Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

So DH just got home from his micro-biology class, he learned so fun sruff. As in if you use bleach to purify water the sodium hypoclorate mixes witht he organic compounds in water and WILL(no ifs ands or butts) cause cancer. Please use alternate forms of purification.

This ends your GIM PSA we now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

So any safe alternatives to suggest?

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Organo-chlorine compounds. Same thing your local city treated water supplies for drinking!

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

But, if you treat your water with chlorine, and then run it through, say a Berkey, you should be OK. Shouldn't you?

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

I'd avoid it if I could but if I had to drink chlorinated water I'd let it stand first for as long as possible based on two observations...

1) if you ever kept pet fish you're probably vaguely aware somehow that the chlorine will evaporate off given a few days and the water won't kill the fish anymore

2) chlorine breaks down fairly quickly into relatively benign salt and water as I recall, it's a matter of months I believe

I wouldn't regard such old water as safe per se, but probably a better bet. Kinda makes you wonder about swimming pools, doesn't it?

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Filter first, then chlorinate, then let stand.

The chlorine is all gone when you can't smell chlorine any more, adding such low dosse sodium hypo as they say 1L in 4000L or 1mL per 4 L. 24 hrs is more than enough (hypo=0Cl) it is hypo, it lasts for a short time, it wants to find another 'lil Cl ion and make octet 'love' and elope to the atmosphere especially with UV exposure, that is why u add isocyanuric acid to your pool as a 'chlorine' stabiliser.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Plain old white wheat flour is bleached. Makes you wonder bread.
Makes you wonder if it's carcinogenic.
My old Grandmaw used to make me gargle with bleach water when
I'd get a canker sore. Yuk! Didn't help either.
She was big on enema's too, I don't think she used bleach, but I couldn't see what she was doing.
Big german woman. I think she hated kids.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

I will concede that there may be certain aromatic based compounds thatcould form a dioxan via hypochlorite, that's why one should microfilter or activated-carbon filter first.

Rain water will not have any of these nasties (PVC u say?) I guess I just accepted that 'things' will react and have adjusted accordingly over decades now, I hate shampoos and conditioners with a passion, my immediate tribe rarely use them, so i just put them in the same category as DVD's/nail polish/aftershave/new expensive cars, the amount of chemicals that the female of the specie is willing to wash down the sink IS extremely puzzling and troubling. This is the enemy.

Cities were built by men for woman.:redface:

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Plain sodium hypochlorite bleach is the best thing most households have. You'll die of dehydration before cancer. Certainly no worse than the crap in most municipal water already.

If you have the time and money to prepare, get a water purifier, preferably something like FirstNeed.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Bleach has no purification properties. It's a disinfectant. All you need is a granular activated carbon filter to remove chlorine. They don't cost more than 25 dollars. If you can smell the chlorine you have way too much bleach. The minimum time to disinfect water with bleach is 30 minutes.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

We have been using
pur pitchers for many years.
Inexpensive since we are filtering RO water so cartridges
last a long time. Coffee tastes noticeable better when
using RO water double filtered through a PUR pitcher.
I plan to get a Berkey soon, just in case.

dtnwn

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Sorry, I do not believe your information is accurate.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

I have heard about a powder or granular
chemical that is used for swimming pool
maintenance. With it one is supposed to
be able to make the equivalent of,
or the same thing as liquid chlorine bleach.
AND I had also read that for making water
potable, one needed to get exactly the right
product, because some have additives etc.
Years ago I went looking for the right stuff
but when in the stores, I was not able to
determine from package/bucket labels which,
if any, were what I wanted.

Even if we didn't use it for treating drinking
water, it has an indefinite shelf life (right?)
and should be good for general disinfecting
chores.

What exactly is it that I am looking for? Is
the info I need on the labels in the first
place?

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/trans.gif



http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/trans.gif http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/or...adingarrow.gif SCIENCE NEWS
January 18, 2007 Chlorinated water exposure may boost cancer risk http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/trans.gif http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_email.gifE-mail http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_print.gifPrint http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_link.gifLink http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_rss.gifRSS http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_delic.gifdel.icio.us http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_digg.gif http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/icon_reddit.gif http://www.sciam.com/media/struct/trans.gif
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking, bathing or swimming in chlorinated water may increase the risk of bladder cancer, a new study shows.
The findings are the first to suggest that these chemicals can be harmful when they are inhaled or absorbed through the skin, as well as when they are ingested, Dr. Cristina M. Villanueva of the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, and colleagues note.
Chemicals, most commonly chlorine, used to disinfect water can produce by-products that have been tied to increased cancer risk, Villanueva and her team point out. The most prevalent chlorination by-products, chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM), can be absorbed into the body through the skin or by inhalation, they add.
To investigate lifetime THM exposure and bladder cancer risk, the researchers matched 1,219 men and women with bladder cancer to 1,271 control individuals who did not have the disease, surveying them about their exposure to chlorinated water via drinking water, swimming pools, showering and bathing. The researchers also analyzed the average water THM levels in the 123 municipalities included in the study.

