Bleach tablets - calcium hypochlorite

[MrNatural]

Ops: Please correct spelling in the title and delete this line: "Hypoclorate should be "Hypochlorite". System here will not allow me to correct the typo.

Water is life! (mike drop)

BACKGROUND: It is a documented fact that the lack of safe drinking water after a disaster kills more people than the disaster itself. The traditional method to treat questionable water is with (fresh!) bleach. 8 drops per gallon. 16 drops per gallon if the water is cloudy.

CAVEAT: bleach will NOT remove chemical pollutants (insecticides, oil, gasoline, etc). You need a filter for that. But that's a matter for another discussion.

The active ingredient in bleach is Calcium Hypochlorite. Store-bought bleach does not age well! After about six months it starts to degrade back into salt water (fyi, bleach is actually made by electrifying salt water). After a year it may be only 50% of the original active calcium hypochlorite percentage and it gets worse from there.

MR NATURAL'S SURVIVAL MAXIM #1 - BUY A SMALL BOTTLE OF BLEACH (UNSCENTED). MARK THE BOTTLE WITH THE DATE AND REPLACE EVERY SIX MONTHS. Cheapest and best insurance policy you'll ever buy! One pint of fresh bleach makes 1500 gallons of questionable water safe (at 8 drops per - half that at 16 drops per if the water is cloudy) .

Many survival gurus recommend storing bulk calcium hypochlorite powder. It is usually is a form known generically as "Pool Shock" and is used to treat swimming pools. But the raw powder is a PITA to store (ask me how I know) and has other drawbacks in use (Google this for your self, but just take my word for it right now).

I used to store pool shock powder. But then I found these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01M1RUYCP

The link is for a 4-pack of 10 tablets each. Go in with some prepper pals. (You don't have prepper pals? Poor you.)

Inexpensive. Pre-measured (1 tablet makes 1 gallon). Easy to store - basically unlimited shelf life. Easily divisible - one or two tablets could be a part of your BOB. Should be an excellent barter item too. Not to mention the MANY other uses of chlorine bleach in a Situation.

Here endeth the Lesson.

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[Stomper]

What's your thoughts on them TASTY iodine water purification tablets?

 

[308]

We have one of these. Been using it for 20+ years and recently updated to the black filters.
You can piss in it and clean water would come out....not that i have tried

<broken link removed>

 

[thorborg]

Not to crimp Shakespeare style, Double, Double, Boil away Trouble.

 

[Argonaut]

Not to crimp Shakespeare style, Double, Double, Boil away Trouble.

Great post........that is why early Americans drank so much beer.......(the Puritans carried equal amounts of Beer and water on there voyage)..............they didn't know why but it was safer than the water. I think this is an example of where technology has improved our life, (boiling and Clorox is still good too) but the hand operated Reverse Osmosis pumps are wonderful in the field. We use large powered ones on our workboats in place of the steam stills used before the 60's.

 

[cigars]

What's your thoughts on them TASTY iodine water purification tablets?

I never minded the taste of those. I still have an old bottle that I was issued with the waxy stuff around the cap. Good times. You can buy straight iodine in a dropper bottle at most stores in the organic free range hippy section, or at ash-Whole Foods. The big difference is that it's not in a tincture, meaning no alcohol like first aid kit iodine. Plenty of articles out there on how to use each.

 

[MrNatural]

What's your thoughts on them TASTY iodine water purification tablets?

No one I read recommends Iodine for water purification much anymore. There are (much) better choices for the vast majority of needs.

That being said, Iodine pills are the most compact and most shelf-life friendly purification means I know. I carry five tiny lil iodine pills in a tiny ziplock bag in my "Biafra Mile Run" kit (which fits into a two-piece plastic cigarette case). Each pill is good for a canteen full of water. Wunnathesedays I'll post the contents of my BMR and we can have a chat about it.

 

[cigars]

No one I read recommends Iodine for water purification much anymore. There are (much) better choices for the vast majority of needs.

That being said, Iodine pills are the most compact and most shelf-life friendly purification means I know. I carry five tiny lil iodine pills in a tiny ziplock bag in my "Biafra Mile Run" kit (which fits into a two-piece plastic cigarette case). Each pill is good for a canteen full of water. Wunnathesedays I'll post the contents of my BMR and we can have a chat about it.

