Portable water filters for travel

Yeah, that white film is enough to drive one crazy. Not sure there's an easy fix but I can tell you what I do.

At home I use a baby bottle sterilizer (Bololo, which is well discussed here) with distilled water I pick up from the grocery store. No mineral deposits. When traveling I use the Drizzle ramen pot with distilled water as well, no minerals. Distilled water contains NTM but boiling eliminates it, so it is safe to use.

Like you I have a number of Life Straw products and a supply cabinet filled with backup filters. It's dizzying at times. The life straw product that I use most frequently is the 7 cup pitcher for water drinking. For equipment management distilled water. Hope this is helpful.

Hi, there! As a long-distance hiker, we carried Sawyer Squeeze filters long before I ever found out I had bronchiectasis and MAC. They do require a little hand strength to squeeze the water from the catch bag to through the filter, but they work beautifully.

They do make a filter for attachment to a tap, which would be probably what you would want. We've not personally used it, but I can attest to Sawyer being quality stuff, at least the versions we've used for years on trails.

Laurel

Hi All, I absolutely love traveling with the LifeStraw collapsible squeeze bottle. It microfilters 99.99% parasites and bacteria, with detailed product specs that specifically include “mycobacterium tuberculosis”, pseudomonas, staph, etc.
It collapses, weighs nothing and packs easily. I just keep refilling it and use it for everything, like brushing teeth, rinsing toothbrush, drinking, etc. There are 2 squeeze bottle (sizes, 650ml & 1 L) and they also have larger ones that hang and work off gravity. It’s always such a relief to know I have this with me.

Life Straw is a life saver for sure. The pitcher filter seems to trap the most stuff.
https://lifestraw.com/pages/compare

Other groups have suggested to remove the carbon filter on lifestraw products because "carbon filters are known to harbor bacteria growth". I inquired of lifestraw due to having BE and the worry about bacteria growth using the carbon filter and here was their response .... just in case anyone is wondering the same thing. I do love my lifestraw products. And yes, you do have to keep up with regular cleaning to ensure the best longevity for the filters. Hope this helps others
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Hi Kate,

Thank you for reaching out to LifeStraw support regarding your questions. I'll be happy to answer.

I apologize for the discomfort this situation may have caused.

We do not recommend removing the carbon filter.

As a two-stage filtration system, both filters work in tandem to achieve enhanced performance.

LifeStraw activated carbon + ion exchange filters reduce lead and other heavy metals and chemicals such as PFAS, glyphosate, and chlorine while enhancing water taste.

The activated carbon has been treated with specific processes to open millions of tiny pores between carbon atoms.

LifeStraw uses a unique, advanced formulation made of fiber instead of granulated carbon, which improves longevity and performance. The filtration process works via absorption - contaminants get trapped within the pore structure of carbon and adhere to surfaces.

The ion exchange component contains a resin with cations that are bound to the fibers and are not harmful. When liquids containing other solvent ions pass through the fibers, the dissolved ions in the water (such as lead and other heavy metals) are exchanged for the non-harmful ions in the fibers. As a result, harmful elements are trapped, and non-harmful ions are released, making the water safer to drink.

These activated carbon and ion exchange formulations are carefully designed to remove specific chemicals and heavy metals that are dangerous to human health while allowing other healthy nutrients (such as sodium, calcium, and magnesium) to pass through. The LifeStraw Ion Exchange + Activated Carbon Filter also has a unique formulation that maximizes the contact surface with the ion exchange and carbon fibers, thus enabling highly advanced performance in removing chemicals and heavy metals, as shown in the results of efficacy tests against more than 30 contaminants.

I hope this information of helpful for you.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need more information or require further assistance.

Have a nice day!

Victoria
Customer Support Associate

LifeStraw | Make a Difference with Every Sip
Every LifeStraw product purchased provides a child in need with safe water for an entire school year.

@kate2025 When you say "Other groups have suggested to remove the carbon filter on lifestraw products because "carbon filters are known to harbor bacteria growth..." would you mind telling us who this is, and whether they have the qualifications to make such a recommendation? There are a number of NTM/MAC/Bronchiectasis groups that take a general idea about something (eg bacteria in carbon water filters) and generalize it to all filters containing carbon.

There is a danger in not recognizing the difference between single-stage filtering through a carbon filter and dual-stage filtering through carbon first and a .1 or .2 micron filter second. The dual filter catches anything that might be released by the carbon filter in the second one.

We use a 2-stage filter at our kitchen tap to eliminate the need for boiling all of our water. It is used for drinking, cooking, washing nebulizer equipment, washing food and cleaning water bottles.

To all - as for the "white" or mineral residue, the only way I know to avoid it is to used distilled water for steaming/boiling equipment.

I don't know what group(s) may have made the statement but I could probably bet on one I know for certain. By far, Mayo has the most welcome, commonsense yet science based forum I've come across.
Lifestraw products seem to be extensively researched, gives back to others and work well.

I have a Lifestraw pitcher for every day use and a Lifestraw Go water bottle for when I'm out and about. My question to the group is, how often should I disassemble and clean the pitcher and bottle? And what do I do with the filters during cleaning? Thanks!

I have a Lifestraw pitcher and straw but was informed after an AI google search that Lifestraw does not include MAC in terms of guaranteed removal. I have MAC so I discontinued using them. 😒

@ana323 I have been using the Lifestraw pitcher for almost a year. I thought, from reading earlier posts and listening to NTM webinars, that MAC was filtered out. I have MAC, and have already had pneumonia three times this year - still recovering from the latest episode in late September.

I just found a question on Amazon which posted on 12/26/20 regarding this. "Does this pitcher filter out Mycobacterium Avium? If so, for how long?" The response from the Manufacturer stated "Our products do not filter Mycobacterium Avium, but it does filter Mycobacterium tuberculosis."

So, now what? Should we just drink Spring water and forget about the Lifestraw pitcher which is expensive and time consuming to maintain?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Or, proof that the filters work for removal of MAC?