Thread: Why do Thai people think rain water is dirty....

so I noticed ground water is not good or very tasty (mineral impurities...)... no alpine spring water...
but I noticed thai people do not collect rain water and don't like to drink it they also think its dirty.. and ive noticed some will insist you take a shower after getting rained on instantly..

when ive questioned this fear of rain they have or dislike of rain water.. they alway will say its dirty.. but have not more to say.

anyone else notice this and what have been your observations..

some superstition or old wives tale or something that has caused this...

No it's not dirty. They believe that getting ones head wet in the rain will cause you to catch a cold. But it's okay to get ones head wet in a shower. They drink the rain water which they store in those big water jars you see dotted about. The well water is used for the land and only drank if put through an osmosis filter.

My missus told me the other day that when she was a little girl her mother wouldn't let her eat water-melon if she had a cold. It was/is believed it make your cold worse.

If indeed you've spent ANY time around the ever smiling yet, diminutive, indigenous natives of the glorious "Land 'O Thaiz", you'd notice the second it begins to sprinkle they will do anything to cover their heads from getting wet...

I've seen more thaiz than I can count wearing plastic 7/11 bags on their heads, holding soggy newspapers, and even seen a LOT of thai women wearing their purse on the top of their heads with the strap under their chin!

These people have a HUGE phobia for getting water on their heads, which is strange; because even Bangkok (with the fewest days of rain per year) has 100 days where it'll most likely rain. Oh just an FYI; Phuket has most rainy days per year at 175.

The second thaiz get their heads wet by rain they'll shower as soon as they can.. They'll also "get sick" and start to take meds, although this is mostly psychosomatic NOT really that they're getting sick. They're just strange like that..

Anyway, that's all I got on it..

Rain water out of necessity falls through the air on the way down. The air can and often is, full of dirt of one kind or another, so the rain is contaminated on the way down. It probably tastes better, and is likely less contaminated than the ground water, depending of where you live.

I'd be inclined to filter and treat drinking water from any source in Thailand because of the amount of air pollutants and general dumping of all kinds of shit into the waterways and on the land. Even municipal supplies are suspect because although the water may be adequately treated at the purification plants, it's then often pumped through a delivery network of pipes that leave a lot to be desired....again depending on where you live.

Originally Posted by crazynoonga

but I noticed thai people do not collect rain water and don't like to drink it

Perhaps you have been mixing with the wrong Thais. Get about the country a bit more. Try rural villages. Some Thais certainly do collect rain water and drink it.

Yes I would agree Kman and TBH weighing up the odds of what drinking water costs and the possible consequences of drinking polluted water , for me its a no brainer

My friend and his Thai wife live next door to a Temple/crematorium.She wont drink the rain water as she say's " It has ghost's in it "

Originally Posted by boloa

My friend and his Thai wife live next door to a Temple/crematorium.She wont drink the rain water as she say's " It has ghost's in it "

Living downwind from a battery recycling plant or lead smelter would likely be much worse, but ghosts in your drinking water are not to be taken lightly either......

There are plenty of people in rural villages storing and drinking rain water...although it's getting less common these days. The problem with low levels of contamination from air pollutants is that they are probably not going to make anybody sick in the short term. Some bad stuff can accumulate in the tissues from drinking water with low levels of toxic contamination, over time. This can cause serious diseases to materialize. That's the main concern. A lot of Thais in rural villages have had their lives shortened substantially, due to ingesting poisons of various kinds over long periods....in total ignorance of what they were taking into their bodies.

A glaring example being the liver flukes caused by eating raw fish. The flukes cause a breakdown of the liver and premature death. Very widespread problem in rural areas, until the medical establishment finally started a campaign to educate them about the dangers of eating one of their favorite dishes.....

Originally Posted by boloa

My friend and his Thai wife live next door to a Temple/crematorium.She wont drink the rain water as she say's " It has ghost's in it "

My daughter suffered from ear infections. It's taken years to cure the problem and my MiL genuinely wanted to find a pregnant woman to spit into our daughter's ear truely believing that would cure it. Bless her.

They happily collect and drink rainwater in our area. They don't touch the water that comes off the roof because it will be dirty but that's the only caveat I've heard of. They also like the taste of the water from the deep water well.

If you do a bit of Googling most sites will tell you rainwater is safe to drink. ( You don't want to drink rain water from hot radioactive sites, like Chernobyl or around Fukushima though )
I have a few rules I keep to
#1 Clean your urns /tanks every year.
#2 Wait until the rainy season is in full swing before you start collecting.
#3 What for at least 30 minutes of very heavy rain before you divert your your plumbing to your storage tanks,this allows for your roof and guttering to have a good flush through .

