I was happy to hear that our tap water is safe to consume, so happy that I started filling a cup of my own. Until I realized I didn't live in Singapore.
@@xeero24 ground water also varies in its quality at the same point on a daily basis. It sucks that we have to soften it and filter it. Had an experience of water suddenly turning bright yellow as I was rinsing a beautiful white t-shirt at a friend's place. They were using the same water for brushing their teeth and bathing. They filtered only cooking and drinking water. They didn't believe me, and I left it at that. No prize for guessing that they started to have health issues a few months afterwards. Lots of pathogens..and a whole laundry list of ailments.
i wish we had programs like this in usa. casual fun but still important news. instead of your typical sad, politics, or anything messed up news/documentaries.
in the US water quality standards are state-regulated so permissible levels of contaminants vary from state to state. and while filters shouldn't claim to prevent cancer, they can help reduce potential carcinogens such as haloacetic acids (a chlorination disinfection byproduct). i'm not an expert but i do work in a water chemistry lab. 👌🏻
Not every city or every state in your country's tap water is safe. Maybe you're just living in a city with a good management on your tap water and your checking them out but this is not the same in every state. Some cities have this dark brown water from time to time
@@jahd5790 yep definitely and i never meant to imply everywhere in the US had great drinking water. just that it's not federally regulated which causes a lot of variance.
If you only came for the answer: They are mostly not beneficial at all and can actually be a place for bacteria to grow which is worse than having no filter at all.
Very true, you can think of them as bacteria concentraters and mini bacteria farms. Especially if left unattended which is typical of a lot of home systems.
A good filter prevents all living pathogens from entering the water filter (the first layer of filtration, also used by the municipal water purification (which the document forgot to mention) - I’d trust the old lady who works with real humans - more than a narrator that looks to disprove benefits of purification, - while not having fully experienced the difference/benefits due to ones own disinterests. Even when he has it already available in his own home. - I have chosen to purify my water for past 6 years, and know from personal experience the many benefits. How about cleaning the house without a filter in the vacuum cleaner? Your body is your temple. You can make it pure and simple. Or just simple - with tap water - fluorides IQ lowering - mind dulling effects are well documented by science - not well understood by this water lab. chemist. Better water better wellness Namaste
one of the reasons is because the water is pressurized. So even if there is a crack in the pipe, water goes out, nothing comes in. They say just run the tap for a few seconds and all that stuff will get out
most HDB are 40+ years old and im quite sure the inside of the pipes look like this ua-cam.com/video/V1UHPtT6HFU/v-deo.html which is kinda disgusting to think the water you drink from passes through that. hence why i have a $250 filter.
I have used a Brit filter (pitcher) for years. I am pretty reliable about changing filters but after watching this, will be much more vigilant and timely!
I live in California, and the lime scale is absolutely horrible over here. If I use the water in things like humidifiers and my hot water pot, the lime scale builds up really quickly. A water filter will greatly cut down on the lime scale. I agree with the video, and the video is fantastic. Filters remove minerals, not add them. In fact, if it adds minerals, I'd be nervous. If my tap water was better, I would just drink tap water.
The filtration systems are not designed to increase the level of minerals relative to tap water. They simply replace the minerals that are stripped out during reverse osmosis.
One thing they only touched on briefly was the taste. I live rural, my drinking water comes from the roof of my house and large garage. I would never drink this without the 3 stage filters I run, one at 5 microns is small enough to trap giardia. When I go to work in town I can smell and taste the chlorine in the water supply. I run a filter to get rid of that smell and taste. After watching this video I will certainly change my filters more often though.
Water produced from water plant but where does all this water Travel Through? All the pipes . What is the Age of all these pipes and can someone Guarantee there is nothing contaminating from these pipes by the time water comes out of the water spouts in flats? The video says the filter does remove some fluoride. And the pre-filtered water contains fluoride thats considered safe. Now, this brings to our mind the question : if something is "safe" should not be made "safer"?
Dallas, Texas have horrible tap water…my 87 yo mother have a habit of boiling a full kettle of water first thing every morning since she was a child. She’s healthy and never really get sick, no emergency hospital visit ever. And don’t need any medication for any health for her age.
Your mother is right boiling the water will kill away all kinds of bad bacteria and pathogens. Do remember , the French doctor teaching , Louise Pasteur . I use a filter to filter out any remaining traces of dirt or any brownish substance from the tap then always boil the water before drinking till today .
Living in Paris (France), I always drank tap water unfiltered, even though my mother would filter hers all the time: Paris's water is very hard. But I think that my taste buds become more sensitive as I age, it's the only explanation I've found for the water to start to taste.... off. So I've been using a water filter, and it's been efficient in extracting most of that extra calcium and making the tap water more palatable. I don't need to descale my kettle as much as before, another bonus. I don't expect huge health benefits, but for my purposes my Brita does its job.
I am super happy to watch this video and in my whole life since youtube born, i gave only two likes in total, one is for this video. I love the hard work of the person who did all the research done. salute you man. 10 stars out of 10
There is a lot more to know than what this fellow addresses. Look into environmental medicine and research to get a deeper look at how we are affected by the widespread use of things not tested in this presentation.
The amount of information in this video is itself valuable to the public. The public should know how their basic amenities like water is produced, monitored and used. An informed and educated public is essential in making sure the government is doing its job properly. As a chemist, Singapore's water is very very clean and all the minerals, the chloride and fluoride are all at safe drinking level. The thing that you might have be concern about is old pipes in older flats where there might be build-up of limescale or simply corroded. Changing out old pipes that have corroded will probably help you more than using a water filter.
Back in the '70s I read a report done for the government. The final recommendation was it would be too costly to fix the US water systems and end user filtration/purification was offered as a solution. This video hand picks a few contaminants and tests low end filter systems. Water treatment is like a car... buy a Yugo, you get a Yugo. Buy a Bentley and you've invested in your future.
I have been drinking unfiltered water from the day I was born. I am 70 now and still kicking. Even using tap water to make ice cubes from the freezer. No problems in Singapore.
Love this episode Steven however even thou PUB has treated the water it does travel thru various pipelines and water tanks before it reaches the home. That being said, the water quality varies from home to home. I do have a faucet filter and the filter does turn a rusty brown within 2 months of usage for supposedly clean Singapore water. As for the bacteria - boiling is still a must.
In a Country like Singapore I don’t think filtered water is important due to the good sanitation infrastructure but in developing countries it is a necessity. The government funded water is simply just not treated properly.
I would like the experts to provide results that our piping system all over the island generally and statistically does or does not affect the quality of tap water. These filters are used essentially because tap water could be contaminated by the old rusty pipe and hence the filter are there to remove these unwanted and dirty add on to the tap water. The test should collect sufficient data with tap water taken from various locations to be able to generate meaningful conclusion.
I believe household #5 results are reversed. Either he had mislabeled the water to be tested or the tester did. Because most household filter remove chlorine using activated charcoal, it's easy for bacteria to grow inside the tank. Remove the active carbon filter prior to the membrane and only have it at the last stage which is right after the water tank or/and add a UV(Ultra Violet) filter will help with this issue. A water filter system will taste way better than not having one.
It would be better if they showed us the results for impurities among the 5 samples as well, as having only 1 sample doesn’t look very fair. So we know that water filters can in fact increase bacteria growth, but were they able to do it’s basic job of removing contaminants at the very least?
Its Singapore with some of the best tap water and highest life expectancy in the world. There likely are no significant contaminents. Their biggest concern is taste from excess healthy minerals in their water while in the states we are dealing with high levels of Arsenic, Lead, Chromium 6 and other things in our tap water that are proven carcinogens. The life expectancy of people in the USA vs. Singapore is a joke to compare.
Good timing! Our country increased the levels of fluoride in tap water to 1mg per litre which is enough to make your head spin and your teeth rot. Remember, fluoride does not evaporate like chlorine- it concentrates the more you boil it and it stores in human body. So, I will be getting a water filter for this reason only (I don't believe in gimmicks like alkaline water or anti-cancer properties).
I recently got an alkaline filter. I set it up and drank a glassfull. I immediately felt like a veil peeled off of my body from head to toe. I also got a bottle from the store the other day. Delicious! I don't think it's a gimmick at all. All water tastes the same yet all different. Today you can be a water connoisseur. One day restaurants will have water sommeliers.
This was a very informative and thoughtful video. I’ve always wondered about if water filters actually works and this video helped to answer that question. Glad to know that most tap water is safe to drink!
That all depends where you live. Some communities have great tap water and others have terrible tap water containing high levels of lead, arsenic, and uranium.
Don't tell that to the people of Flint, Michigan. How clean your tap water is is highly dependent on where you live. Unless you live in Singapore, this video is largely useless.
I only use ceramic filter to filter rust from our condo metal water tank storage and clean regulary. It true don't remove the chorine which when boil will remove it. Also when water cut happen, a lot of rust and sediment are filter when water is restore. Good video will share it to my family and friend.