People living in households with an average household water THM level of more than 49 micrograms per liter had double the bladder cancer risk of those living in households where water THM concentration was below 8 micrograms per liter, the researchers found. THM levels of about 50 micrograms per liter are common in industrialized societies, they note. Study participants who drank chlorinated water were at 35% greater risk of bladder cancer than those who didn't, while use of swimming pools boosted bladder cancer risk by 57%. And those who took longer showers or baths and lived in municipalities with higher THM levels were also at increased cancer risk.
When THM is absorbed through the skin or lungs, Villanueva and her team note, it may have a more powerful carcinogenic effect because it does not undergo detoxification via the liver.
"If confirmed elsewhere, this observation has significant public health implications in relation to preventing exposure to these water contaminants," the researchers conclude.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 2007.
http://www.sciam.com/media/logo/reuters.gif

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

I think this might be the post from way back you were thinking of..........>>

Letter Re: Purifying Water with Bleach

Mr. Rawles,
I've received and read the "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course package. It made me think twice about a few things, since I do most of my prepping at Costco. I notice that someone has already mentioned the vitamin thing. Thanks for the tip about bear liver!

I also noticed that you recommended having bleach on hand, and in the storage life section, bleach is listed as having an indefinite shelf life. I'm sure you already know that is not the case. Regular liquid bleach is not stable, it breaks down gradually and eventually becomes just salt water over a period of 2 years, it's still usable at 1 year but you must use twice as much. We think dry swimming pool shock is better than liquid bleach because calcium hypochlorite will store in dry form nearly indefinitely (10 years), whereas liquid chlorine bleach loses half of it's potency after a year (use twice as much for the same effect) and is next to worthless after two years. Using dry swimming pool shock (calcium hypochlorite) you can mix your own liquid bleach on an as-needed basis and have it fresh and fully active. Its very much like the difference in storage life between whole kernel wheat versus ground flour. Dry shock (get the plain variety, with no algaecides or fungicides) is very inexpensive and can be gotten at any pool supply store. Here are some links with details:
The Epicenter
Greenspun
The relevant portion from the second site above: "Dry chlorine, also called calcium hypochlorite has the added benefit of extended shelf life. Providing it is kept dry, cool and in an airtight container, it may be stored up to 10 years with minimal degradation. If you want to keep chlorine in larger quantities, this is the item to store (according to Bingo1). It must be ONLY 65% calcium hypochlorite, no additional anti-fungals or clarifiers. In an EXTREMELY well ventilated area, (Hint: OUTSIDE!) add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. Five pounds of dry pool bleach costs about $10-15, which will make about 92 gallons of bleach, which will sterilize 706,560 gallons of clear water, or 353,280 gallons of cloudy water."

Here are some additional tips on using calcium hypochlorite (swimming pool shock) for water purification:
From the EPA site:
"Granular Calcium Hypochlorite. Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. The mixture will produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 mg/L, since the calcium hypochlorite has an available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight. To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine solution to each 100 parts of water to be treated. This is roughly equal to adding 1 pint (16 oz.) of stock chlorine to each 12.5 gallons of water to be disinfected. To remove any objectionable chlorine odor, aerate the water as described below.
The treated water should be mixed thoroughly and allowed to stand, preferably covered, for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight
chlorine odor; if not, repeat the dosage and allow the water to stand for an additional 15 minutes. If the treated water has too strong a chlorine taste, it can be made more pleasing by allowing the water to stand exposed to the air for a few hours or by pouring it from one clean container to another several times"

Okay, a lot of people don't have a 12.5 gallon container laying around, so let's break it down. To make two gallons of the bleach, one heaping teaspoon of the calcium hypochlorite goes into 2 gallons of water. To make drinkable water, 2.5 tablespoons of the bleach goes into 1 gallon of water. Let stand covered 30 minutes, aerate to taste. Thought you would want to know. - J.W.

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

THIS IS WHAT I SETTLED ON FOR WATER PURIFICATION...........HOPE IT HELPS..............>


ON THE WATER PURIFICATION

After much discussion with friends who suggested this company to me, and representatives of the company, the unit that processed the most water fastest with the least amount of pumping was (I picked up one of each for now, and that was roughly $150.00 - I intend to pick up a second next month, I think its smart to have two, in case one breaks or to help friends and neighbors who have no clean water; the drops are in case we lose both units)..........>

First Need Deluxe Water Purifier
$93.00 Item 618208
Award Winner!
Outside magazine says, "The squat and sturdy First Need is the most hygienic on the market, as well as the only water purifier that eliminates viruses without chemicals. Your stomach will thank you ..." . Made in USA.

http://www.rei.com/product/3863.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC


The replacement canister is.............>
http://www.rei.com/product/3864.htm?vcat=REI_SEARCH

The drops for purifying water is.............>
http://www.rei.com/product/9044356.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC

The company's main page is...........>
http://www.rei.com

Re: Bleach unsafe for water presevation or purification!
 

Master-Ho-

Yep, that's exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you very much!

Have a nice weekend to all!