# Safe drinking water



## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

M.C.A. said:


> I really don't know about others on this forum but my wife got Typhoid fever and she was hospitalized for nearly two weeks. You have to be careful with the water, especially in restaurants or out and about, people will use well water or sell ice from well water also vendors along the road sell what appears to be store-bought sealed water but they bottle it themselves.
> 
> Every time I returned to the Philippines I nearly wound up in the hospital due to either food poisoning or? the bacteria in the water, some of the OFW's at least two women in our Municipality died both returned here for retirement only to die from either food poisoning or from poor quality water.
> 
> Another danger for me is these small round freshwater clam shells found in Laguna de Bay, I've had some close calls with food poisoning so I don't eat them anymore but the longer sea clams are found in the market areas and sea shells are okay for me. So I would say the first 6 months could be critical for anyone that decides to live here, the body needs to not only adjust to the incredible heat and humidity but also the bacteria in the food.


I recall many months ago reading some expat forum (possibly this forum) about what people do for clean water. Some didn't trust the filters from the local water businesses, and how thorough the cleaning is of reused water jugs. I recall one person boils his water two times (I don't understand what a second boiling will accomplish).

Water in the philippines can be a good thread subject (unless it's already been done).

Personally, I always buy distilled water because I try to avoid fluorine. Scientific studies show fluroine is bad for bone health. Supposedly fluorine is good for teeth, but I have extraordinary good teeth. It is very difficult to filter out florine - I think only distilling or reverse osmosis can remove fluroine. So, for many years I buy distilled water for around $1/galllon. I use it for drinking, cooking gelatin, cooking rice. But I use tap water for cooking pasta - because the majority of the water ends up going down the drain.

I assume it is safe in Philippines to shower/bathe in tap water ? 
Just don't drink it or use ice or brush the teeth with it ?

Over the decades I have visited Israel 4 times as a tourist. Last trip was to bury my mother there (something she wanted). Israel is supposed to have good water, but no water system can eliminate all germs - some will survive. I always end up sick from the water. The last time I got sick in Israel - I was in a restaurant and my children wanted sodas as usual. The waiter suggested it would be lower cost to order a pitcher of coca-cola instead of buying cans. There was ice cubes in the pitcher - and bam - next day sick.

I plan to bring plenty of Loperamine pills - somehow it will probably get me - maybe from restaurant food.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

howard...iguess I have been lucky as i have consumed the water on 6 islands and never got sick although we suspect my leukemia came from drinking tap water in quezon city which I hadnt been warned about. QC is the 3rd largest cancer(leukemia )producer in philippines.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Howard_Z said:


> I recall many months ago reading some expat forum (possibly this forum) about what people do for clean water. Some didn't trust the filters from the local water businesses, and how thorough the cleaning is of reused water jugs. I recall one person boils his water two times (I don't understand what a second boiling will accomplish).
> 
> Water in the philippines can be a good thread subject (unless it's already been done).
> 
> ...


According to mr google 

Fluorine is essential for the maintenance of solidity of our bones


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## Howard_Z (7 mo ago)

I wonder if a few drops of Lugol's Iodine (mixed into a glass of water) at each meal will kill any nasty germs in the food or water ?


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

No worries about finding Loperamine pills here, very easy and available at any pharmacy even the tiny ones, but you'll find that sometimes they don't work and you'll have to get something much more effective, I took medication for Dysentery a large round pill at $1 or 50 pesos each Flagyl or
Metronidazole because nothing else was working, always talk with a Doctor immediately on this.

But this only happens to me when I've been gone a very long time and within the first year or two years, so I haven't had an issue with food or water-borne bacteria or viruses since.

What you'll want to fill up those boxes with are things hard to find here and some breathable light clothing.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Howard_Z said:


> Personally, I always buy distilled water


 Nutrisions are taken away in distilled water. 

(E g my well have even some to much iron  because it clugg the pipes a bit. 
Btw Sweden have drinkable water in all taps (although the public water have clorine, but it go away I have heared if put tap water in an open jar a while.
When using water from wells, which have stand still long time as e g at a vacation house, then we just pump it empty and wait for new to come. None in family have ever got ill by that.)
Inspite of that rather many Swedes waste money at buying bottled water! 🤣 

If you will get own well in the future in the Philippines, you need to check if its corect build (=Tight far enough down to only let in proper filtered water). Some constructors can, some are nutcases. E g one in a biger construction company had first holes all the way up so the water was very muddy. When told to correct it - including instructions - it was screwed up again, tightened everuthing so no water came into the well at all 🤣🤣🤣 When the customer tried to instruct the construction leader, he didnt understand still - but during that one of the not educated workers took a drill and solved the problem...  Education dont cure stupidity is proven by many with high education


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## amcan13 (Sep 28, 2021)

I don't drink any water that is not mineral water, including ice. 
My wife uses the blue bottle water from the place down the street. They are like 25 peso per bottle. I use the purit water filter from Unilever. It is in lazada and in the mall. Cost about 6000 with filters at 1400 peso. You get about 3000 liters out of a filter and the unit makes 9L in an hour. 
Some of the hotels tell you not to drink the water and provide bottled water. 
I got sick once a.few years back from questionable water and it was no fun. But the Loperamine pills do work.
For babies they use distilled water for first few years until baby gets used to local water. We sure use distilled water for our baby. My nephew had his mom babysit and they used well water to wash the kid. The kid got sick and the doctor figured it out, no local water. Kid is ok now.
I am told our city water is drinkable but I don't see any reason to try it. I figure in a few years I might get used to it from dish washing and showers.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Depends where you are to what you get when it comes to water. Here we have always drunk the water from our refill station and never a problem, they shut down for several hours once to twice a week for maintaining filters and RO membrane etc, I know they have micro bio testing every month from an independent lab as we used the same company 3 years ago to test our deep well.

We are on the ocean and our deep well is about 3 metres below sea level and about 100 metres away. Apparently the water flows down from the mountains to the sea but the test results revealed high mineral content, calcium, salts etc and detectable E coli and coliforms but all within WHO recommendations. Choice? Spend PHP 100K plus on a treatment plant and then the on going servicing or simply suck it and see as the Canadian owner/builder did for 10 years.

3 years on, we shower, clean teeth, dishes, clothes washing and never a belly ache, the only thing is we use a lot of white vinegar for cleaning scale. We use the blue bottled water for cooking, kettle, drinking etc and go through 3 bottles per week @ 20 pesos each (we drop off and pick up with town runs) so a little over a dollar US a week. I prefer this system over town water with who knows what in it.

BTW Howard I used to clean my water bottles when we moved here with Milton and one time deliberately poured a cap full of Milton into one of the blue bottles knowing that I would smell that if they didn't wash the container properly,,,,,, I don't bother disinfecting my bottles for 2 years now and still perfect.
I would not bother with distilled water, only water that has been through an RO plant as you still get some beneficial soluble minerals.

OMO as always.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Danward (Oct 14, 2021)

We only use bottled water from the bottle before or after refrigerator and Coke and Pepsi sodas. Nothing else and never had any problems in 5 trips to Asian countries.


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