[pct-l] Transferring Aquamira to different bottles

[Jim Marco]

Well, actually, there is a slight chance. Actually that's not quite correct. Like anything else, there is a chance that some molecules will stick inside and react. I usually rinse with water (ionic compounds wash well with water), then alcohol (fats, oils or other organic compounds wash fairly well with alcohol) then rinse with water again. That should leave the little bottles clean enough for use. Disinfection isn't really necessary. Some people like to carry chlorine in the form of hypochlorous acid or common household bleach. This works though is less safe than AM drops or tablets and works overnight. It takes about 3-4 hours to clean water. But, so does AM if you are looking to eliminate Crypto spores... Not really done at all by the small amounts of bleach used to clean water. 

I do a lot of canoeing, too. So, I worry about such things. Below a sewage treatment plant, you could run into a large plume of Crypto. Most navigable streams have the potential of animal feces in the water and placing Crypto in it. High mountain springs have next to no chance. Usually this is the condition found on the PCT. But not ALL waters, of course. Guardia could be found most anywhere.  

Note that the various plastics will ALL react with AquaMira. This is the biggest reason there is a shelf life on the bottles. Warm temps accelerate the process. This can take a few months, to a year or three, to inactivate, though. Plenty safe enough for the PCT and the usage life of a couple small bottles (3 weeks to a month, max.) I never dump extra at the end of a trip, simply add more, as needed. But, I DO dump it after the three month winter layoff from camping. 

Again, I highly encourage you to look it up. Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide is a fair search term. Trust only government or educational institution papers, the rest may or may not be what you want. The military has a lot of this stuff and is, perhaps, the largest single source of good info. But, they also gave us Agent Orange (also widely used by the railroad system, BTW) and DDT as "safe" chemicals. Generally they are short sighted.
 
If it turns piss yellow, treat your water. Good'n gross and easy to remember. IF IT DOES NOT TURN YELLOW, DUMP IT. It will not treat the water. As I remember there was a story of a group hike that one person added one part to the water in one bottle and the other part to his second bottle. This doesn't protect you at all, of course...
	My thoughts only . . .
		Jdm
BTW: I am always researching some aspect of camping. If anybody as references to tannic acid in water as it relates to AM I would be interested to hear.

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Ben Ulsh
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 1:49 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Transferring Aquamira to different bottles

Here's a question for anyone who's had experience with Aquamira.  I am transferring it to little dropper bottles that used to be full of breath freshening drops.  I have washed the bottles thoroughly and disinfected them with a bleach solution.  Is there any chance that any residual chemicals (if there are any) would effect the potency of either part A or B or the mix.  Might be a little over cautious but thought it couldn't hurt to ask.  Thank you all in advance!
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