12:08 Alkaline water does not do anything for us. Our gastric acid is highly acidic at around pH 2. You can see from the litmus test at 11:58 that the water is only slightly alkaline. When the water goes into your stomach, it mixes with the highly acidic gastric juices, and the overall pH will still be highly acidic. No point. Besides, our body regulates our blood pH at 7.4 strictly with pH buffers. We can't change our blood pH however we want by eating acidic/alkaline foods Edit: ok i saw the later part of the video where Dr Leong debunks all these myths hahaha thumbs up! that's right our stomach juices are supposed to be acidic to digest food
Right?! the same with cold water, people seem to think our body is not an extremely strict machine. Our body strictly keeps our equilibrium of our inside, the moment something enters our body, our body immediately tries its bestest to change it to its strict standards. Cold water entering your body? The moment it hits your stomach, your body automatically uses energy to change the water's temperature to 37 C which is the same as our inner temperature. Alkaline water to keep your blood from getting acidic? Bullshit, the moment the "alkaline water" enters your stomach it gets instantly annihilated by the stomach acids bringing it to the regular pH of the stomach acid. and EVEN IF the alkaline water gets into the intestines, our body keeps a very strict blood pH levels, no matter how alkaline you inject your ass with, the body will use everything in its power to stabilize the blood pH level back to 7.4
i would love to see this program take place in different parts of the world where i think a filtered system is indeed safer to consume, take for example in Thailand :)
chlorien is not safe anyway, this program isnt promoting truth, you cant find any proof of safety for chlorine, spring water is healthy, but its owned by the people that want you drinking chlorine.
My water filter has the activated carbon upstream of the final filter which is fine enough to filter out bacteria and most viruses, so even if there is regrown bacteria, it will get filtered out. Also tap water can be contaminated when the city pipe has to be repaired or the water tank at the rooftop has its regular cleaning, etc. The water filter serves as the last line of defence. It’s imprudent to draw such across the board conclusions ignoring variations of filter designs and realistic situations.
Here in Israel the water is very hard. In fact, without a filter, when you boil water the minerals are deposoted on the pot after one boil. Electric "hot pots" are particularly vulnerable and must be cleansed of mineral scaling quite often. Since I started using filtered water, my office and home hot pots have not had to be de-scaled in years. Yes, YEARS! When my husband developed kidney stones, I asked the doctor if the hard water could be responsible and he said yes. So, filtered water is a good thing.
Wait,I Know This Is Off Topic,But,Israel Has Trained Singapore's Armed Forces Right? Did Singapore Help Israel For The Water Crisis That Has Happened In Israel?
Filters won't do a thing for hard water. What you have is probably an ionic resin water softener. Maybe an RO system. If it demands you occasionally pour salt into a hole somewhere, it's a resin water softener. If it needs a new cartridge from time to time, it's RO.
@@dapdap8781 I think boiling water sanitizes it but doesn't remove impurities. It's like if you had dirt in your pot and you boiled water with the dirt - the dirt is still there.
boil water do evaporate the clorine if you boil it long enough, the bacteria count probably wouldn't improve because there no guarantee 100 degree water could kill all bacteria, probably from 5 to 1, it almost like wasting power for no reason, because you need a lot most bacteria to get into your gut to get sick
Steven has replied in another comment about boiling water: Steven Chia: hey guys...we looked at this too but ran out of time in the show. Boiling does kill bacteria in the water but it does not remove any of the minerals. Those can only be removed through reverse osmosis. In fact, the concentration of minerals to water is higher because some of the water has evaporated during the boiling process!
Not all countries have safe tap water. Congratulations to Singapore for achieving good healthy tap water. In Thailand where I live, we often have brown tap water, and the rivers have water that runs off farm land, with farm chemicals and animal faeces able to enter the water supply. City catchments can have industrial pollutants. We find our triple filter with Ultraviolet bacteria control gives us clean and normal drinking water. In Australia we used a charcoal filtered water jug to remove the smell of the chlorine but the tap water was quite safe. Water is often blamed for digestive upsets when the true cause is food handling and food storage.
In thailand i'd suggest an RO-filtration unit that filters out heavy metals and harmful chemicals like pesticides and fertilzers. One also needs a good-sized 3-tube pre-filters 1.Polypropylene PP to catch rust, mud, particulates in brown water 2.Carbon-block to remove smell and some toxic chemicals 3.Ion-exchange resin to remove hardwater and limestone. Three-stage filtration is not enough to remove the toxic pesticides without reverse-osmosis filter. River water can be dangerous, causing blindness from worms like in Africa. UV is not sufficient to kill germs unless it's 35-40 watts up.
Here in San Francisco, the water smells like straight up bleach. It literally makes you very nauseous and sick. Really unbearable quite frankly. The activated charcoal filters makes the tap water taste so much better and saves a ton of money.
@James Karrie on household-unit, the uv-lamp is rated 6-9 watts which is to small to effectively kill bacteria. I prefer an ozonization unit to disinfect the germs. With chlorinated tab-water, removing chlorine prior to resin-stage is sufficient to avoid bacteria, except build-up in the waste-water line of the RO-membrane. This line needs to be flushed thoroughly every 3-6 months.
Chlorinated tab water is the most effective disinfection. Chlorine just needs to be removed prior to drinking, by carbon block, to avoid cancer and thyroid problems. I don't dare to filter brown, unchlorinated water, even with reverse-osmosis, without boiling before drinking. Bacteria and virus are very dangerous to take into your body. At least start filtering with chlorinated tab water...
The water i used to drink had a pH about 6 (mineral water), but since my parents moved to a another place, the filtered well water (that has been boiled) has a pH around 8. And it just so happen i felt like my stomach hurt alot more than it usually does when i eat late.
Ultraviolet rays kill germs, UV filter I always use for safety. RO not really advisable unless water may have many unwanted elements dissolved, RO takes out the useful minerals too.
There's company i believe in Omaha that makes water distillers. But one can figure if it takes 4-6 hours to make one quart water, plus the energy used. Maybe better off just to buy refill jugs ?
I use water filter mainly to remove rusts and debris. Then I will boil the water for consumption. I have been drinking boiled water for at least 20 years now.
possibly, given the research study incompetence of the show's producers. however, i'd like to at least give them that benefit of the doubt because really, this anomalous result just raised more questions than answers, not helping their skewed documentary's cause. swapping the samples would be literally shooting themselves in the foot.
I have the same strong suspicion that the samples were wrongly labelled. How can the results be the exact opposite of the results from the other households?
True. I want to know if they made replicates of the tests (at least three) and did another sampling to confirm the results. It is very suspicious since the bacterial count from the tap water increased dramatically when in fact water sources are regularly checked by PUB as stated on the first half of the documentary.
@@gjsoriano1 this wasn't meant to be a scientific study. it lacked the proper controls, including the necessary "B" sample to ensure consistent replication of the results.
Although the bacteria level might be high on filtered water, what he failed to disclose is that the impurities of other chemicals including heavy metals from corroded pipes could be harmful as such.
BTW: There is no such thing as 'activated carbon', there is such a thing as 'activated charcoal'. Activated charcoal is 'ordinary' charcoal that has been manufactured and processed to create a much larger surface area via its porous structure. Ordinary charcoal can be used as a filter but will not be as effective. Also, I would guess that Household 5 tests came about because they mixed up the tap and filtered water samples.
My wife and I had an apartment (in Boracay, Philippines) that came with a water filtration system. The owner assured us the filters were brand new... My wife and I both starting having bad diarrhea. When we realized we were both sick, we switched to tap water. We both got better right away. I would not trust a filter system unless I install and maintain it myself. 😎
Hi Tito Tim Travels. I have the same problem with the drinking water here in Pasig, Philippines. I found an UV water purifier I install and maintain myself. I can help you with this.
@@jeffjularbal9404 I am not sure how good the blue jug water is either... I know a few store owners that use store bought bottled water for their annual testing. But then they have also had the store bought water fail the lab tests. Bad water? Lying test centers? Welcome to the Philippines. 😎
@@jeffjularbal9404 it's a matter of maintenance that makes all the difference. Get yourself a cheap TDS-meter($2-3). If the reading of the filtered water is higher (more contaminants) than the incoming water, that indicates bacteria build-up in the filtration unit. If the numbers are very close, it means your filtration does almost nothing except taking out the chlorine with charcoal filter-stage. Only when the filtered water's reading is much less than that of the incoming water, like that of a new or well-maintained RO-system, is the filtered wafer safe for consumption.
The only reason why you should drink tap water is if you completely trust your government with your life. Otherwise, you need to filter possible contamination in the piping system. They are not perfect. They break down, they get repaired, and some particles like sand or other solid particulates do get introduced in the circulation from time to time. It's inevitable. You need atleast a 1 micron filter for that. And chlorine is an antiseptic like mouthwash. You wouldn't want to drink mouthwash, would you? Concentration is different, yes, but years of drinking chlorinated tap water is like drinking a bottle of mouthwash. You need a 0.5 micron carbon filter for that. When you take chlorine out after pushing it through the carbon filter, naturally there's nothing to kill the bacteria that gets into the water afterwards. That's where you put a UV Light filter to kill the floating bacteria instantly before the water comes out of the faucet. Any other bacteria that contaminates the water when you drink it will be killed by the hydrochloric acid in your stomach. And if some bacteria still survive after that, take a probiotic supplement regularly to balance out the bacteria population in your guts, and you'll be fine.
