Water filtration in China?

[asterroc]

I'm going to China with my mother this summer for 3 weeks, and my mother informed me that I can't drink the tap water. We will be staying in hotels (4 stars mostly), but traveling both in urban and rural areas. So if there are any environmentally friendly frugal jet-setters reading this,

* Is that true that I can't drink the tap water?
* Should I just buy water everywhere?
* What about some sort of filtration/sterilization for tap water instead?

Comments

[rubicat.livejournal.com]

There are tons of water bottles out there that provide filtration within the bottle itself. Some are rated for basic impurities, and others take care of wormy bits and diseases. A basic Brita-like model is the Bobble, but that may not be strong enough.

Many traveler's sites also feature small pills that you put in a glass of water that decontaminate the water. I don't know the effectiveness of those - most travelers I know will use the water bottles.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unfortunately it says not to use where water is microbiologically unsafe. I'll check camping store websites though and see if there are other bottle-based solutions.

Edit:
I'm aware of the pills too. I guess one of my questions is just whether it's worth investing in some sort of filtration for convenience (what if I wake up thirsty in the middle of the night and realize I forgot to buy a fresh bottle before going to bed?) rather than relying on purchasing bottles all the time.

[rubicat.livejournal.com]

There are bottles out there, though, that are used for recovery zones where water is unsafe. Those bottles cost a lot more, but peace of mind (and body) is tantamount here, especially amid concerns that many places are just using tap water to fill bottles!

Is this one enough?
http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Power-Nutrition-PureGo-Bottle/dp/B001AXWTC8

This one seems popular, too:
http://www.mcnett.com/Aquamira-Water-Bottle-with-Microbiological-Filter-P216.aspx

Good luck! I've had giardia, and......not fun.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly (on bottling tap water w.o purifying). I'm leaning towards a filter-based system. It'd be good to have around the house in case of a boil order or zombie apocalypse anyway.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

one fallback option is to buy one of the bottled water brands like aquafina that purify local water, rather than shipping it anywhere. not as environmentally friendly as one could wish for, but better than water that has transportation costs attached.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

That only works if options are actually available, and I don't know if that will be the case. If options are limited, I may not know which options purify and bottle locally, which purify and bottle overseas, and which bottle without purifying locally.

[blahblahboy.livejournal.com]

ah, the memories. yes, outside hk the tap water has signs informing you that it is not safe to drink. however if you join a tour that includes breakfast lunch and dinner i dont think you'll be craving water that often. that said, when we were on the bus you can buy bottles of water for fairly cheap, and the 4 star hotels also provided two complimentary bottles of water on top of that.

i recall the water being so dirty that my hair was sticky after a shower.

the other strong memory is when our tour bus pulled into a rest stop the tour guide informed us that the grandmothers outside are begging you for to give them your empty bottle of water. that made me very sad, as i immediately imagined my own grandmother clamoring and begging tourists for a measely water bottle.

I would say a water filtration bottle is genius, but i dont know how many places you will find that you can refill it. plus if you are taking lots of airplanes this may also prove to be a huge hassle. i would fill up on watermelon at the breakfast buffets instead.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I'm already in the habit of emptying my water bottle curbside when I get to an airport, going through the checkpoint, and then refilling it on the other side. If I got a bottle-based purifier kit I'd only need a faucet (or water fountain, or stream). I've found a few bottle based systems, running around $70-$90, which is a bit steep but not insane, and doesn't hurt to have around the house for emergency boil water orders.

There seem to be two general styles to bottle based kits, one uses multiple filters for both particulate matter and biological agents, and the other a single filter for particulate matter and UV sterilization for biological agents.

[blahblahboy.livejournal.com]

I just read a short article via google on travelchinaguide.com or something and it would seem that the main concern of tap water in china is bacteria? but it's not obvious. it says if you dont boil it, the water is not drinkable. it also says that a bottle of water (nestle is a popular brand) is about CNY2 ($0.33) so take that into consideration cost wise. i would say the article was fairly interesting to me. i'd link it but i'm on a train on a phone with no cutting and pasting options. :P