it can be used to wash your face and for more effective sanitization
I only knew about this just few years back, and i find it pretty useful since i can use it for a lot of different purposes. worth it cz the price is just same as other water filters sold here but only offer purified water..besides, its Panasonic. I don't know anyone here who don't own atleast 1 household item that doesnt use this brand lol so i'm confident in using it la
i see, thats interesting... i've heard of alkaline water filter before but i never knew abt the in depth functions of it..i heard abt the coway alkaline water filter, but its too pricey tho. this panasonic one is alot more affordable..will check it out, thanks
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