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My apologies in advance if this topic has been covered already but I don't see it.
I'm a novice prepper and I'm thinking about water purification. Where I live, there is a good amount of precipitation all year, and I'm not far from a lake.
The simple question is this. If I obtain water by getting it from the lake (in a bucket), getting it from a rainstorm (collecting it from my roof gutters in a bucket or barrel), etc, what's the best way to make it safe to drink? Is it as simple as running it through a filter with very small pores, and boiling it for a few minutes?
If not, what'd be the least expensive / most efficient way to do this?
Boiling makes most water safe. Another alternative is a few drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water, another is a little hydrogen peroxide added in, another is a CERAMIC micropore (1 micron holes) filter, with a carbon filter after to reduce most volatile chemicals. Another is sitting water in a clear bottle in intense sunlight.
Least expensive is a gallon of bleach, which will make thousands of gallons of water safe.
Boiling makes most water safe. Another alternative is a few drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water, another is a little hydrogen peroxide added in, another is a CERAMIC micropore (1 micron holes) filter, with a carbon filter after to reduce most volatile chemicals. Another is sitting water in a clear bottle in intense sunlight.
Least expensive is a gallon of bleach, which will make thousands of gallons of water safe.
Bleach is sodium hypochlorite, and the chlorine is all that's necessary to sanitize the water. Is sodium hypochlorite as safe (or unsafe) as pure chlorine in the same concentrations?
Bleach is sodium hypochlorite, and the chlorine is all that's necessary to sanitize the water. Is sodium hypochlorite as safe (or unsafe) as pure chlorine in the same concentrations?
To clarify, are you asking about chlorine GAS (only pure chlorine)?
If not, what'd be the least expensive / most efficient way to do this?
You should follow the steps below for an inexpensive, effective method to purify water:
1) Pass through a sediment filter. Coffee filters are good for this, as are a couple layers of clean T-shirts. Until you remove any particulate matter, your purification will not work efficiently.
2) Chlorinate the water to kill pathogens. You can use bleach, or pool shock. Be aware that bleach has an expiration of about 3 months from fresh purchase; some people try to put back a ton of Chlorox for later use, which is a waste of money, as it loses potency. Pool shock is a dry granule, which lasts longer.
3) Drinking and cooking water should also be passed through your filtration of choice. Any of the hiking/camping filters should work fine; we like the Sawyer Mini and the Berkey line, but Lifestraw and Katadyne and many others will all work, esp after chlorine treatment.
Some clarifications: "Pure" chlorine is a noxious gas - what you want to add to water is sodium hypochlorite, which is found in bleach and pool shock. Water treated in steps 1 and 2 above is perfectly safe and clean for washing, flushing, laundry, etc. You will likely add step 3 for just a few gallons per day. If you wish to store bulk water, steps 1 and 2 will suffice. Be sure to seal the barrels or buckets, and the clean water will last indefinitely, although it may develop a "flat" taste, which can be removed by aeration and filtration.
To clarify, are you asking about chlorine GAS (only pure chlorine)?
I had momentarily forgotten that chlorine, in its elemental form, exists only as a gas at 1 atm pressure and room temperature. I guess I was asking about the purest form available. Sodium hypochlorite is NaClO and obviously that extra oxygen atom in the molecule makes it substantially more poisonous than sodium chloride - NaCl - common table salt. Perhaps a simpler question would be - is there any more pure form of chlorine that I can use to sanitize water? What do they use at municipal water treatment plants? It must have chlorine, as you can always taste (and sometimes smell) the chlorine in the water that comes out of your tap... unless you have a well.
As you note, bleach has sodium and sodium in such small levels is safe. Bleach lasts for more than a month or three months or whatever. Somebody has been taken in by marketing hype by bleach makers wanting to sell more bleach. If you don't believe me, buy some bleach sit it on a shelf for a year and then spill some on your most expensive clothing. If you do that and report back that there were no holes or staining, I might take that statement as more than regurgitated hot air.
