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Ceramic filters are very common in Brazil, used in clay recipients which also keep the water cool even in summer without spending energy. https://g1.globo.com/
by cassianoleal 2mo ago
Ceramic filters are very common in Brazil, used in clay recipients which also keep the water cool even in summer without spending energy.
https://g1.globo.com/saude/noticia/2026/03/14/filtro-de-barro-brasileiro-e-o-melhor-do-mundo-segundo-especialistas.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/saude/noticia/2026/03/14/filtro-de-barr...
- weinzierl 2mo agoThis and the low-tech electrical shower-head are the two everyday Brazilian things that never cease to amaze me.
- mlinhares 2mo agoBeing poor sucks but at the same time being poor also makes you find alternative solutions to the incredibly expensive solutions first world countries use today. I really wish Brazil can invest heavily into renewables and free itself from oil and electrify even more of everything we do.
- m463 2mo ago> electrical shower-head Is that for electrically heated water? I know that in the US on-demand electric water heater uses an enormous amount of electricity, like 100 amps.
- kawera 2mo agoBrazilian electrical shower-heads use 20 to 30 amps max.
- dtgriscom 2mo agoAt what voltage? (I understand Brazil has districts with both 127V and 220V mains.) https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/brazil/ https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-co...
- kawera 2mo agoHomes on districts that use 127v also have a second phase for 220v, mainly for shower heads, electric ovens, etc. Commercial property always have 220v.
- idiotsecant 2mo agoThen they don't heat same volume to same temp, it's thermodynamics
- culi 2mo agoYes but they are also less efficient because they don't have point-of-use placement
- m463 2mo agowow, 20-30 amps at the shower head... that sounds a little frightening point-of-use electrocution
- idiotsecant 2mo agoReasonably safe with ground fault circuit interruption.
- hei-lima 2mo agoMostly in rural regions, but the 'filtro de barro' water from your grandma's house beats ANY expensive filter you can get, haha!
- cassianoleal 2mo agoAgree! The water is so fresh and tasty out of them!
- hliyan 2mo agoSri Lankan here. We've had this type of ceramic filter here for at least 35 years: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0182/4859/7582/files/Ultraceram-diagram_1024x1024.jpg https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0182/4859/7582/files/Ultra...
- graemep 2mo agoDefinitely. I think considerably more. I have seen the ceramic ones that seem to be a design that goes back to Victorian ones. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_water_filter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_water_filter In the Sri Lankan context filters are more important than ever, but I think activated carbon ones? Water is (heavily, I think!) chlorinated but pollution is pretty bad.
- cassianoleal 2mo agoOh yeah I never claimed it was new tech. I can say with some certainty that it's been popular in Brazil for a lot longer than 3 or 4 decades!
- culi 2mo agoUsing clay to cool water in the summer is actually the original purpose of olla pots in the Southwest. They cool the water through evaporative cooling Andy Ward demonstrated this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBos0j0FszU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBos0j0FszU
- hdjrudni 2mo agoDoesn't that imply you're losing water?
- cannonpr 2mo agoYes you are losing water but the phase change energy of water is immense, very little needs to be evaporated comparatively for immense cooling.
- WJW 2mo agoYes it does. But it might be worth it if you have more water than cooling capacity, or if you have an otherwise very dry house that you'd want a little but more humidified.
- ASalazarMX 2mo agoGrandparents used to have this. The outer surface of the pot is detectably moist, but not by much, the water level wasnt noticeably lower by the end of the day, I'd say much less than a single cup. Their climate was very dry, crack-your-skin-dry, I don't think it would work as well in a humid environment.
- thesz 2mo agoThe cooler water gets, the less vapor it creates.
- SwtCyber 2mo agoThe passive cooling is almost as clever as the filtration
- smusamashah 2mo agoThis sound like Ghara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghara which is very common in rural areas in subcontinent. It keeps water cool in summer. It gives water a very nice earthy taste. Ghara is usually paired with a clay bowl to drink water. If you can buy a clay bowl or glass, get it and keep water in it on your side and drink from. It will be cool and will have a very nice earthy flavour. But not all clay pots are same quality. Some are not very porous and won't cool the water or give you different taste.
- lukan 2mo agoBut there is no filter in the Ghara?
- smusamashah 2mo agoCorrect, it does not. It is to keep water cool using similar (or may be same) principle. We also now have similar water tanks with taps (we call them coolers) made of clay. They don't filter but are made with similar stuff as a ghara only shaped like a tank with a tap like those Brazillan ones in parent's link.