Great little documentary, please do more in relation to water. I see that information centered mainly around activated carbon filters and yes great to have the informative scientific studies. So long as you replace these filters within their specified time frames you should be fine. What about the anti bacterial Water filters with the KDF 55 media that helps prevent bacterial growth. Thousands of people enjoy the taste of filtered water in comparison to tap water. There is actually a taste difference with tap, filtered and boiled water. It can be a personal preference. Again nice episode 👍
I agree, but I wander if any of these carbon filters can be cleaned by back flushing with clean filtered water to extend the life of the filter and if so , have there been any lab testing how efficient this method is in renewing a carbon filter ? And is there a possible method and cleaning solutions that could be used to periodically clean carbon filters?
I never worried about public water quality until I was warned that there had been a chemical spill that had leached into the water system. After that I've only used filtered water but then I heard that commercial, filtered water wasn't really any safer than tap water. So I got my own water filter, which I found just removed the chlorine taste, and finally I purchased a Berkey water filter. I hope it really does clean my water as it is an moderately- expensive system plus it takes up counter space. But the water does taste better so I pay the price as I'm more willing to drink plain filtered water than plain tap water.
until you realize. public water have some traces of cocaine, heroine, birth control, drug etc in them. you know things that they don't talk about, so it doesn't cause panic.
My guess is that Household 5 had their internal water filter hoses connected wrongly i.e. the "filtered water" outlet is connected directly to the PUB source while the "tap water" outlet is connected to the filter output
I have to argue the point circa 17:06. Water is water. This is a ridiculous statement. Water is rarely just H2O. For instance, water molecules with deuterium on board are bigger, so a filter that can reduce deuterium can lower the average water molecule size. Deuterium is known to be carcinogenic as it can disrupt mitochondrial function.
not in our location. thats singapore, tap is clean there. tap here has bubble like a softdrink because of high amounts of arsenic. we need to do RO or distill it and re add the minerals for it to be drinkable
Singapore's water is very safe to drink off the tap. Interestingly Singapore doesn't have enough water for consumption but imports water from Malaysia. Water with high calcium and magnesium content are not so nice to drink but they are actually healthier and better for your body. As long as your water is clean, you need not add any minerals to it. You get minerals from the food you eat. You cannot live by drinking water alone.
Where are you from? The video here talks about the system used in Singapore. The waste water gets treated using RO system and is mostly use for industry, only during dry season then some are added into the reservoirs before getting the "standard" water treatment. You have any scientific data/proof to show that there are hormones/medicines/chemicals found in the water after it is treated? www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/fournationaltaps/newater
This was one of the most informative and unbiased videos on tap water and water filtration systems that I have ever seen. Thank you so much for keeping it real.
I'm not so sure. For one thing it will result in people with filters more frequently buying new ones. That would be the perfect result for the filter industry when, mostly, no filters are needed.
Although informative on some subjects, It left a lot of important information out of the tests, that could have drastically changed the view on the overall performance of the filters.
There are sometimes issues with old water pipes in some older areas of cities that can affect quality of water coming from municipal water pipes through old pipes from the street into individual dwellings.
The chlorine could slowly be released during sampling and transportation. While you should consider testing the samples at real time instead of keep it in a bottle waiting for long time for testing. Or the chlorine escaped alr. Like we cannot directly use tap water for our pet fish, must keep fresh tap water in container for at least 24hours before putting fish in it.
love watching talking point. i always see it on tv. this is especially important to know. glad that i could install fancy taps without getting filters. hopefully i could convince my parents that cloth filters is not needed..
I am a older American used to using the imperial system. It would be useful and a mind comparison if more shows used both imperial and metric systems when giving measurements. You show is very informative, thank you .
What an entitled mindset. American shows and content don't have any such consideration and keep using obsolete imperial measurements which does not cater for the rest of the world. Why should a Singaporean show adjust to you?
🙂 Bore water is the worst tasting water in the world. I had to drink it straight from the tap in outback Australian desert areas a few times and it was almost undrinkable. Hard water in the USA and UK is horrible too. Best water I ever drank was soft Scottish water.
I do have a number of digestion issues *BEFORE* I used a filter system. I mainly got a RO system to remove fluoride. I also use less fluoride toothpaste and I stopped getting soars in my mouth and I appear to have better digestion. I will still use my RO system and just stay regular with filters. Good to know you can't just install them and forget about it ...
this is kinda true because when I was having tap water to drink since it is said to be safe in Singapore, I also faced some digestive issues, and I think it has an increased level of fluoride. Then I started boiling water and I felt the difference after that and going to buy a faucet filter and heard that the Xiaomi one is better.
I use a water filter for drinking water for a couple of weeks each spring and fall. During those times the municipal water has an odd odor and stronger chlorine smell than normal. That is due to our water being sourced from a river and the turbidity (basically the amount of dirt mixed into it) is higher during those times. The filter reduces the odors.
When you say “ there is no evidence that it can prevent cancer” it is not the same as “there is evidence that it cannot prevent cancer”. Thus, you cannot say something is false because of lack of evidence to prove it.
8:00 Decrease in Calcium in filtered water is actually good. It is the calcium in tap water that leads to scaling in kettles, steamer, nespresso machine, fridge with water dispenser, dishwasher, and anything that stores water. For this alone, filtered water is worth it.
One thing onlu discussed at the very end was the difference in taste between tap water and filtered. I think that's too important for it to be an after-thought. Here in the UK some places I've lived the chlorine levels have been quite high and enough to ruin drinks such as coffee and tea. I much prefer when filtered water removes the "taste" of chlorine. This video seems to suggest filters don't remove chlorine levels so that's a puzzle. Once a large attack of algae struck the reservoir near our home so the tap water was extra bashed with chlorine and something that made the water taste of disinfectant. It was so bad that two local amateur beer brewers had a batch spoiled by this chemically polluted water. Maybe we should all be drinking bottled water from mountain springs that never taste horrible and have lots of minerals?
Thanks for this Exposé. I went to Uni in Adelaide, South Australia, lived there for 6 years. It is one of the driest state in Australia, the diest continet on earth. Yet the water supplied to the household are safe to be drunk from the tap and its free (for normal household use). I noe live in KL Malaysia. My elder brother was influenced by some savvy marketing, and bought the expnsive alkaline water filter system, and he recommends it, his body weight came down significantly over the years. I reserved my comment on the system. In 2019 he was hospitalised for gastro problem, then diagnosed with nancer stage 4, and died the nxt day the biopsy results was confirmed. My house tap water has a filter at the incoming due to old GI piping system that may have rusted. Otherwise I drink off the tap, but my wife insisting on boiling them.
@Mike See Actually the water sold from Malaysia to Singapore is untreated. Singapore treats the water at a cost of about MYR 2.40 for every 1,000 gallons but sells back to Malaysia at a subsidised price of MYR 0.50 per 1,000 gallons. So in Johor, the water treated by Singapore is safe to drink but because there are also other sources of water in Johor, and the maintenance of pipes, water tanks and infrastructure may not be that reliable, the water may not be drinkable straight from the tap.
@Mike See ya sg sell treated water back to Malaysia but don't take offence. Few years back my friend shower halfway the water came out of brown at desaru but I guess now it's better
They still didn't explain why the filtered water in house 5 was so clean. They just said "I would take a cautious step". And also, they only tested the charcoal based filters right? Shouldn't they test all types of filters with redundancy? I'm sure there's a study that has done that, I'd like for them to have referenced studies like that.
seem to me the sample was mislabeled the other way around. they didn't do a secondary sample set to verify so considering how the other people's homes samples were, i find this to be an experimental error result.
I live in South Dakota and we change the filter on the main water line every six months. We flush the main line by letting the water run into a bucket until the green color goes away. I have an extra filter in the fridge for drinking water. Yes we are on a large municipal system.
This Talking Point story does not address the high amount of lead in our water due to the corrosion from the old water pipeline. I have a ceramic water filter at home. Once every 3 months, I have to wash away the thick amount of lead (brownish in color) from my ceramic filter. Can CNA Insider ask PUB if it is safe for the public to consume lead from our tap water? If yes, what is the safe amount for us to drink? Thank you
www.pub.gov.sg/Documents/Singapore_Drinking_Water_Quality.pdf I don't know what you smoking cause a simple google search already led me to an official source that says the lead content in our water of 0.5µg is well below WHO guideline of 10µg.
@@Marcus-qw9sx Thank you for your unprofessional response. I don't smoke when I clean my ceramic filter every 3 months. I see a high amount of lead in my ceramic filter. If the amount of lead stuck in my ceramic filter is
@@switoyuber5872 It's the internet bruh, cant take it then dont use it. also, what makes you think that its lead? have you get it checked before? and if it really is lead, you think by now we won't see lead poisoning from drinking water cases in Singapore?