A lot of people don't have experience with it. With all the Life straws and similar products out there lately, iodine is old technology. However, it is very capable of saving your life. Can't use a Life Straw on a cut either.

 

[MrNatural]

<broken link removed>

Sound the battle cry of all thirsty men: BERKEY!!

Ah Berkey! The platinum standard for emergency water! Every serious prepper should have a 3-filter Big Berkey. It's pricey, but is complete peace of mind on the subject of water. And they're banned in Kalifornia - what greater endorsement is there?

Berkey is #2 on the "Ten B's Of Prepping" - In order of priority:

Buddies, Berkey, Beans, Bullets, Bandaids, Batteries, Bullion, Books, Beliefs, Barter

The Ten B's are worthy of their own extended discussion. So I'll just leave it here for now. If there's sufficient interest I'll put it up as a separate thread.
!

ERROR CORRECTION: BERKEY CAN NOW BE SHIPPED TO CALIFORNIA!
Mea culpa. But for a while there they could not.

 

[308]

Sound the battle cry of all thirsty men: BERKEY!!

Ah Berkey! The platinum standard for emergency water! Every serious prepper should have a 3-filter Big Berkey. It's pricey, but is complete peace of mind on the subject of water. And they're banned in Kalifornia - what greater endorsement is there?

Berkey is #2 on the "Ten B's Of Prepping" - In order of priority:

Buddies, Berkey, Beans, Bullets, Bandaids, Batteries, Bullion, Books, Beliefs, Barter

The Ten B's are worthy of their own extended discussion. So I'll just leave it here for now. If there's sufficient interest I'll put it up as a separate thread.
!

Are you serious about being banned in California? WTH would that happen?

 

[cigars]

Love the Berkey.

 

[MrNatural]

Double, Double, Boil away Trouble.

Wellllllll, yeah. That's right. It's sure the lowest-tech way to get safe water. Simple and reliable. But . . .

It requires fuel, which may be in short supply. It requires burning that fuel which can likely be smelled by hungry/thirsty men. Often for miles. If you've ever fasted for several days, it's amazing how sharp your sense of smell gets. Gonna be a bunch of hungry people looking for the source of that smell after an Event. Where there's fuel there may be food.

I do not have boiling as my plan A. Or even my plan B, C or D.

Also, do the firewood calculations for boiling, say, 100 gallons of water for 20 minutes. Adds up to a pretty fair pile of lumber.

I can knock out out a thousand gallons of clean water with my Berkey or my Katadyn filter with neither fuel nor smell nor sound.

That's one reason I stock a lot of freeze-dried food. No cooking. Just need to heat 2 cups of water for a meal. Can even be reconstituted with cold water in a pinch.

A low profile is better than body armor.

 

[MrNatural]

Are you serious about being banned in California? WTH would that happen?

Dunno why. The owners probably supported a Republican once in the past or some other horrendous atrocity in the eyes of the Legislature. Quien sabe??

Hey it's Kalifornia. Where the inmates run the asylum. Nothing further need be said.

ERROR CORRECTION: BERKEY CAN NOW BE SHIPPED TO CALIFORNIA!
Mea culpa. But for a while there they could not.

 

[cigars]

A thousand gallons in a Berkey might take a while, lol. It'll be some high quality H20 though.

 

[cigars]

Dunno why. The owners probably supported a Republican once in the past or some other horrendous atrocity in the eyes of the Legislature. Quien sabe??

Hey it's Kalifornia. Where the inmates run the asylum. Nothing further need be said.

High costs of being "califonia approved", even though they blow the doors off purity and filtration standards in every other state in the country. It's basically the typical California shake down and the Berkey people said eff ewe cali.

 

[thorborg]

Wellllllll, yeah. That's right. It's sure the lowest-tech way to get safe water. Simple and reliable. But . . .

It requires fuel, which may be in short supply. It requires burning that fuel which can likely be smelled by hungry/thirsty men. Often for miles. If you've ever fasted for several days, it's amazing how sharp your sense of smell gets. Gonna be a bunch of hungry people looking for the source of that smell after an Event. Where there's fuel there may be food.

I do not have boiling as my plan A. Or even my plan B, C or D.

