Lifestraw for drinking water in Turkey

I don't love the idea of disposable water bottles, but I value my health, especially while traveling. Considering how few European destinations require bottled water, your "sin" would be minor over your lifetime travel. Are you buying carbon offsets for your long flights? Do you travel with a water boiler? (I do, for my daily sinus washing. In China, I boiled it twice, and started with bottled drinking water. Did you get the suggested vaccinations?)

I'm not mocking anyone's sustainability feelings, but only talking about real life. I would not buy street food in Turkey either, no matter what Anthony Bourdain or Rick Steves said. I will say that when Abercrombie and Kent said, emphatically, I could use their ice cubes and eat their salad in East Africa, I took them at their word, and did not get sick.

I don't know about Lifestraw. I typically bring a personal water bottle with me and fill it at the breakfast buffets in the hotels, or ask the hotel staff to fill it for me. In some instances where that isn't possible, I have bought a large bottle of water and refilled my water bottle from that. It's still throwaway, but I think it uses less plastic than repeatedly buying single-use water bottles.

REI has lots of water filtration options, including LifeStraw and LifeStraw bottles, with information on what the different ones filter.
https://www.rei.com/c/portable-water-treatment

I'm like Tim, I don't beat myself up about a couple weeks. I took my meds/shots for the worst of just in case and just bought bottled water.
I would ask a doctor or scientist about the lifestraw, as I don;t know the technical answer, but remember you'll have to wash it.

I agree with the above posts. I guess you need to decide if you can override your feelings on disposable water bottles for two weeks in favor of your health. From what I can find online, Lifestraw …. “While effective against bacteria and protozoa, the filter's membrane isn't fine enough to catch viruses, and it lacks an activated carbon filter to remove dissolved chemicals.” AI generated. But your primary is probably your best source on prevention.

I have been to Turkey four times now and also own a lifestraw. For the volume of water you’re going to need to drink in order to stay hydrated while traveling in Turkey—a lifestraw is not going to be sufficient. It’s fine to use as an emergency backup during times when you’re in the American wilderness and have run out of clean drinking water. But relying on one to hydrate yourself with several liters of water coming from the tap in Turkey each day is not going to work well.

Note that lifestraws do not filter out all viruses, which means you won’t be fully protected from getting sick.

Thank you, everyone. I have found a Grayl water filtration / purification bottle that would work in Turkey, However, it’s $100, and is another thing to carry, and admittedly not as convenient as bottled water. So here’s my new question: Do restaurants and hotels use GLASS water bottles, which would hopefully be reused or recycled, rather than plastic? Or is it plastic plastic plastic? I appreciate your responses if you’ve been there. Thanks.

plastic can be recycled over and over too, is much lighter for shipping and handling, and doesn't break when chucked about.

So there are things to be said both ways.

You'll need to see if there is active and effective recycling of glass or plastic or both or none where you are going.

Sorry I don't know the answers to your questions.

So here’s my new question: Do restaurants and hotels use GLASS water
bottles, which would hopefully be reused or recycled, rather than
plastic? Or is it plastic plastic plastic? I appreciate your responses
if you’ve been there. Thanks.

I never saw glass water bottles at a hotel or anywhere else. Most larger hotels have some kind of filtration system for the water provided at breakfast buffets. Glass is heavy and water is heavy and that is simply not practical when it comes to efficiently distributing a lot of water. And by the way many locals also buy and drink bottled water. I appreciate your sustainability interest but the best you're going to do in Turkey is to buy large plastic bottles of water and use it to fill own bottle (which I'd suggest not be glass - too much opportunity to break).

BTW even if you had a stomach of steel, the taste of Turkish tap water is different than what you may be used to in the USA. Lifestraw or any other filter doesn't improve taste in my opinion.