@@switoyuber5872 so you're filtering water for over 3 months and the lead content is high......... Hmm.... Yes.. You better think why the is 3 months build up of lead is higher than in the water itself. *p.s. The answer is the 3 months filtering*
This video makes it clear that you need to regularly change your filter cartridge. However, it doesn't mention the two primary issues in our water supplies around the world: 1. heavy metals from corroding / damaged pipes and fixtures, eg. lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic 2. Disinfection byproducts (Halogenated trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) are two major classes of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) found in waters disinfected with chlorine), which are linked to birth defects such as, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, gestational age and preterm delivery, as well as being mutagenic and carcinogenic; These are excellent reasons to always use a decent water filter, for most people. Also, bear in mind that all plastic-bottled water has many of the same risks of bacterial growth and carinogenic BPM/BPS contamination.
This is CNA tho, this is Singapore's local news channel... I'm not sure why US and other countries are watching this, because this definitely doesn't apply to them, I know for a fact that US water is way harder than ours, hard enough to kill delicate plants like sundews. FYI Singapore's tap water is potable, we can drink directly from the tap and some of us do with no detriment, but most of us like to play safe and get filters and water ionising machines or at least boil it first to get rid of chlorine. The water supply has already been filtered and treated before distribution and from the looks of it trihalomethanes in Singapore's water are below levels set by WHO Drinking Water Quality standards, according to official reports from the Public Utilities Board ( the official governmental body in charge of clean water supply)
Thank you for the great watch again steven! Just hoped this episode covered 1 more thing: the need for boiling water. I read once somewhere that if you boil water in singapore, it's essentially a waste of energy. But no worries!
Basically I boil water for taste rather than any implication about the portability of the water. I have sensitive taste buds and can tell the difference between boiled and tap water. HDB water tanks often affect the taste of the water due to the cleaning/disinfection maintenance process.
hey guys...we looked at this too but ran out of time in the show. Boiling does kill bacteria in the water but it does not remove any of the minerals. Those can only be removed through reverse osmosis. In fact, the concentration of minerals to water is higher because some of the water has evaporated during the boiling process!
very little information on filters that were being used to test. very poor comparasion between filtered and unfiltered water. Specailly taking into acount that water contains many more minreals that are hazardous than just chlorine and fluoride, such as aluminium, chromium, etc.. And cherry on the cake is that nowdays water contains parts of medicine in them, such as antibiotics, and painkillers which in long term can have negative effects. So, water fillters are maybe badly designed and maintained but waterfilter is not bad.
You can use TDS-meter to sort of tell if there's bacterial growth inside your unit. If TDS-meter gives higher values(dissolved impurities) in the filtered water than the incoming tab-water, that's the junk the bacteria produce in your unit. Changing filters and thoroughly washing the inside of your unit well will bring the numbers down to equal. A bit different for RO, say tab-water measures 180ppm and filtered water initially measures 10-20ppm (residual sodium chloride that leaks through the membrane). After a while, if filtered water measures 40-50ppm+, it's time to change filters and take out your RO-membrane for a total scrub (slimy, slippery is the feel of mucus the accumulated bacteria built on horizontally-placed drain-water. Vertically-placed RO-membrane has a lot less problem since drain-water doesn't back up in the RO-housing.
TDS measures dissolved ions (minerality, it does not measure organic matter, so the measurement will not tell you about "junk" the bacteria produce, since bacteria cannot produce minerals at all. It can however give you guidance of your filter's effectiveness and that tells you if it may be time to switch it earlier. I would switch a filter early based on TDS measurment but I would not keep the same filter past the time recommended based on TDS as it is not an effective measurement of organic growth.
@@MrRicmeme stick TDS into urine produced by organic human, the numbers will go into the thousands due to salts ionized in water. In any case even when TDS-numbers are low, filters should be changed at least once a year, or pulled out to remove the slime accumulated on them due to organic matters produced by the bacteria. Drain outlet should also be 'backwashed', i.e. operate the pump and RO-membrane without the flow-limiter on the drain, for a few monutes. RO-membrane should be pulled from housing and washed out the slime on it.
Just to clarify. This video is relevant for Singapore but each country and city in the world treat their tap water differently and under totally differenr regulations. Where I live in US I received twice (over the last year) a letter from the state, saying that my tap water provider violated the parameters of my tap water. I was happy to have my water filter... Not every country or local provider are like Singapore. Now imagine the need of water filters in developing countries where the tap water treatment plants are lacking of any maintenance protocols and routine tests.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I was happy to hear that our tap water is safe to consume, so happy that I started filling a cup of my own. Until I realized I didn't live in Singapore.
Once filtered water from a well, the taste isn't tasty.
.... let me guess, you live in flint.
In Canada our water was so safe, quite a few people died from drinking it. Even today, there are places without clean water.
Hilarious!
@@xeero24 ground water also varies in its quality at the same point on a daily basis. It sucks that we have to soften it and filter it. Had an experience of water suddenly turning bright yellow as I was rinsing a beautiful white t-shirt at a friend's place. They were using the same water for brushing their teeth and bathing. They filtered only cooking and drinking water. They didn't believe me, and I left it at that. No prize for guessing that they started to have health issues a few months afterwards. Lots of pathogens..and a whole laundry list of ailments.
This man took an argument with his wife over water filters to the next level...bravo.
That's true
With all the science & fact, one will still lose if the wife starts to shut up & give u blackface everyday
@@mnmldev8636 100% XD
next topic: quality of divorce lawyers and how to pick the right one.
He may won the arguments with scientific facts. But, at what cost? Spending a month sleeping on the second room, or worse, sofa?
i wish we had programs like this in usa. casual fun but still important news. instead of your typical sad, politics, or anything messed up news/documentaries.
@@corruptikoo2683 Don't worry, they make money off your views.
Same here in Israel luckily we've CNA UA-cam
they blatantly copied CBC, watch those instead, much higher standards in both quality and journalism
@@derrymd halo.. we are talking about water in singapore. Every country has its own water standard. Dont blatantly apply to your own country water.
@@burung81 I was not talking about water quality, but the quality of the video's content, and the level of journalism involved
in the US water quality standards are state-regulated so permissible levels of contaminants vary from state to state. and while filters shouldn't claim to prevent cancer, they can help reduce potential carcinogens such as haloacetic acids (a chlorination disinfection byproduct). i'm not an expert but i do work in a water chemistry lab. 👌🏻
I don’t know which part of America are you living. I don’t believe in tap water because it smell gas and the color is black I the city I live.
Not every city or every state in your country's tap water is safe. Maybe you're just living in a city with a good management on your tap water and your checking them out but this is not the same in every state. Some cities have this dark brown water from time to time
@@jahd5790 yep definitely and i never meant to imply everywhere in the US had great drinking water. just that it's not federally regulated which causes a lot of variance.
So what kind of water purifier should we use ?
I don’t trust anything that has government attach to it.
23:21 the answer you’re looking for.
You're a gem
Hahahahaha thank u
Always wondered why people buy such products.
Yea boi!
God bless you
If you only came for the answer: They are mostly not beneficial at all and can actually be a place for bacteria to grow which is worse than having no filter at all.
Thank you so much!
You saved people so much time. Thank you kind soul.
Very true, you can think of them as bacteria concentraters and mini bacteria farms. Especially if left unattended which is typical of a lot of home systems.
A good filter prevents all living pathogens from entering the water filter (the first layer of filtration, also used by the municipal water purification (which the document forgot to mention)
- I’d trust the old lady who works with real humans - more than a narrator that looks to disprove benefits of purification, - while not having fully experienced the difference/benefits due to ones own disinterests.
Even when he has it already available in his own home.
- I have chosen to purify my water for past 6 years, and know from personal experience the many benefits.
How about cleaning the house without a filter in the vacuum cleaner? Your body is your temple. You can make it pure and simple.
Or just simple - with tap water - fluorides IQ lowering - mind dulling effects are well documented by science - not well understood by this water lab. chemist.
Better water better wellness
Namaste
reverse osmosis maybe... get a berkey.
TBH, I do not think the tap water is the problem but rather, old piping systems.
That's what I think as well. But based from samples they got, it seems that the old piping reason is dismissable.🤷🏻♀️
one of the reasons is because the water is pressurized. So even if there is a crack in the pipe, water goes out, nothing comes in. They say just run the tap for a few seconds and all that stuff will get out
most HDB are 40+ years old and im quite sure the inside of the pipes look like this ua-cam.com/video/V1UHPtT6HFU/v-deo.html which is kinda disgusting to think the water you drink from passes through that. hence why i have a $250 filter.
Yes, exactly.
@@ainzooalgown7589 That only happens on terrible American plumbing system. PVC piping won't corrode and has practically infinite lifespan.
I have used a Brit filter (pitcher) for years. I am pretty reliable about changing filters but after watching this, will be much more vigilant and timely!
I live in California, and the lime scale is absolutely horrible over here. If I use the water in things like humidifiers and my hot water pot, the lime scale builds up really quickly. A water filter will greatly cut down on the lime scale.
I agree with the video, and the video is fantastic. Filters remove minerals, not add them. In fact, if it adds minerals, I'd be nervous. If my tap water was better, I would just drink tap water.
