[pct-l] Bleach as water purification

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, all,

There has been a great deal of discussion of water treatment – or the lack
thereof – in PCT-L over the years which I won’t regurgitate that now.  Each
hiker should investigate to the point of satisfaction based upon their own
concerns.  No method of water treatment is perfect:  Even the good old
reliable method of boiling isn’t perfect.  In addition to being onerous in
terms of time and fuel requirements, boiling won’t address contaminates such
as heavy metals, for example.



In reference to using Clorox it would be useful for individuals to do a net
search for “bleach water purification” and/or “Clorox water purification”
and be prepared to have an evening of interesting reading.  As a
sample-of-one I can say that I’ve been using Clorox for quite a few years
and have never had a symptom that I could pin on “bad water”.



I’ve used Aqua Mira quite a bit over the years, and generally I like it, but
it does have some problems in my opinion.  Compared to Clorox, Aqua Mira
cost a great deal more, it is more difficult to find, and I object to the
necessity of waiting 5 minutes for the two constituents to activate prior to
its being added to the raw water.



I’ve used iodine at various times over the years, but after some research I
chose to avoid it for sustained use on a long trail.  If one does choose to
use iodine, in any of its various forms, I suggest adding about 1/4th of a
vitamin-C tablet per liter to the water AFTER the necessary waiting period.
The “C” is almost magical in removing the iodine taste and the faint brown
color.



Enjoy your planning,



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 10:55 PM, Molly Barth <mafbarth at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've recently discovered that ordinary household clorox bleach can be
> used as a water purification method. Seems way cheaper than the 15$/oz
> aquamira method.  Does anyone have any experience using bleach and
> know of its effectiveness or consequences?
>
> -- Molly
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