winston_1

As I said earlier. Tap water is perfectly safe in Penang and virtually free. You also avoid lugging heavy bottles.

Hammeraway

I just spent some time at the Renovation Expo in Mid Valley KL looking at the Water Filters. Everyone is telling you that KL water is not good with very high Chlorine and heavy metal and particle content. I agree as my water is usually a light shade of brown if not filtered. Hydro Guard seemed one of the better options and the Sales Manager I talked to was from Sweden. A Filter cylinder/Tank on the incoming supply for all water used in the apartment and a filter system under the sink for drinking water was the ideal solution but total cost was around 5k. Similar systems from another supplier were similar in price.

winston_1

You should ask the water companies if their water is safe not some salesman from another country half way round the world who has an adjender. Chlorine is there to kill the bugs not you.

Even if a filter was necessary (it isn't) why on earth would you want two in line?

Gunnar45

Yes, there is a lot of profitable business in water filters and I think the costly solutios are a bit of an overkill in Penang and maybe KL.

But....
The tap water in Tanzania was also perfectly safe at its source, that was at the water purification plant. (I visited it for business reasons)
The problems came however on the way from there to the end consumers.
Contamination from leakages in piping or not so clean water tanks in condominiums, water towers etc.

I remember from Vitória, Brazil: One day I found my 'perfectly safe', which I always drank, water to be a bit smelly and checked the tank. There I found a dead rat floating!
Not so nice considering that it takes some time of decomposition before it starts to stink.
But then again, I didn't get sick so maybe it was still safe after all?

So, for drinking water I think there should definitely be some sort of filtering, there are good ceramic filters available which even filter out bacteria.
We have such a filter installed for our drinking water in Penang and it needs cleaning every now and then when it gets clogged with some brown goo, supposedly rust from the water tanks.
And even if iron supplements may be good for you, I prefer to choose the quality of it for my consumption.

Hammeraway

I believe Water companies may also have an agenda.
I do not know about Penang but in my apartment in KL the water is very often a light shade of brown and if used unfiltered in the washing machine the white clothes end up stained brown. The simple filter I have on the washing machine needs changing about once a month. I am now renovating my own apartment and without testing the water my instinct tells me I should put in a good filter system especially as I have a one year old baby. For water I think overkill is not too bad a solution....

winston_1

If you over protect babies they won't acquire natural immunities and in later life get all kinds of allergies.

Gunnar45

In general I think it is safer to recommend the use of a filter for drinking water than to recommend people to go without one.
Again, 'Perfectly safe to drink' may be at the source without regard for the quality of the supply system like piping, intermediate tanks, etc.
And to give a baby safe water to drink is not exactly over protection, there are lots of other sources of immune system strengthening microorganisms around.