I also live in California and the tap water where I live is absolutely horrible, I personally believe a water filter is always needed.
Singapore is an example of a country that really cares about the health needs of its citizens
FGM happens there
Same sex is ilegal there… so they don’t care much bout its citizens
It really is on my "to travel to" list ❤️
So true!! I guess that's why they mandated the genetic bio weapon DNA changing COVID injection on their people
I wish they were so careful in the Netherlands
just what I need. Thank you CNA Insider
The filtration systems are not designed to increase the level of minerals relative to tap water. They simply replace the minerals that are stripped out during reverse osmosis.
When you want to tell your wife she’s wrong without telling her she’s wrong...
And probably get that thousand dollars back, 😂
AHahahha
🤣🤣😂
@@chloe9714 "this is the story where i proved my wife wrong and science backed me up" 🤣😂
good luck steve
One thing they only touched on briefly was the taste. I live rural, my drinking water comes from the roof of my house and large garage.
I would never drink this without the 3 stage filters I run, one at 5 microns is small enough to trap giardia.
When I go to work in town I can smell and taste the chlorine in the water supply.
I run a filter to get rid of that smell and taste.
After watching this video I will certainly change my filters more often though.
Water produced from water plant but where does all this water Travel Through? All the pipes . What is the Age of all these pipes and can someone Guarantee there is nothing contaminating from these pipes by the time water comes out of the water spouts in flats?
The video says the filter does remove some fluoride. And the pre-filtered water contains fluoride thats considered safe. Now, this brings to our mind the question : if something is "safe" should not be made "safer"?
Dallas, Texas have horrible tap water…my 87 yo mother have a habit of boiling a full kettle of water first thing every morning since she was a child. She’s healthy and never really get sick, no emergency hospital visit ever. And don’t need any medication for any health for her age.
That's combination of healthy lifestyle and genetics.... Not because of the water
Your mother is right boiling the water will kill away all kinds of bad bacteria and pathogens. Do remember , the French doctor teaching , Louise Pasteur .
I use a filter to filter out any remaining traces of dirt or any brownish substance from the tap then always boil the water before drinking till today .
Hi Sylver, most of asian only drink water after boiling. First time knowing your mum in Texas doing the same thing 😀😍
Your English is very bad for someone who has lived in Texas for all your life.
Living in Paris (France), I always drank tap water unfiltered, even though my mother would filter hers all the time: Paris's water is very hard. But I think that my taste buds become more sensitive as I age, it's the only explanation I've found for the water to start to taste.... off. So I've been using a water filter, and it's been efficient in extracting most of that extra calcium and making the tap water more palatable. I don't need to descale my kettle as much as before, another bonus.
I don't expect huge health benefits, but for my purposes my Brita does its job.
One of our greatest gifts in life is to be able to learn from each other. You guys are awesome
I am super happy to watch this video and in my whole life since youtube born, i gave only two likes in total, one is for this video. I love the hard work of the person who did all the research done. salute you man. 10 stars out of 10
There is a lot more to know than what this fellow addresses. Look into environmental medicine and research to get a deeper look at how we are affected by the widespread use of things not tested in this presentation.
The amount of information in this video is itself valuable to the public. The public should know how their basic amenities like water is produced, monitored and used. An informed and educated public is essential in making sure the government is doing its job properly.
As a chemist, Singapore's water is very very clean and all the minerals, the chloride and fluoride are all at safe drinking level. The thing that you might have be concern about is old pipes in older flats where there might be build-up of limescale or simply corroded. Changing out old pipes that have corroded will probably help you more than using a water filter.
"Safe levels" doesn't necessarily means healthy
Fluoride and chlorine have NO place in our tap water! There is NO safe level for harmful chemicals! ALL chemicals are harmful to the living body!
Back in the '70s I read a report done for the government. The final recommendation was it would be too costly to fix the US water systems and end user filtration/purification was offered as a solution. This video hand picks a few contaminants and tests low end filter systems. Water treatment is like a car... buy a Yugo, you get a Yugo. Buy a Bentley and you've invested in your future.
Another great programme from CNA and Steve Chia.
I have been drinking unfiltered water from the day I was born. I am 70 now and still kicking. Even using tap water to make ice cubes from the freezer. No problems in Singapore.
Imagine if they did these tests in India. They'd probably recommend double filtration.
Many indian city municipal water are high in quality, needs only UV and UF filter to ensure Pathogen free.
Nehi
maybe you need triple
@@Gouravkumar-xq2cl have these statement of quality been tested, if so, any link to that?
Just as if they tested the water in Mexico 😂😂😂
I still boils tap water before drinking... simple anti-bacteria approach that just works.
Thank you Steve and CNA for this program.
Straight from the tap, no wastages of gas, plastic bottles, carbon footprint.
Thank you PUB
Wouldn't you still eave a carbon footprint by buying the faucet in the first place? Drinking straight from the spring is the way to go!
@@CLOPACIOUZZZ yeah okay let's go back to the stone age.
Why wasn't the lab tested for heavy metals concentration in comparison to tap water? Also, the many different type of water filters out there.
Love this episode Steven however even thou PUB has treated the water it does travel thru various pipelines and water tanks before it reaches the home. That being said, the water quality varies from home to home. I do have a faucet filter and the filter does turn a rusty brown within 2 months of usage for supposedly clean Singapore water. As for the bacteria - boiling is still a must.
These videos are a real public service. Thanks for spreading health information to millions of people around the world. Greetings from Europe.
In a Country like Singapore I don’t think filtered water is important due to the good sanitation infrastructure but in developing countries it is a necessity. The government funded water is simply just not treated properly.
I would like the experts to provide results that our piping system all over the island generally and statistically does or does not affect the quality of tap water. These filters are used essentially because tap water could be contaminated by the old rusty pipe and hence the filter are there to remove these unwanted and dirty add on to the tap water. The test should collect sufficient data with tap water taken from various locations to be able to generate meaningful conclusion.
I believe household #5 results are reversed. Either he had mislabeled the water to be tested or the tester did. Because most household filter remove chlorine using activated charcoal, it's easy for bacteria to grow inside the tank. Remove the active carbon filter prior to the membrane and only have it at the last stage which is right after the water tank or/and add a UV(Ultra Violet) filter will help with this issue. A water filter system will taste way better than not having one.
It would be better if they showed us the results for impurities among the 5 samples as well, as having only 1 sample doesn’t look very fair. So we know that water filters can in fact increase bacteria growth, but were they able to do it’s basic job of removing contaminants at the very least?
LEAD CHLORINE & FLOURIDE ESPECIALLY
Filters only get the bacteria growth if installed improperly
Yea this kind of sucked for not showing all the results
Its Singapore with some of the best tap water and highest life expectancy in the world. There likely are no significant contaminents. Their biggest concern is taste from excess healthy minerals in their water while in the states we are dealing with high levels of Arsenic, Lead, Chromium 6 and other things in our tap water that are proven carcinogens. The life expectancy of people in the USA vs. Singapore is a joke to compare.
Good timing! Our country increased the levels of fluoride in tap water to 1mg per litre which is enough to make your head spin and your teeth rot. Remember, fluoride does not evaporate like chlorine- it concentrates the more you boil it and it stores in human body. So, I will be getting a water filter for this reason only (I don't believe in gimmicks like alkaline water or anti-cancer properties).
I recently got an alkaline filter. I set it up and drank a glassfull. I immediately felt like a veil peeled off of my body from head to toe. I also got a bottle from the store the other day. Delicious! I don't think it's a gimmick at all. All water tastes the same yet all different. Today you can be a water connoisseur. One day restaurants will have water sommeliers.
This was a very informative and thoughtful video. I’ve always wondered about if water filters actually works and this video helped to answer that question. Glad to know that most tap water is safe to drink!
That all depends where you live. Some communities have great tap water and others have terrible tap water containing high levels of lead, arsenic, and uranium.
Don't tell that to the people of Flint, Michigan. How clean your tap water is is highly dependent on where you live. Unless you live in Singapore, this video is largely useless.
I only use ceramic filter to filter rust from our condo metal water tank storage and clean regulary. It true don't remove the chorine which when boil will remove it. Also when water cut happen, a lot of rust and sediment are filter when water is restore. Good video will share it to my family and friend.
12:08 Alkaline water does not do anything for us. Our gastric acid is highly acidic at around pH 2. You can see from the litmus test at 11:58 that the water is only slightly alkaline. When the water goes into your stomach, it mixes with the highly acidic gastric juices, and the overall pH will still be highly acidic. No point.
Besides, our body regulates our blood pH at 7.4 strictly with pH buffers. We can't change our blood pH however we want by eating acidic/alkaline foods
Edit: ok i saw the later part of the video where Dr Leong debunks all these myths hahaha thumbs up! that's right our stomach juices are supposed to be acidic to digest food
Because of alkalinewater i always having uti
@TC G scam xD, just eat fruit and veggies with antioxidant
Right?! the same with cold water, people seem to think our body is not an extremely strict machine.
Our body strictly keeps our equilibrium of our inside, the moment something enters our body, our body immediately tries its bestest to change it to its strict standards.
