[pct-l] Bleach as Water Treatment

[Rod Belshee]

Use of chlorine is infrequent on the PCT (<3% of hikers).
It was more common on the CDT (at least the year I went, 10-20%).

APPLICATION:
- use 6% hypochlorite (regular bleach).  Do not use bleach with any extra 
ingredients.
- chlorine needs to be fresh.  Don't use the bleach that has been sitting in 
your laundry room for years.
- 2 drops per liter, 20 minutes (some sources say 30 minutes)
- hypochlorite gets bound up by organic content, so two precautions are 
necessary
   - filter through a handkerchief, bandana or shirt if needed
   - sniff the water after 10-20 minutes.  If there is not even a faint 
smell of bleach, repeat (2 more drops)

BLEACH SMELL:
- Many people do not like the bleach smell.  There are tips to reduce it, 
largely the same ones used by aquarists.
   -  If you treat your water in the evening, you can leave the caps off at 
night and the hypochlorite will dissipate as chlorine gas
   -  If you pour vigorously between a couple of water bottles 5-10 times, 
much of the chlorine smell goes away

CONTAINER
   - Use the tiniest bottle you can find with a dropper top.  That is an 
advantage of bleach - there is just a single tiny bottle.  I just kept it in 
my belt pocket, so didn't even need to take a pack off to get water.
   - There are probably different kinds of plastic to consider with respect 
to bleach - maybe someone else can comment on that.
   - Mine never leaked, but I can imagine that might be bad, so you ought to 
test your bottle well ahead of your hike.

RESUPPLY
- Resupply is easy, plentiful and very cheap
   - For me, a half ounce would last a month or more. While you could easily 
carry the full five months supply, it is better to refresh it a couple of 
times along the way.
   - Bleach is dirt cheap.  You will likely finish the whole trail for less 
than the cost of one Aqua Mira purchase.
   - You generally buy bleach a gallon at a time.  I'd just buy a gallon at 
a store, take my fraction of an ounce, and then give the gallon jug to 
someone at the Laundromat.
   - Many restaurant cafes have bleach, so I was also quite successful just 
offering to buy an ounce from them.  They'd just top off my tiny little 
bottle, and generally refuse payment (so you just add an extra dollar to the 
tip). Do be very careful though that they are using bleach, not some other 
form of sanitizer.

HEALTH CONCERN - OXIDANTS
   - A health concern with bleach is that it is a powerful oxidant, with 
free chlorine radicals.  That worries some folks as it relates to cancer.
   - In water, hypochlorite decomposes giving off chlorine gas, preserving 
an equilibrium.  The techniques to remove chlorine smell reduce the 
hypochlorite; maybe some one else can say if that helps on reducing the 
concern of free radical chlorine.
   - I took extra vitamin C, and antioxidant, to counter that.  I did not 
mix it with the water (I didn't want my water bottles to have any 
bear-attracting smells) but just took 1g (1000mg) tablets with me.  Maybe 
someone else knows if this approach really has any value - I don't actually 
know.


HEALTH CONCERN - ORGANIC MATERIALS
   - Another cancer concern is that chlorine reacts with organic materials 
to produce known carcinogens.
   - Unlike the hypochlorite, they do not dissipate.  This could be a health 
concern that would cause some to avoid use of bleach.
   - The organic content in water is a double whammy, since more bleach must 
be added to water with higher organic content (until you smell the bleach).
   - Again, try to minimize organic material by filtering through cloth 
(repeatedly if needed).

Steady Sr











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