The difference between using chlorine gas (which is used in some pools) and bleach, and using a salt water broken into chlorine and washing soda by electrolysis is not terribly significant. The chlorine is going to be reacting with contaminants making chloramines and other compounds that are much more of an issue (but far far less an issue than water with disease organisms).
I have real problems with the idea of preppers trying to use chlorine gas as a water treatment. Here's why.
I was a lifeguard at a private swim club for five years while I was in college. The pool used chlorine gas to treat the water, and we lifeguards did all of the pool maintenance (including handling the gaseous chlorine). The same region was home to a significant amount of chlorine gas manufacturing, which was subsequently loaded into rail tanker cars for transport throughout the country. Therefore our community disaster plan specifically included a section on dealing with a significant chlorine gas leak and/or train derailment. Since I spent 25+ years in Disaster Preparedness in said community, I sorta-kinda know stuff.
First and foremost, there are significant long-term storage issues. Chlorine gas comes in compressed form, in large steel cylinders. They are simultaneously heavy and "delicate". For example, should the valve should ever get knocked loose, which could easily happen if the cylinder falls over, the cylinder becomes an unguided missile that, fortunately, tends to slide along the ground but can still do tremendous and potentially fatal damage. (And then, of course, there's the suddenly-released chlorine to contend with.) Because the pressure in the cylinders is temperature-dependent, they must be stored accordingly. Since the cylinders are made of steel, their surfaces must be kept meticulously dry, protected and rust-free. Even then, the strength of the cylinder will degrade over time. This is why current laws require that they be proof-tested (my term) every few years. A filled cylinder in long-term storage will "go boom" when the metal fatigues beyond the critical point.
Second, pressurized chlorine gas is somewhat problematic for use by an individual prepper or small prepper group. It is far better suited for large-volume continuous use (as in the recirculating water of a large swimming pool) than for intermittent or "batch" use. It needs to be introduced into flowing water in a closed environment; otherwise it will simply form bubbles that float to the top and burst, releasing the gas into the air.
Third, the accidental release of chlorine gas is potentially deadly. It is heavier than air so it tends to hug the ground and, in sufficient concentration, completely displaces said air. When inhaled, chlorine combines with the water in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid -- a sure way to ruin one's entire day. Chlorine gas was used as a weapon in WWI, is one of the WMDs specifically prohibited by international laws, and was reportedly used in Syria just recently. And as I mentioned earlier, I have direct knowledge/experience regarding chlorine leaks/spills.
In short, unless you are continuously treating large volumes of water, my recommendation is to use liquid or granular chlorine.
Bleach lasts for more than a month or three months or whatever.
Coirrect, but... the misunderstanding is that "Bleach" is a product that has a very specific maximum safe concentration level for safe unregulated household use and it has a minimum concentration level to be called 'bleach'. The levels are narrow. That causes ‘bleach’ to have a shelf life so it stays above the minimum levels. Once it falls below that level, it can’t be called "bleach". The rule is it must stay within the max and min for at least 16 week from date of manufacture, that’s why the manufactures put the 3 month shelf life on the product.
But, you notice that liquid pool chlorine has no such limits because their concentration can be over 6 times that of bleach. However they can’t call it bleach because it exceeds the safe household maximum concentration. Likewise, you can have your own highly chlorinated water which is just bleach that no longer meets the minimum concentration but is every bit as potent for sanitizing water. Many people have these super highly chlorinated jugs of water better known as old bleach. That highly concentrated chlorinated water will still sanitize and wash out the color in cloths years later. It just can’t be called bleach.
So, "bleach" is a specific product with maximum and minimum concentration levels whereas liquid chlorine is more potent without the need to meet product labeling as to the very specific and narrow concentration level required for the name ‘bleach’. But I’m sure all good preppers knew this so this isn’t new info to them at all.
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