5 gallon water bottles

Andrea Duguay

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May 2, 2015
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I am officially grossed out now and do not want to drink any water in this country after seeing miniscule larvae swimming in my bottled water.
Is there a brand that you trust to be clean?
Does anyone have a water filtration system or is it standard to use the bottled water to drink and cook with.
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
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Sadly here, you cannot fully trust anything! Remember Dasani bottles tap water, so you can imagine what is done here!
If this can be proven without doubt maybe an investigative reporter like Nuria should be informed! Screwing with our drinking water should not be tolerated
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
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Dasani bottles tap water? Maybe after purifying it, but that's what the others do as well, nothing wrong with that.
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
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People also ask
Is Dasani water tap water?
Three years ago, Coca-Cola admitted that Dasani is just filtered tap water. In 2007, Corporate Accountability International, based in Boston, pressured the U.S. manufacturer of Aquafina bottled water to make it clear that the drink is made with treated tap water.
 

melphis

Living my Dream
Apr 18, 2013
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I have never had a problem with Alaska water. I have seen the larvae you mentioned in other brands but to date have been OK with Alaska.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
We only buy Cristal and Planeta Azul, not sure if they're available where you live.

I've never seen any larvae, but I'd freak out if I did.

We use the 5 gallon bottles for coffee/cooking, for drinking I put it through a Brita filter pitcher in the fridge.
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
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We only buy Cristal and Planeta Azul, not sure if they're available where you live.

I've never seen any larvae, but I'd freak out if I did.

We use the 5 gallon bottles for coffee/cooking, for drinking I put it through a Brita filter pitcher in the fridge.

Ms. AE, I hate to tell you this, but unless you put a few drops (literally ) of bleach in your Britain filter every month or so, you will find many living organisms in your water if looked at through a microscope. Plain carbon filters (Brita) are designed to be used on chlorinated water supplies. They are bacteria traps otherwise. Just a few drops once a month to be sure. I'm a big fan of the silver impregnated ceramic filters though. They are cheap insurance for decent, sage drinking water. Replace them yearly, and sleep well at night.
 
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AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Ms. AE, I hate to tell you this, but unless you put a few drops (literally ) in your Britain filter every month or so, you will find many living organisms in your water if looked at through a microscope. Plain carbon filters (Brita) are designed to be used on chlorinated water supplies. They are bacteria traps otherwise. Just a few drops once a month to be sure. I'm a big fan of the silver impregnated ceramic filters though. They are cheap insurance for decent, sage drinking water. Replace them yearly, and sleep well at night.

I'm confused... a few drops of what???? I'm not filtering our well water, I'm filtering the Aqua Cristal/Planta Azul.
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Sasino is also the company I am using. I have seen the rare small piece of blue plastic cap in a glass of water out of the cooler but I may have put it in the water when I opened the bottle. I too have a brita pitcher that I keep full for coffee, tea, washing food and cooking.
 

jd426

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Dec 12, 2009
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Ultra violet light kills like 99.9 % of all living organisms in water.
Its one of the steps in the Reverse Osmosis Units.. available all over ebay.. Not very expensive, but perhaps bulky with the tank to bring to the DR.

Problem is they work with Plumbed water,(constant pressure) not water bottles.
I really have no knowledge of how you would use it in the DR
but its what we use for Well water, besides the whole house 10 Micron, then
Carbon Block, and then 5 micron spun filters..
The kitchen then has the Reverse Osmosis, which has like 9 different stages to it, but the UV is the one which kills all living organisms.
The Cononut Shell carbon block sweetens the water and is the last stage before you drink it.
The quality of the water is way beyond anything you can buy in a bottle.
just a thought.
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Based on my water usage, I end up putting a new brita filter in the pitcher about every 4.5 weeks. I am aware of brita's limitations and am basically using it to strain out something I might not notice like a small piece of plastic cap.
 

Andrea Duguay

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May 2, 2015
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Good to hear that Planeta Azul is what others here are using.
That is what we use as well.
The larvae were in a cheaper 5 gallon one that we were using for cooking and back-up if we run out of the Planeta Azul.
Lesson learned. Will replace the other jug with a more reputable Planeta Azul tomorrow!
 

kg4jxt

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Mar 28, 2014
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that would be a few drops of bleach/blanqueador/cloro or whatever; liquid bleach. It is 3% sodium hypochlorite, so 30,000 ppm "chlorine".
If you know the water is contaminated, go ahead and add an ounce of bleach. Let it sit about 30 minutes before you drink. It will have a chlorine taste, but it will not have any bacteria
Most of the time, clear water has very low bacterial levels, so just a few drops per gallon is enough, and there is less taste.
 

shorts

Member
Dec 3, 2012
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Any recommended brands that serve Santiago?

All I've seen here are Cascada and Xtra, and to me neither are any good.
 

jstarebel

Silver
Oct 4, 2013
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ultraviolet disinfection facts.

Pros & Cons to ultraviolet disinfection of water are listed in the link below. I will also Add that Trojan UV Systems have been around for many years, and they are the ones who came up with wiper boxes for their commercial systems to help deter bio - film growth that can keep the uv radiation from doing its job. Unfortunately this is not available in their residential systems and this does nothing for the bacterial regrowth possibilities that can happen without proper post disinfection of uv water. This post is strictly for educational purposes because I'm a chemical engineer and understand water treatment equipment. Nothing more.
https://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/DISINFECT/uv.htm