How do you use the Bololo?

@bernadene24 I'll double check with him. I think he did, but maybe I didn't hear correctly. I though most issues were in the warm water. I emailed him. I just reviewed a couple papers he did and he didn't say that, so I may have misheard. I listened to a lot of info while I was getting diagnosed a couple years ago and definitely got the impression it was more the warm water in showers and taps that was biggest issue. I've been rinsing food in cold water since then. In the email, I specifically asked about rinsing food and equipment in cold (after equipment soaped in hot).

Question about the Bololo: do you use or keep in place the round white baby bottle holders? Or do you remove them? Do you use the accessories tray in addition or only the large tank?

@bernadene24 I'll double check with him. I think he did, but maybe I didn't hear correctly. I though most issues were in the warm water. I emailed him. I just reviewed a couple papers he did and he didn't say that, so I may have misheard. I listened to a lot of info while I was getting diagnosed a couple years ago and definitely got the impression it was more the warm water in showers and taps that was biggest issue. I've been rinsing food in cold water since then. In the email, I specifically asked about rinsing food and equipment in cold (after equipment soaped in hot).

@pacathy @bernadene24 Yes, Dr. Falkenham does not believe that there is a problem with cold tap water. He also has said that Spring Water is fine but then again there are so many factors, especially today, that makes me even leery of Spring Water....like what Spring does it come from....how and what way does it get to us as Spring water.?
It is the temperature of the water and what temperature it reaches etc.....that can cause the growth of bacteria.
As you probably know bacteria grows in warm temperatures and that is why hospitals etc. keep the temperatures low.....hoping to avoid bacteria and infections.
Now, you mentioned a condo.....verses a single stand alone residence. I think, in my unprofessional opinion, there might be a difference....don't know.
Sorry to put that thought out there but there are things that nobody knows definitively.
Do what your gut tells you to do....as they say.
Do you have a exhaust fan to help remove the steam so not to affect other things around the area you boil the water? I boil mine in an area where I can release the steam to the outside and garage.
Barbara

Question about the Bololo: do you use or keep in place the round white baby bottle holders? Or do you remove them? Do you use the accessories tray in addition or only the large tank?

@pacathy Thank you so much. I really appreciate your efforts. Is there a way to connect with Dr. Falkenham directly? I was looking on the NTMIR site to see if there was a group similar to Connect where he might participate, but I didn’t see anything.

@bernadene24
My understanding is that he does sometimes participate in the NTM IR site. Not sure how often.

A couple thoughts-
As Barbara said, NTM, like most bacteria like warm and thrive in hot water heaters and lines, leading to higher concentrations.
He has said hospitals and apartment building have higher concentrations.

However, infections are somewhat dependent on dose/amount of exposure to the pathogen. IMO, rinsing fruits and veggies in cold water would be low risk because of low volume of the water consumed. Most experts suggest boiling or filtering water we drink because it's a higher volume. Equipment is trickier because there are so many variations. If you’re sterilizing by boiling 10" or Bololo or other approved method, rinsing after soaping and then sterilizing should be fine.

Have you water the Honda video on living with MAC? She covers a lot.
https://m.youtube.com/watch

Question about the Bololo: do you use or keep in place the round white baby bottle holders? Or do you remove them? Do you use the accessories tray in addition or only the large tank?

@bernadene24 I'll double check with him. I think he did, but maybe I didn't hear correctly. I though most issues were in the warm water. I emailed him. I just reviewed a couple papers he did and he didn't say that, so I may have misheard. I listened to a lot of info while I was getting diagnosed a couple years ago and definitely got the impression it was more the warm water in showers and taps that was biggest issue. I've been rinsing food in cold water since then. In the email, I specifically asked about rinsing food and equipment in cold (after equipment soaped in hot).

@pacathy This is what I found from a post on January 31, 2023. Dr. Falkinham replied to a group member asking about hot water temp and he also mentioned municipal water supplies.

Posted by thorne @thorne, Jan 31, 2023

I had an email exchange with Dr Falkinham (the scientist who does all the work on exposure to NTM, especially in water sources) asking whether raising the temperature of the home water heater meant you do not have to use special filters or shower heads. As much as I have read this (and the NTM) forums, I did not understand the answer to this. It seems like so many people on here are only doing tub baths (me) or buying special and replacing special filters or shower heads. His reply is below and would indicate that we don't need to make any of those other changes if we raise our water heater temperature to 130 or above. This seems like such as easy fix compared to all of the other undertakings.

Dear Tamara:

Thank you for your reply and request for further information.

In a study of Philadelphia suburb patients, we discovered that raising the water heater temperature setting to 130 F or higher led to the disappearance of Mycobacterium avium from samples of household water, including showerheads.

That might surprise some as a showerhead will be delivering both heater (hot) and unheated water (cold). Yes, the source of water from the water heater is cold water, but in most municipalities the water delivered to homes has low numbers of NTM. My colleagues and I believe that the water heater is where NTM grow and are mixed with the cold.

We haven't tested "tank-less" or "instant" water-heaters, but logic suggests there should be no growth of NTM, as those water heaters don't have a large tank.