Then......free drinking water for the whole year .

Most of the dams where the drinking water comes from are filled with catchment rainwater, yes.

Not necessary. They could be natural springs ie ground water.

Originally Posted by boloa

If you do a bit of Googling most sites will tell you rainwater is safe to drink. ( You don't want to drink rain water from hot radioactive sites, like Chernobyl or around Fukushima though )
I have a few rules I keep to
#1 Clean your urns /tanks every year.
#2 Wait until the rainy season is in full swing before you start collecting.
#3 What for at least 30 minutes of very heavy rain before you divert your your plumbing to your storage tanks,this allows for your roof and guttering to have a good flush through .

Then......free drinking water for the whole year .

How do you stop the sparrows and Mynahs from crapping on your roof which is then washed into the gutterings and then into your water butts?

^^Ya mean rain doesn't fall into those, yes?

Originally Posted by Hans Mann

Most of the dams where the drinking water comes from are filled with catchment rainwater, yes.

The dam were I used to live which provided the whole village with water was often used by water buffalo and cows to piss and shit in, plus they used the slopeing concrete side as a pickup and motorbike washing area , at about 12 baht (delivered) for a large 20 litre bottle I would think its somewhat risky to drink water from the tap or rain butt here in Thailand especially when treated water can be bought for peanuts .

My former landlord in Patong had my house fitted with full gutters leading to a down pipe which led to a tank where it joined the other 3 tanks in passing through the filter system and thence into the water used for showers etc. Yes, he was Thai.

Originally Posted by piwanoi

Originally Posted by boloa

If you do a bit of Googling most sites will tell you rainwater is safe to drink. ( You don't want to drink rain water from hot radioactive sites, like Chernobyl or around Fukushima though )
I have a few rules I keep to
#1 Clean your urns /tanks every year.
#2 Wait until the rainy season is in full swing before you start collecting.
#3 What for at least 30 minutes of very heavy rain before you divert your your plumbing to your storage tanks,this allows for your roof and guttering to have a good flush through .

Then......free drinking water for the whole year .

How do you stop the sparrows and Mynahs from crapping on your roof which is then washed into the gutterings and then into your water butts?

Thats why you wait for 30 minutes for the heavy rain to clean the roof and give the guttering a good flushing .

Originally Posted by crazynoonga

so I noticed ground water is not good or very tasty (mineral impurities...)... no alpine spring water...
but I noticed thai people do not collect rain water and don't like to drink it they also think its dirty.. and ive noticed some will insist you take a shower after getting rained on instantly..

when ive questioned this fear of rain they have or dislike of rain water.. they alway will say its dirty.. but have not more to say.

anyone else notice this and what have been your observations..

some superstition or old wives tale or something that has caused this...

I'm guessing that your experience and exposure is highly limited [like many here], yes....??

Originally Posted by boloa

Originally Posted by piwanoi

Originally Posted by boloa

If you do a bit of Googling most sites will tell you rainwater is safe to drink. ( You don't want to drink rain water from hot radioactive sites, like Chernobyl or around Fukushima though )
I have a few rules I keep to
#1 Clean your urns /tanks every year.
#2 Wait until the rainy season is in full swing before you start collecting.
#3 What for at least 30 minutes of very heavy rain before you divert your your plumbing to your storage tanks,this allows for your roof and guttering to have a good flush through .

Then......free drinking water for the whole year .

How do you stop the sparrows and Mynahs from crapping on your roof which is then washed into the gutterings and then into your water butts?

Thats why you wait for 30 minutes for the heavy rain to clean the roof and give the guttering a good flushing .

Really ? so after 12 months you do not have to clean about an inch of sediment /shit from the bottom of your rain butt before the next rainy season?which you BTW have already admitted too

Known scores and scores of folks that have been taking cycled rain for generations without ill effects....

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by crazynoonga

so I noticed ground water is not good or very tasty (mineral impurities...)... no alpine spring water...
but I noticed thai people do not collect rain water and don't like to drink it they also think its dirty.. and ive noticed some will insist you take a shower after getting rained on instantly..

when ive questioned this fear of rain they have or dislike of rain water.. they alway will say its dirty.. but have not more to say.

anyone else notice this and what have been your observations..

some superstition or old wives tale or something that has caused this...

I'm guessing that your experience and exposure is highly limited [like many here], yes....??

Jeff, you're being a little hard on others that started learning after yourself.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Known scores and scores of folks that have been taking cycled rain for generations without ill effects....

Quite true, millions of Thai's on Motorcycles turn right on the wrong side of the road or ride without lights at night or overtake on the brow of hill were its totally impossible to see whats coming on the right side of the road and are still alive today , just what does that prove? does it make it right