Bleach for Water Treatment

[BigBackyard]

There was a leaflet delivered to homes in our town a couple years ago, that recommended the use of a couple of drops of bleach in a bottle of tap water that you weren't sure was safe, or for storing it in a survival/escape kit for periods of up to six months.

How effective is that likely to be, realistically speaking? What would that kill, and how safe would it be to drink?

 

[Trailer]

Chlorine is used to treat even tap water. You use 16 drops of 5-6% bleach in a gallon of water. Not scented bleach, and it needs to not have any additives-not be color safe or anything, just regular bleach.

Add it to the water, stir well, leave half hour to stand and treat. Smell it-it should have a faint bleach smell to be safe. If there is no smell then all the bleach was 'used up' in treating the water, and you can't be sure that everything was killed. So you repeat the treatment and smell again. If there is still no smell, I wouldn't drink it-find another source of water.

The water you use should look clear, and be left for sediment to settle if you can, or filter it out. You can use fabric if needs be, but coffee filters are better.

If you're really unsure, just carry a commercial purification tablet instead.

 

[Refrigerator]

EMERGENCY WATER PURIFICATION

 

[Trailer]

You can boil water too don't forget, if you have your stove handy. That will kill parasites too, and even exothermic bugs should be killed by properly boiling for long enough. I'm not sure how effective it is, especially compared to chlorine which we know is in tap water. That said, boiling is known to kill some germs that chlorine won't.

Be aware that bleach loses strength, especially when exposed to air, so you would not want to use old bleach as you couldn't be sure of it's potency. Iodine works too, but is dangerous for pregnant women. In short-bleach is a lot safer than nothing at all.

 

[Lorax]

There was a leaflet delivered to homes in our town a couple years ago, that recommended the use of a couple of drops of bleach in a bottle of tap water that you weren't sure was safe, or for storing it in a survival/escape kit for periods of up to six months.

How effective is that likely to be, realistically speaking? What would that kill, and how safe would it be to drink?

The active ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite at about 4-6% depending on strength for the store bough stuff. As a long time water guy with an environmental background, I have always taken a diluted small eyedropper bottle full of a few drops of bleach and water mix. Added to a nalgene in a pinch, I could easily tell through experience a 3-4 ppm dosage by smell (I worked around chlorination systems for 18 years and had a consulting biz on water treatment for many years also) If I were to wait 15 minutes, I know I would have a safe source of water in that nalgene. If I didn't like the taste, I could heat the water or leave the lid slightly off in the sun and the molecules dissociate in water and go off into vapor. (Its why with a pool during heavy usage or hot days, you have to add more)
I still filter or boil, but I do take this back up method.


I could go on and on about what it will take care of, detention times and stuff, but I really hate commenting on water stuff, because there's so much folklore about it and everyone believes what they want to believe about water. I have 11 state and federal licenses, but I probably don't know anything.

Yeah, I've been doing the bleach thing to some degree for years, still kicking, never sick.