Chlorine / Bleach drops for water purifying

[warlo]

Has anybody done this?

Im preparing for some long traveling and been considering having some water purification method included in my pack. Most stuff is expensive and/or bulky. But just thought about carrying a dropper with some pure chlorine in it and add enough drops to the amount of water I am carrying.

Checked out how much is needed and for a liter (quarter) you need two drops and wait half an hour (4 drops for double amount of water and so on). That's about the simplest, fastest and most lightweight method for having clean water that I can ever imagine.

Its possible to have a very simple water filter, like the wicking one with one container full of dirty water, a piece of cloth with an end submerged into it and the other into an empty vessel that is lower than the dirty water one, wait some time and the water will pass from one container to the other one (by osmosis) and solids will stay behind. After that, add enough drops to the volume of water and that's it! 100% safe water (im researching if the wicking method could be enough to have safe water, but will post results later)

Im guessing that a small eyedrop container should be enough for a while (im not constantly in need for water purification)

Its important to note that it should be pure and highly concentrated chlorine / bleach, as you want to be sure the concentration is enough to purify your water 100% and want to keep any extra chemicals out.

Also, for those who dont want chlorine in their system for whatever reason, or simply dont like the taste of it, you can leave the water in an open vessel so that the chlorine will evaporate eventually (im researching how long but it depends on many things to tell for sure)

some sources:

https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/...issipate-from-tap-water-left-to-sit-overnight

https://36readyblog.com/2013/01/12/water-purification-simple-and-inexpensive-methods/ (with proper sources within)

http://www.survivalaustralia.com/survival-water-treatment-part-1-2/ (check method number 3)

 

[Kim Chee]

Pure chlorine will overchlorinate your water at that rate.

Regular bleach that you can use for laundry (5-6% sodium hypochlorite) will do the job.

might want to use the unscented stuff for this application unless you want to smell like a chemical forest

 

[warlo]

Pure chlorine will overchlorinate your water at that rate.

Regular bleach that you can use for laundry (5-6% sodium hypochlorite) will do the job.

might want to use the unscented stuff for this application unless you want to smell like a chemical forest

yeah, I was a bit confused as some sources said to check for high concentrations and some said that regular bleach, which is not very concentrated, would do fine. Would you mind expanding on how to tell that for sure?

And thats what i meant to keep other chems out, not only you can smell like forest, some stuff can fuck you up

 

[Kim Chee]

...Would you mind expanding on how to tell that for sure?...

The label will have the % on it.

 

[Tony Pro]

Chlorine is inferior to iodine, but less bad for you so it's better for long-term use. Chlorine fine for streams and clean rivers, but don't go drinking out of puddles with this method.
Reading the label on a box of chlorine tablets it says "cloudy water should be filtered through a cloth, as chlorine molecules will bond to debris and become less effective." That's just what it says; no idea if it's true.
Of course boiling is always best for killing everything.
Depending on where you'll be backpacking, you may have to worry about non-biological hazards in water sources, especially chemical fertilizers.

 

[AlwaysLost]

Chlorine is inferior to iodine, but less bad for you so it's better for long-term use. Chlorine fine for streams and clean rivers, but don't go drinking out of puddles with this method.
Reading the label on a box of chlorine tablets it says "cloudy water should be filtered through a cloth, as chlorine molecules will bond to debris and become less effective." That's just what it says; no idea if it's true.
Of course boiling is always best for killing everything.
Depending on where you'll be backpacking, you may have to worry about non-biological hazards in water sources, especially chemical fertilizers.

Do you think the chemical (pesticide) levels could be reduced by filtering it through charcoal? I charcoal know it greatly reduces the swampy taste.

 

[milkhauler]

I know a few survivalist guys who swear by Life Straw, Sawyer, or Berkey person water filters. These are supposedly used in 3rd world countries, where drinking water from a stream is the only way to get water. They claim to remove 99.9% of water born viruses and bacteria. Basically taking nasty pond or creek water, and making it safe-taste free. Im not sellimg these, just giving a random opinion

I plan to grab a few of these, versus carrying chol tabs, or Iodine. If things go to shit in this country, I'd like to be prepped.

The makers of these filters regularly make vids of themselves drinking piss though these, and claiming there is no odor or taste. The only caveat of personal water filters, is they wont remove chemical contamination, IE farm runoff, radiation, and heavy metals... So keep that in mind..

I'll feeling a lil ballzy and might grab a couple and test them with stream water. Not sure about the piss thing though.. Anyways, I'll stop with products. It would be cool though to never worry if that next stop at the stream will give me the shits, or worse cause die a slow death. [emoji16]

Like another poster said, Iodine is better than clorine. Safe to carry, requires just a couple of drops and doesn't have a chemical taste like chlorine. They used to sell Iodine crystals, that were effective in treating water. I heard though the EPA, cock blocked the manufacturing process. You might get lucky online and find some old stock. Just a pinch of those iodine crystals will treat 5 gallons of watet.

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