Question from TA

I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for how to have access to pure water while away from home. On a road trip, I’d probably try to just bring as much water from home as possible, since we have the Pure Effect under-sink filter.

But even on a road trip, there is only so much space in the car and we’d need a good bit of water if we’ll be away for a week or so. And when traveling by plane, it doesn’t seem possible to bring any of our water from home, other than what can be consumed on the way to the airport, since we can’t take it on the plane. If traveling by airplane and staying at our destination (or several destinations) for several days to a week or more, what are the best options for getting pure water?

In the past I have used the Berkey sport bottles, but they require a fair amount of effort to get the water out of the bottle and don’t allow me to drink very much at a time. And they’re plastic and don’t get rid of fluoride. They’ve served their purpose on more than one occasion for me, but I’m looking for other options.

I’ve considered getting a small countertop filter (I think I saw one specifically for travel once), but when carrying that or a travel-size Berkey water filter, they do take up a fair amount of space in luggage.

I’ve seen pieces of charcoal/carbon that can be placed in water to absorb the toxins out of the water, but I don’t know if this is a great option or not. (Does it do a great job? Would it take longer than is feasible when we need water available throughout the day, etc?)

I saw this product, but it looks like it only filters chlorine and taste/odor issues, but there’s a whole lot more I’d like to remove from tap water besides chlorine.
www.everydropwater.com/product-details.html

So I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for accessing clean water away from home in a way that doesn’t take up half of a suitcase, and that filters as much as possible. I realize there probably aren’t any options that do the same quality job that our Pure Effect filter does, but what is the next best thing when away from home? And is there any travel-friendly option that removes fluoride? I’d rather not give my toddler fluoride at all.

On my last trip, I got some reverse osmosis water from one of those dispensing machines at a health food store. I believe we got a 2.5 gallon plastic jug and filled it up from the machine, and I added mineral drops to each glass. But the water didn’t taste great – I think because of the plastic jug. And I’m not sure that adding mineral drops is really enough to correct what is done to the water through the RO process.

We also bought some glass bottles of spring water on that trip, but that gets very expensive very quickly!

Debra’s Answer

Great, great, great question! And I wish I had a good answer.

The small filters you mention, such as the charcoal and everydropwater.com remove chlorine and maybe chloramines, but they are very limited. They are better than nothing, but no match for your Pure Effect filter.

Readers, what do you do for safe water when you travel?

I asked Igor Milevskiy at www.PureEffectFilters.com your question and here is his reply:

The travel size filters that I’m aware of on the market cannot be as effective as the Pure Effect system she has, this is due to the generally small size of the travel filters not allowing room for much of the necessary filtration medias required for thorough and wide range filtration.  Another problem with smaller / bottle style filters is that they tend to be more prone to bacteria and fouling issues, due to standing water and constant exposure to human contact and air.  Also, after the water is filtered, it sits in the plastic reservoir, where it can absorb plastic chemicals.

That being said, I can recommend she take our CLASSIC system with her into hotels or places where she can hook it up to a faucet.  This is our 2 chamber mid-size system that’s not as large for packing and taking with you as the ULTRA system.  Also, because it’s only a 2 chamber system, she would need to swap in whatever cartridge is most needed (e.g. Fluorsorb Cartridge if she’s going to a place that fluoridates water, or AntiRad-Plus cartridge where radiation is more of a concern, these are the two cartridges she can choose for that second chamber… the SuperBlock carbon block should always be in the first chamber).

Here is a link to the Classic system, it weights apx. 11 lbs, and may be easier to pack than other systems she mentioned, since it’s only 6″ thick/deep: 10″ (Width) x 12.5″ (Height) x 6″ (Depth):

www.pureeffectfilters.com/filter-units/the-pure-effect-classic.html

The “drop in” charcoal sticks or tablets (coconut shell derived carbon is best) can be good for short term situations like in an airplane, however, they can become fouled and grow bacteria sooner, and should be disposed of within a few days of usage.  Also, it’s important to know the source of the carbon, and it’s best if it’s NSF or WQA Certified.  I’ve seen some carbon sticks from Japan, and I’m not sure if they may have already absorbed any radiation from Fukushima (e.g. Iodine-131, which is absorbed well by activated carbon), or other impurities.

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