Also, do the firewood calculations for boiling, say, 100 gallons of water for 20 minutes. Adds up to a pretty fair pile of lumber.

I can knock out out a thousand gallons of clean water with my Berkey or my Katadyn filter with neither fuel nor smell nor sound.

That's one reason I stock a lot of freeze-dried food. No cooking. Just need to heat 2 cups of water for a meal. Can even be reconstituted with cold water in a pinch.

A low profile is better than body armor.

I'll see your "But", and raise you;
Technology and modern tools are great! (Lord knows I likely have too much.)
When they are available, or not broke, or haven't been stripped from you by more powerful others.
Even though I have those things, somehow Life taught me my go bag was uncomfortable in a restaurants, and I had more than my share of cold camps in the 60"s thanks to our "uncle".
The oft spoke words of Robert Burns paraphrased as "Best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry" are as truthful and universal as reality gets.
Therefore, My reality is prepared, not paranoia, (not inferring anything about anyone) inasmuch as I don't carry anything on a regular basis /24-7, except a gun, a very sharp pocket knife, and a few bucks . (Ok, my CCW permits, and a two volume hard cover set containing Oregon HUNT AND FISH LICENSE & PERMITS!!!), no:!)

Not all events requiring one to challenge their will to survive need be an apocalyptic event. but even if so,
In my mind, knowledge of what things like Bleach, Mercury, boiling can do for you as mentioned above, supersedes survival "things" (albeit things are cool!)

Rudimentary survival knowledge is better than body armor, or water straws. (and even guns)

 

[bgdawgrr]

I used to store pool shock powder. But then I found these:

https://www.amazon.com/Magichem-Bleach-makes-gallons-bleach/dp/B008R1UHVG

The link is for a 4-pack of 10 tablets each. Go in with some prepper pals. (You don't have prepper pals? Poor you.)

Inexpensive. Pre-measured (1 tablet makes 1 gallon). Easy to store - basically unlimited shelf life. Easily divisible - one or two tablets could be a part of your BOB. Should be an excellent barter item too. Not to mention the MANY other uses of chlorine bleach in a Situation.

Here endeth the Lesson.

I was excited, till I saw they were unavailable

 

[Jamie6.5]

Uhhh,....
Calcium Hypochlorite is the dry form of bleach, not to be confused with liquid bleach and is used primarily for swimming pool sanitizing water treatment like softeners and commercial laundry processes. It doesn't readily dissolve in water, but it will.
Calcium hypochlorite - Wikipedia

Sodium Hypochlorite is used in liquid household bleach.
Sodium hypochlorite - Wikipedia
A small but noteworthy difference, as the Sodium version is far more readily available, suspends in water more easily if purchased as a solution, and actually has more uses.

Don't confuse the two when using it to purify contaminated water.
A spoonful of dry Calcium Hypochlorite in a given quantity of water is more potent than a teaspoon of household bleach solution, which is only about 5% Sodium Hypochlorite in solution.

 

[MrNatural]

I was excited, till I saw they were unavailable

Gotta move quicker, pilgrim! They were in stock when I posted. Sold out in less than a day. I should get a commission!

But try here:

Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Magichem Bleach Tabs (makes 10 gallons of bleach per card- 4 cards per order) by Magichem

OP edited for new link too.

 

[MrNatural]

Uhhh,....
Calcium Hypochlorite is the dry form of bleach, not to be confused with liquid bleach and is used primarily for swimming pool sanitizing water treatment like softeners and commercial laundry processes. It doesn't readily dissolve in water, but it will.
Calcium hypochlorite - Wikipedia

Sodium Hypochlorite is used in liquid household bleach.
Sodium hypochlorite - Wikipedia
A small but noteworthy difference, as the Sodium version is far more readily available, suspends in water more easily if purchased as a solution, and actually has more uses.

Don't confuse the two when using it to purify contaminated water.
A spoonful of dry Calcium Hypochlorite in a given quantity of water is more potent than a teaspoon of household bleach solution, which is only about 5% Sodium Hypochlorite in solution.

Yes, that's one of the reasons I looked for something other than Pool Shock for water purification.

A sincere thanks for the specifics. Thought I understood the basic chemistry. Being corrected is healthy, if embarrassing.

All that I know is that there is more than I know.

Like pappy used to say "Nothing ruins a good story like an eyewitness."