[pct-l] water treatment - Clorox

[Campy]

Seems that Clorox did add a whitener, but I think its still primarily  
sodium hypochlorite - it sure smells like it.

The water to be treated which is listed by Clorox is (potable) water,  
not wilderness water. Organisms which are listed within http://www.clorox.com/products/faqs.php?prod_id=clb 
  don't include any of the protozoa and bacteria which cause our  
problems in wilderness water.

Problem causers include: Giardia lamblia and Giardia l. cysts,  
Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba, and Taxoplasma cysts (these don't all  
occur in one location).

In past testing, a few drops of chlorine bleach has had little effect  
on the resistant cyst stage of Giardia, for example, which is found in  
stream water. I would expect that this is still true.

Polar Pure is one manufacturer of a kind of treatment based on a  
nascent Iodine (aqueous) solution, and this works given sufficient  
dwell time and a water temperature which is not too cold. It is sort  
of ferocious and can penetrate the hard cyst, killing the Giardia  
organism. However, this treatment may miss the goal if things don't  
work out perfectly.

Filtration is an old standby method used for western wilderness water,  
and this may leave one each Giardia organism present in a liter of  
water following treatment, or possibly none at all. Recall that no  
filter guarantees better than 99.9% effectiveness. That's how the one  
odd organism sneaks through. Fortunately, clinical testing has  
resulted in the notion that more than one organism is required to  
cause illness. I visualize that you need a half a dozen or more  
ingested within a day's water intake, and releasing themselves  
successfully from their cysts, to become meaningful. It is another  
matter whether these six will proliferate and make you ill, or fail to  
attach by their little suction cups to the small intestine and slide  
right on out.

More can be said, but as is succinctly stated by a famous  
communicator: wheeew!
==^===Campy
www.trailprojects.com click on PCT
www.trailprojects.com/dif_log070805.html for info on PCTA crew
water filtration system

Time spent doing trail work shall not be deducted from your life!
===^==

On Dec 14, 2007, at 1:44 PM, nosirreeb wrote:

> Note: Clorox changed their formula a few years ago, so you may find  
> old web sites listing differing amounts of bleach to use for  
> purifying water. Below is the current recommendation direct from  
> Clorox.
>
> http://www.clorox.com/products/usage.php?prod_id=clb
>
> Disinfection of Drinking Water (Potable)
>
> When boiling of water for 1 minute is not practical, water can be  
> made potable by using this product. Prior to addition of this  
> product, remove all suspended material by filtration or by allowing  
> it to settle to the bottom. Decant the clarified contaminated water  
> to a clean container and add 8 drops of this product to 1 gallon of  
> water (2 drops to 1 quart). Allow the treated water to stand for 30  
> minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor.  
> If not, repeat dosage and allow the water to stand an additional 15  
> minutes. The treated water can then be made palatable by pouring it  
> between clean containers several times.
>
> For cloudy water, use 16 drops of this product per gallon of water  
> (4 drops to 1 quart). If no chlorine odor is apparent after 30  
> minutes, repeat dosage and wait an additional 15 minutes.

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