Cold water entering your body? The moment it hits your stomach, your body automatically uses energy to change the water's temperature to 37 C which is the same as our inner temperature.
Alkaline water to keep your blood from getting acidic? Bullshit, the moment the "alkaline water" enters your stomach it gets instantly annihilated by the stomach acids bringing it to the regular pH of the stomach acid. and EVEN IF the alkaline water gets into the intestines, our body keeps a very strict blood pH levels, no matter how alkaline you inject your ass with, the body will use everything in its power to stabilize the blood pH level back to 7.4
@@randovid1 true, since our body normalizes the pH and temperature to its optimum condition for enzymes, cells, etc to work.
Current through water just created 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. That doesn’t create anything but two gasses.
i would love to see this program take place in different parts of the world where i think a filtered system is indeed safer to consume, take for example in Thailand :)
chlorien is not safe anyway, this program isnt promoting truth,
you cant find any proof of safety for chlorine,
spring water is healthy, but its owned by the people that want you drinking chlorine.
Yes, like here in Flint Michigan. We need filters
My water filter has the activated carbon upstream of the final filter which is fine enough to filter out bacteria and most viruses, so even if there is regrown bacteria, it will get filtered out.
Also tap water can be contaminated when the city pipe has to be repaired or the water tank at the rooftop has its regular cleaning, etc. The water filter serves as the last line of defence.
It’s imprudent to draw such across the board conclusions ignoring variations of filter designs and realistic situations.
Where are you located?
Here in Israel the water is very hard. In fact, without a filter, when you boil water the minerals are deposoted on the pot after one boil. Electric "hot pots" are particularly vulnerable and must be cleansed of mineral scaling quite often. Since I started using filtered water, my office and home hot pots have not had to be de-scaled in years. Yes, YEARS! When my husband developed kidney stones, I asked the doctor if the hard water could be responsible and he said yes. So, filtered water is a good thing.
Thr is no country Israel in world
Wait,I Know This Is Off Topic,But,Israel Has Trained Singapore's Armed Forces Right? Did Singapore Help Israel For The Water Crisis That Has Happened In Israel?
based on you statement, regular water filter is not enough, it's water filter that can "soften " the water!
You might be using a reverse osmosis system, or a water softener. Both of those work for hard water. Activated carbon filters not so much.
Filters won't do a thing for hard water. What you have is probably an ionic resin water softener. Maybe an RO system.
If it demands you occasionally pour salt into a hole somewhere, it's a resin water softener. If it needs a new cartridge from time to time, it's RO.
I’m thinking of buying a $2500 water filter machine . After seeing this video. I can save my money 😂
Me too!
Same not necessary a 2500 sgd one but a filter guess it's not needed, in tekong water got weird taste also never die hahaha
less than 100 Singapore dollar is price in India
tekong water is definitely some hardass water.
@@dongster529 😂😂😂more weird taste than our home tap water
Do test on pot boiled water and filter water.
I wonder why didn't include boiled water 🤔
@@dapdap8781 I think boiling water sanitizes it but doesn't remove impurities. It's like if you had dirt in your pot and you boiled water with the dirt - the dirt is still there.
boil water do evaporate the clorine if you boil it long enough, the bacteria count probably wouldn't improve because there no guarantee 100 degree water could kill all bacteria, probably from 5 to 1, it almost like wasting power for no reason, because you need a lot most bacteria to get into your gut to get sick
Steven has replied in another comment about boiling water:
Steven Chia: hey guys...we looked at this too but ran out of time in the show. Boiling does kill bacteria in the water but it does not remove any of the minerals. Those can only be removed through reverse osmosis. In fact, the concentration of minerals to water is higher because some of the water has evaporated during the boiling process!
@@silverbomb I’m new to this subject..why would you want to remove the minerals?
Not all countries have safe tap water. Congratulations to Singapore for achieving good healthy tap water. In Thailand where I live, we often have brown tap water, and the rivers have water that runs off farm land, with farm chemicals and animal faeces able to enter the water supply. City catchments can have industrial pollutants.
We find our triple filter with Ultraviolet bacteria control gives us clean and normal drinking water. In Australia we used a charcoal filtered water jug to remove the smell of the chlorine but the tap water was quite safe.
Water is often blamed for digestive upsets when the true cause is food handling and food storage.
In thailand i'd suggest an RO-filtration unit that filters out heavy metals and harmful chemicals like pesticides and fertilzers. One also needs a good-sized 3-tube pre-filters 1.Polypropylene PP to catch rust, mud, particulates in brown water 2.Carbon-block to remove smell and some toxic chemicals 3.Ion-exchange resin to remove hardwater and limestone.
Three-stage filtration is not enough to remove the toxic pesticides without reverse-osmosis filter. River water can be dangerous, causing blindness from worms like in Africa. UV is not sufficient to kill germs unless it's 35-40 watts up.
Here in San Francisco, the water smells like straight up bleach. It literally makes you very nauseous and sick. Really unbearable quite frankly. The activated charcoal filters makes the tap water taste so much better and saves a ton of money.
@James Karrie on household-unit, the uv-lamp is rated 6-9 watts which is to small to effectively kill bacteria. I prefer an ozonization unit to disinfect the germs. With chlorinated tab-water, removing chlorine prior to resin-stage is sufficient to avoid bacteria, except build-up in the waste-water line of the RO-membrane. This line needs to be flushed thoroughly every 3-6 months.
Chlorinated tab water is the most effective disinfection. Chlorine just needs to be removed prior to drinking, by carbon block, to avoid cancer and thyroid problems. I don't dare to filter brown, unchlorinated water, even with reverse-osmosis, without boiling before drinking. Bacteria and virus are very dangerous to take into your body. At least start filtering with chlorinated tab water...
@@jeschr3462 oh... I love the smell of swimming pool chlorinated water from kitchen tap in the morning 🤣
The water i used to drink had a pH about 6 (mineral water), but since my parents moved to a another place, the filtered well water (that has been boiled) has a pH around 8.
And it just so happen i felt like my stomach hurt alot more than it usually does when i eat late.
Ultraviolet rays kill germs, UV filter I always use for safety. RO not really advisable unless water may have many unwanted elements dissolved, RO takes out the useful minerals too.
That means boiling is the best option to eliminate those issues
There's company i believe in Omaha that makes water distillers. But one can figure if it takes 4-6 hours to make one quart water, plus the energy used. Maybe better off just to buy refill jugs ?
I use water filter mainly to remove rusts and debris. Then I will boil the water for consumption. I have been drinking boiled water for at least 20 years now.
Maybe the labels for the samples in household 5 were accidentally switched.
possibly, given the research study incompetence of the show's producers. however, i'd like to at least give them that benefit of the doubt because really, this anomalous result just raised more questions than answers, not helping their skewed documentary's cause. swapping the samples would be literally shooting themselves in the foot.
I would like to know the brand of water filter from household #5 I'd like to buy one
I have the same strong suspicion that the samples were wrongly labelled. How can the results be the exact opposite of the results from the other households?
True. I want to know if they made replicates of the tests (at least three) and did another sampling to confirm the results. It is very suspicious since the bacterial count from the tap water increased dramatically when in fact water sources are regularly checked by PUB as stated on the first half of the documentary.
@@gjsoriano1 this wasn't meant to be a scientific study. it lacked the proper controls, including the necessary "B" sample to ensure consistent replication of the results.
Although the bacteria level might be high on filtered water, what he failed to disclose is that the impurities of other chemicals including heavy metals from corroded pipes could be harmful as such.
I wanna live in Singapore! It's great how the city takes care of their water. Bravo!!
BTW: There is no such thing as 'activated carbon', there is such a thing as 'activated charcoal'.
Activated charcoal is 'ordinary' charcoal that has been manufactured and processed to create a much larger surface area via its porous structure. Ordinary charcoal can be used as a filter but will not be as effective.
Also, I would guess that Household 5 tests came about because they mixed up the tap and filtered water samples.
Great video! Always very well done! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
My wife and I had an apartment (in Boracay, Philippines) that came with a water filtration system. The owner assured us the filters were brand new... My wife and I both starting having bad diarrhea. When we realized we were both sick, we switched to tap water. We both got better right away. I would not trust a filter system unless I install and maintain it myself. 😎
Hi Tito Tim Travels. I have the same problem with the drinking water here in Pasig, Philippines. I found an UV water purifier I install and maintain myself. I can help you with this.
Uy kabayan! (Hey there fellow Filipino!) So its still better to buy in big plastic containers than in water filters installed in home water lines?
@@jeffjularbal9404 I am not sure how good the blue jug water is either... I know a few store owners that use store bought bottled water for their annual testing. But then they have also had the store bought water fail the lab tests. Bad water? Lying test centers? Welcome to the Philippines. 😎
@@jeffjularbal9404 it's a matter of maintenance that makes all the difference. Get yourself a cheap TDS-meter($2-3). If the reading of the filtered water is higher (more contaminants) than the incoming water, that indicates bacteria build-up in the filtration unit. If the numbers are very close, it means your filtration does almost nothing except taking out the chlorine with charcoal filter-stage. Only when the filtered water's reading is much less than that of the incoming water, like that of a new or well-maintained RO-system, is the filtered wafer safe for consumption.
