[pct-l] Bleach vs. aqua Mira

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Ben,

Water treatment spans a continuum between doing no treatment whatsoever,
and doing the most thorough treatment available to a hiker – boiling for a
time sufficient to kill off all the bad guys.  We all get to pick what we
do, and the issue of “safe water” is highly personal.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264360

I’ve tried almost everything.  Much of the time in the last century --
until the late ’60s and ‘70s – I didn’t treat anything, except I might have
poured the water through my bandanna.  Later I began using a filter, mostly
as a result of having to travel to some rather dirt-bag places around the
world; places that have less-than-questionable water.

Boiling is probably the most sure, but the time and fuel necessary to boil
that much water is onerous to most long-distance hikers.  Even then,
boiling isn’t a sure fix:  Some water in S. Cal. has high levels of uranium
which can’t be removed by merely boiling.

I’ve used Aqua Mira quite a bit, but I object to its cost, its relatively
limited availability, and the need to sit around waiting for the two parts
to mix.

I evolved to using Clorox.  I stop at a water source, fill the jug, add two
drops of Clorox, and hike on.  I don’t object to the smell or taste, and
I’ve never been sick from residual bad buys that the Clorox may have missed.
A net search for Clorox water purification will bring many pages of reading
on the topic.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

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

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Sun, Mar 3, 2013 at 11:33 PM, Ben Ulsh <ulshbdbd at gmail.com> wrote:

> Why would I use aqua Mira when bleach costs a fraction of the price? Does
> one work better than the other? Is one safer than the other? Taste? Really
> curious about this one.....
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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