Using Bleach To Purify Drinking Water

M

maury

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Sep 24, 2000
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I guess the events of the past few days have gotten all of us thinking about things like this.

A couple of questions on using chlorine bleach to purify drinking water:

First, I have noticed some sites that specifically refer to Chlorox brand; is there any difference between that and “no-name” supermarket brands?

Is there a practical shelf life for bleach (stored in their original, un-opened bottles)?

Thanks!
 
Bleach and iodine won't work with everything that would be in flood water so if you're unprepared and have no way to boil water I'd still use it, but only as a last resort.

Clorox has become a generic term for laundry bleach much like Kleenex for facial tissues. Any laundry bleach will work just as well.

Yep, they have an unopened and opened shelf life wrt water treatment.
 
There is only one of Chlorox's products that they stipulate can be used for water purification. Go to their site and it explains everything. Carry something to strain the water before adding the bleach. I carry both a silk bandana and coffee filters, with my bleach. If there is particulate matter in the water, it must be left to settle or strained out or the bleach will attach itself to the matter and not what you are trying to kill. I carry it because I am allergic to iodine, which is a better treatment. There are other treatments on the market that are excellent. Look into them before deciding to go with bleach. Use bleach as a last resort or in addition to a filtration system / boiling.
 
I may be accused of being picky here, but what the heck.

Bleach does not "purify" water. Iodine does not "purify" water.

Bleach and iodine will, when used properly, kill most everything that is alive in the water. As already mentioned, some things do not kill so easily.

The bleach and iodine will not remove anything from the water. the dead bodies of the things it does kill are still there. Petroleum products, pesticides, heavy metals are still there. Blood is still there. (if any of this stuff was there before, mind you)

Worse, the chlorine and iodine will react with some of the things in the water and create carcinogens. Probably not a great concern in the very short term, but a concern down the road.

Boiling also does not "purify" water. Sterilize, sure, but not "purify". Worse, by boiling off some of the water, whatever non-volatile pollutants were there before are now even more concentrated and dangerous.

So what do you do? The best you can. Filter, distill, boil, treat, whatever you can the best you can.
 
I'd read that the main caveat is to be sure not to use the flavored/scented products.
 
hso said:
Bleach and iodine won't work with everything that would be in flood water so if you're unprepared and have no way to boil water I'd still use it, but only as a last resort.

Clorox has become a generic term for laundry bleach much like Kleenex for facial tissues. Any laundry bleach will work just as well.
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Bleach and iodine will kill everything organic you need to worry about. Wont remove chemcial contamination.

Not all bleach is good for h2o treatment. Anything with additives like scents or softners etc is not to be used. Just plain pure bleach is whats needed.

This info is 100% correct. :rolleyes:

Skam
 
Per Cody Lungreen you have to be wary of bleach as sometimes it can just not work. Better than nothing tho. Iodine is the better bet, as said be sure to strain the water first and in really bad conditions boil first. Better option would be a good filter.
 
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