That's right don't rely on others to take care of you do 4👍😀😊 self
I live in Pasir Ris, and my simple water filter attached to my water tap is dirty and cloudy as ever after a while. Maybe the piping is the issue.
The only reason why you should drink tap water is if you completely trust your government with your life.
Otherwise, you need to filter possible contamination in the piping system. They are not perfect. They break down, they get repaired, and some particles like sand or other solid particulates do get introduced in the circulation from time to time. It's inevitable. You need atleast a 1 micron filter for that.
And chlorine is an antiseptic like mouthwash. You wouldn't want to drink mouthwash, would you? Concentration is different, yes, but years of drinking chlorinated tap water is like drinking a bottle of mouthwash. You need a 0.5 micron carbon filter for that.
When you take chlorine out after pushing it through the carbon filter, naturally there's nothing to kill the bacteria that gets into the water afterwards. That's where you put a UV Light filter to kill the floating bacteria instantly before the water comes out of the faucet.
Any other bacteria that contaminates the water when you drink it will be killed by the hydrochloric acid in your stomach. And if some bacteria still survive after that, take a probiotic supplement regularly to balance out the bacteria population in your guts, and you'll be fine.
Great little documentary, please do more in relation to water.
I see that information centered mainly around activated carbon filters and yes great to have the informative scientific studies. So long as you replace these filters within their specified time frames you should be fine.
What about the anti bacterial Water filters with the KDF 55 media that helps prevent bacterial growth.
Thousands of people enjoy the taste of filtered water in comparison to tap water. There is actually a taste difference with tap, filtered and boiled water. It can be a personal preference.
Again nice episode 👍
I agree, but I wander if any of these carbon filters can be cleaned by back flushing with clean filtered water to extend the life of the filter and if so , have there been any lab testing how efficient this method is in renewing a carbon filter ? And is there a possible method and cleaning solutions that could be used to periodically clean carbon filters?
@@williamgrimberg2510 great question bc they are all encased in plastic, which adds to pollution issues, and they're not cheap to replace
I never worried about public water quality until I was warned that there had been a chemical spill that had leached into the water system. After that I've only used filtered water but then I heard that commercial, filtered water wasn't really any safer than tap water. So I got my own water filter, which I found just removed the chlorine taste, and finally I purchased a Berkey water filter. I hope it really does clean my water as it is an moderately- expensive system plus it takes up counter space. But the water does taste better so I pay the price as I'm more willing to drink plain filtered water than plain tap water.
until you realize. public water have some traces of cocaine, heroine, birth control, drug etc in them. you know things that they don't talk about, so it doesn't cause panic.
My guess is that Household 5 had their internal water filter hoses connected wrongly i.e. the "filtered water" outlet is connected directly to the PUB source while the "tap water" outlet is connected to the filter output
that would be very sad..household 5 been drinking tap water while thinking it is filtered water
Lol. You don't know what you are talking about. It doesn't work that way.
I have to argue the point circa 17:06. Water is water. This is a ridiculous statement. Water is rarely just H2O. For instance, water molecules with deuterium on board are bigger, so a filter that can reduce deuterium can lower the average water molecule size. Deuterium is known to be carcinogenic as it can disrupt mitochondrial function.
not in our location. thats singapore, tap is clean there. tap here has bubble like a softdrink because of high amounts of arsenic. we need to do RO or distill it and re add the minerals for it to be drinkable
Agreed. I like how lead wasn't even mentioned what-so-ever. Same for pfos and pfas chemicals as well as nitrates.
Singapore's water is very safe to drink off the tap. Interestingly Singapore doesn't have enough water for consumption but imports water from Malaysia.
Water with high calcium and magnesium content are not so nice to drink but they are actually healthier and better for your body.
As long as your water is clean, you need not add any minerals to it. You get minerals from the food you eat. You cannot live by drinking water alone.
Zero mention about the hormones and medicines & chemicals left behind in waste water that is passed out and then back into the water system..
Where are you from? The video here talks about the system used in Singapore. The waste water gets treated using RO system and is mostly use for industry, only during dry season then some are added into the reservoirs before getting the "standard" water treatment. You have any scientific data/proof to show that there are hormones/medicines/chemicals found in the water after it is treated?
www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/fournationaltaps/newater
This was one of the most informative and unbiased videos on tap water and water filtration systems that I have ever seen. Thank you so much for keeping it real.
I'm not so sure. For one thing it will result in people with filters more frequently buying new ones. That would be the perfect result for the filter industry when, mostly, no filters are needed.
Although informative on some subjects, It left a lot of important information out of the tests, that could have drastically changed the view on the overall performance of the filters.
I'm in the process of buying a new home and was considering putting a water filtration system in your video educated me thank you so much
There are sometimes issues with old water pipes in some older areas of cities that can affect quality of water coming from municipal water pipes through old pipes from the street into individual dwellings.
This is how review of a product / products should be done. It is really open your eyes about what is right or wrong. Good job!
The chlorine could slowly be released during sampling and transportation. While you should consider testing the samples at real time instead of keep it in a bottle waiting for long time for testing. Or the chlorine escaped alr. Like we cannot directly use tap water for our pet fish, must keep fresh tap water in container for at least 24hours before putting fish in it.
So true. 👍🏼 I even use that method when I sprinkle water to my plants.🪴🌷🌻🌼
love watching talking point. i always see it on tv. this is especially important to know. glad that i could install fancy taps without getting filters.
hopefully i could convince my parents that cloth filters is not needed..
I am a older American used to using the imperial system. It would be useful and a mind comparison if more shows used both imperial and metric systems when giving measurements. You show is very informative, thank you .
What an entitled mindset. American shows and content don't have any such consideration and keep using obsolete imperial measurements which does not cater for the rest of the world. Why should a Singaporean show adjust to you?
What brand did wendy use for her water filter?
My refrigerator has a water filter. The water is clean and tastes good. I replace the filter every few months.
I love my filter because it saves me money and I don’t have to keep buying bottles and having to deal with all the plastic.
This video constantly reminding us to stay hydrate.
This is my second time viewing this video because it is simply professionally made and the quality is top notch! Thanks.
The Household 5 is more likely wrong sample (accidently switched between tap & filtered).
Exactly!
Household 5: We sure they didn't just accidently mis-label their bottles?
Right??? I was suspecting the same!
Thinking the same too.
Actually they should test it again to confirm
I agree it is the most obvious explanation.
In US they need filters because their water is usually hard
Not here in Singapore
We can drink straight from the tap
Yes and no. It depends on where you live in the US. NY is known to have one of the best tasting water, while Flint will kill you
🙂 Bore water is the worst tasting water in the world. I had to drink it straight from the tap in outback Australian desert areas a few times and it was almost undrinkable. Hard water in the USA and UK is horrible too. Best water I ever drank was soft Scottish water.
I do have a number of digestion issues *BEFORE* I used a filter system. I mainly got a RO system to remove fluoride. I also use less fluoride toothpaste and I stopped getting soars in my mouth and I appear to have better digestion. I will still use my RO system and just stay regular with filters. Good to know you can't just install them and forget about it ...
this is kinda true because when I was having tap water to drink since it is said to be safe in Singapore, I also faced some digestive issues, and I think it has an increased level of fluoride. Then I started boiling water and I felt the difference after that and going to buy a faucet filter and heard that the Xiaomi one is better.
I use a water filter for drinking water for a couple of weeks each spring and fall. During those times the municipal water has an odd odor and stronger chlorine smell than normal. That is due to our water being sourced from a river and the turbidity (basically the amount of dirt mixed into it) is higher during those times. The filter reduces the odors.
When you say “ there is no evidence that it can prevent cancer” it is not the same as “there is evidence that it cannot prevent cancer”. Thus, you cannot say something is false because of lack of evidence to prove it.
This was so insightful and reassuring..... thanks and well done CNA!
It wasn't reassuring to me, they hardly tested for anything.
8:00 Decrease in Calcium in filtered water is actually good. It is the calcium in tap water that leads to scaling in kettles, steamer, nespresso machine, fridge with water dispenser, dishwasher, and anything that stores water. For this alone, filtered water is worth it.
HAHA so in order to save money you spend money, please go and show the +/- so that this can be quantified instead of just "is actually good".
One thing onlu discussed at the very end was the difference in taste between tap water and filtered. I think that's too important for it to be an after-thought. Here in the UK some places I've lived the chlorine levels have been quite high and enough to ruin drinks such as coffee and tea. I much prefer when filtered water removes the "taste" of chlorine. This video seems to suggest filters don't remove chlorine levels so that's a puzzle. Once a large attack of algae struck the reservoir near our home so the tap water was extra bashed with chlorine and something that made the water taste of disinfectant. It was so bad that two local amateur beer brewers had a batch spoiled by this chemically polluted water. Maybe we should all be drinking bottled water from mountain springs that never taste horrible and have lots of minerals?
Thanks for this Exposé.
I went to Uni in Adelaide, South Australia, lived there for 6 years. It is one of the driest state in Australia, the diest continet on earth. Yet the water supplied to the household are safe to be drunk from the tap and its free (for normal household use).
I noe live in KL Malaysia. My elder brother was influenced by some savvy marketing, and bought the expnsive alkaline water filter system, and he recommends it, his body weight came down significantly over the years.
I reserved my comment on the system.
In 2019 he was hospitalised for gastro problem, then diagnosed with nancer stage 4, and died the nxt day the biopsy results was confirmed.
My house tap water has a filter at the incoming due to old GI piping system that may have rusted. Otherwise I drink off the tap, but my wife insisting on boiling them.
13:44 pls take note that activated carbon doesn’t absorb, rather it adsorbs. Take note with the "D" there.
Good catch! I bet most people who see your comment would assume you're trolling.
@@beno94 they will if they lack knowledge.
Love all these informative content! Please continue to keep up the good work
This is great. I wish Malaysia had clean drinkable water straight from the tap.
@Mike See the water is "safe" to drink but nobody does that for various reasons. Do you?
Agree!!
@Mike See Actually the water sold from Malaysia to Singapore is untreated. Singapore treats the water at a cost of about MYR 2.40 for every 1,000 gallons but sells back to Malaysia at a subsidised price of MYR 0.50 per 1,000 gallons.
So in Johor, the water treated by Singapore is safe to drink but because there are also other sources of water in Johor, and the maintenance of pipes, water tanks and infrastructure may not be that reliable, the water may not be drinkable straight from the tap.
@Mike See ya sg sell treated water back to Malaysia but don't take offence. Few years back my friend shower halfway the water came out of brown at desaru but I guess now it's better
It is drinkable. According to SPAN(national water service commisison). Been doing so all my life
They still didn't explain why the filtered water in house 5 was so clean. They just said "I would take a cautious step".
And also, they only tested the charcoal based filters right? Shouldn't they test all types of filters with redundancy?
I'm sure there's a study that has done that, I'd like for them to have referenced studies like that.
seem to me the sample was mislabeled the other way around. they didn't do a secondary sample set to verify so considering how the other people's homes samples were, i find this to be an experimental error result.
I live in South Dakota and we change the filter on the main water line every six months. We flush the main line by letting the water run into a bucket until the green color goes away. I have an extra filter in the fridge for drinking water.
Yes we are on a large municipal system.
This Talking Point story does not address the high amount of lead in our water due to the corrosion from the old water pipeline. I have a ceramic water filter at home. Once every 3 months, I have to wash away the thick amount of lead (brownish in color) from my ceramic filter. Can CNA Insider ask PUB if it is safe for the public to consume lead from our tap water? If yes, what is the safe amount for us to drink? Thank you
www.pub.gov.sg/Documents/Singapore_Drinking_Water_Quality.pdf
I don't know what you smoking cause a simple google search already led me to an official source that says the lead content in our water of 0.5µg is well below WHO guideline of 10µg.
@@Marcus-qw9sx Thank you for your unprofessional response. I don't smoke when I clean my ceramic filter every 3 months. I see a high amount of lead in my ceramic filter. If the amount of lead stuck in my ceramic filter is
@@switoyuber5872 It's the internet bruh, cant take it then dont use it. also, what makes you think that its lead? have you get it checked before? and if it really is lead, you think by now we won't see lead poisoning from drinking water cases in Singapore?
@@switoyuber5872 so you're filtering water for over 3 months and the lead content is high......... Hmm.... Yes.. You better think why the is 3 months build up of lead is higher than in the water itself. *p.s. The answer is the 3 months filtering*
@@WasLostButNowAmFound Thanks for the advice. I am trying to build a practice of washing the filter every 3 months.
This video makes it clear that you need to regularly change your filter cartridge.
However, it doesn't mention the two primary issues in our water supplies around the world:
1. heavy metals from corroding / damaged pipes and fixtures, eg. lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic
2. Disinfection byproducts (Halogenated trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) are two major classes of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) found in waters disinfected with chlorine), which are linked to birth defects such as, low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, gestational age and preterm delivery, as well as being mutagenic and carcinogenic;
These are excellent reasons to always use a decent water filter, for most people.
Also, bear in mind that all plastic-bottled water has many of the same risks of bacterial growth and carinogenic BPM/BPS contamination.
This is CNA tho, this is Singapore's local news channel... I'm not sure why US and other countries are watching this, because this definitely doesn't apply to them, I know for a fact that US water is way harder than ours, hard enough to kill delicate plants like sundews.
FYI Singapore's tap water is potable, we can drink directly from the tap and some of us do with no detriment, but most of us like to play safe and get filters and water ionising machines or at least boil it first to get rid of chlorine. The water supply has already been filtered and treated before distribution and from the looks of it trihalomethanes in Singapore's water are below levels set by WHO Drinking Water Quality standards, according to official reports from the Public Utilities Board ( the official governmental body in charge of clean water supply)
When I see Steven, I click XD. Good to see your car back!
Great video. Do you happen to know of any portable/travel RO systems that are made in USA?
Thank you for the great watch again steven! Just hoped this episode covered 1 more thing: the need for boiling water. I read once somewhere that if you boil water in singapore, it's essentially a waste of energy. But no worries!
Agreed, and does boiling water destroy the minerals in the water as well? Would love for it to be covered in a follow up!
Basically I boil water for taste rather than any implication about the portability of the water. I have sensitive taste buds and can tell the difference between boiled and tap water. HDB water tanks often affect the taste of the water due to the cleaning/disinfection maintenance process.
Wondering too
Like to know this too
hey guys...we looked at this too but ran out of time in the show. Boiling does kill bacteria in the water but it does not remove any of the minerals. Those can only be removed through reverse osmosis. In fact, the concentration of minerals to water is higher because some of the water has evaporated during the boiling process!
I see Steven, I click Like even before start watching LOL
Agree, all his investigations are amazing insightfulness
Me too the only local show I watched.
thank you for your support! Am so glad to hear that!
Excellent content!
The best water I ever drank came from my deep drilled well of more than 300 feet. Now that I moved to city water, it is difficult to endure!
very little information on filters that were being used to test. very poor comparasion between filtered and unfiltered water. Specailly taking into acount that water contains many more minreals that are hazardous than just chlorine and fluoride, such as aluminium, chromium, etc..
And cherry on the cake is that nowdays water contains parts of medicine in them, such as antibiotics, and painkillers which in long term can have negative effects. So, water fillters are maybe badly designed and maintained but waterfilter is not bad.
Can do a Part II? Do we need to boil water?
Yes because it’s been working for us 100s of thousands of years 👌🏽
@Prasath IAS Also Indians who bathe in Gange river lol.
@Prasath IAS Hi Brother, you type too much. Next time just keep it simple. May the Dragons of Tiamat protect and guide you to the Jedi Light. :)
Boiled water can cause more concentration of heavy metals. facebook.com/watch/?v=825218408089456
You can use TDS-meter to sort of tell if there's bacterial growth inside your unit. If TDS-meter gives higher values(dissolved impurities) in the filtered water than the incoming tab-water, that's the junk the bacteria produce in your unit. Changing filters and thoroughly washing the inside of your unit well will bring the numbers down to equal. A bit different for RO, say tab-water measures 180ppm and filtered water initially measures 10-20ppm (residual sodium chloride that leaks through the membrane). After a while, if filtered water measures 40-50ppm+, it's time to change filters and take out your RO-membrane for a total scrub (slimy, slippery is the feel of mucus the accumulated bacteria built on horizontally-placed drain-water. Vertically-placed RO-membrane has a lot less problem since drain-water doesn't back up in the RO-housing.
TDS measures dissolved ions (minerality, it does not measure organic matter, so the measurement will not tell you about "junk" the bacteria produce, since bacteria cannot produce minerals at all. It can however give you guidance of your filter's effectiveness and that tells you if it may be time to switch it earlier. I would switch a filter early based on TDS measurment but I would not keep the same filter past the time recommended based on TDS as it is not an effective measurement of organic growth.
@@MrRicmeme stick TDS into urine produced by organic human, the numbers will go into the thousands due to salts ionized in water.
In any case even when TDS-numbers are low, filters should be changed at least once a year, or pulled out to remove the slime accumulated on them due to organic matters produced by the bacteria. Drain outlet should also be 'backwashed', i.e. operate the pump and RO-membrane without the flow-limiter on the drain, for a few monutes. RO-membrane should be pulled from housing and washed out the slime on it.
@@MrRicmemeTDS measures ions-charged particles that's either attached to organic or inorganic molecules, not necessarily minerals.
CNA has been putting out great content lately.
thank you!
Yes, i really like watching Steven's segments
Just to clarify. This video is relevant for Singapore but each country and city in the world treat their tap water differently and under totally differenr regulations. Where I live in US I received twice (over the last year) a letter from the state, saying that my tap water provider violated the parameters of my tap water. I was happy to have my water filter... Not every country or local provider are like Singapore. Now imagine the need of water filters in developing countries where the tap water treatment plants are lacking of any maintenance protocols and routine tests.