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Making Suspect Water Drinkable
Topic Started: Mar 28 2009, 08:51 PM (643 Views)
oldmarinesgtPosted Image
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I imagine that most everyone knows this but if not here it is:

Boiling Is Best
Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most reliable method for killing microbes and parasites.
Bring water to a rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add one minute of boiling to the
initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve fuel.

Liquid Clorox Bleach
In an emergency, think of this (one gallon of Regular Clorox Bleach) as 3,800 gallons of drinking water.
When the tap water stops flowing, Regular Clorox Bleach isn't just a laundry-aid, it's a lifesaver. Use it to purify
water, and you'll have something to drink.
It's the same in any natural disaster. As the shock wears off and the days wear on, the biggest demand is for drinking
water. Time after time, relief crews hand out free Clorox Bleach with simple instructions: use it to kill bacteria in
your water and you'll have purified water to drink. Here's how: (Store these directions with your emergency bottle of
Clorox Bleach.)
First let water stand until particles settle. Pour the clear water into an uncontaminated container and add Regular
Clorox Bleach per the chart.* Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dose.
Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Keep an eyedropper taped to your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach, since purifying
small amounts of water requires only a few drops. See chart* suggestions for storage bottle replacement.
Don't pour purified water into contaminated containers. To sanitize water jugs first, see instructions** at right.
Without water and electricity, even everyday tasks are tough. In lieu of steaming hot water, sanitize dishes with a
little Clorox Bleach. Just follow the directions below to keep dishes clean.
Whether you use Clorox Bleach in an emergency or for everyday chores, it's always an environmentally sound
choice. After its work is done, Clorox Bleach breaks down to little more than salt and water, which is good news
anytime.

*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification
• 2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
• 8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
• 1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
• If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.
• Only use Regular Clorox Bleach not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh.
• To insure that Clorox Bleach is at its full strength, replace your storage bottle every three months.)

**Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution
Mix 1 tablespoon Regular Clorox Bleach with one gallon of water. Always wash and rinse items first, then let each
item soak in Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.
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Big_Saw
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Dog of War.
Good stuff....+1. ;)
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oldmarinesgtPosted Image
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A couple of bottles of Clorax are a good thing to have around. For the above mentioned use and also it is a great disinfectant. Not for wounds but for most everything else. And best of all it is cheap!
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crash2usaf
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What about them small reverse osmosis pumps?? Used them in survival school they worked perdy good
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Lazer
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Lazer
Thanks for the article. We keep 3-6 jugs at all times. I have a 550 gallon water tank that I keep adding bleach to it to keep down algae growth. I don't plan to drink it but I certainly could after I boil it. We use it for showers/toilets during water outages.
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oldmarinesgtPosted Image
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The reverse osmosis pumps work fine. There are multiple ways to make water safe to drink. Clorax is cheap and a little bit goes a long way. If there is suspended sediment or other things floating in the water you can filter it first with an easy to make filter. Use a regular coffee maker filter and a couple of plastic flower pots. Just put the filter over the outside of one of the the flower pots then slide it into the second one. Pour your water into the top pot, through the filter and catch the filtered water that runs out of the bottom of the second pot. Add the correct amount of chlorine to it and it becomes safe to drink and there should be no muddy taste to it anymore.
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snalPosted Image
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Creator of all things "Snal"
Good stuff guys!
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kenno
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I've been meaning to say that I do not concider any Suspect's 'water' to be drinkable, no matter what you do to it.
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Lazer
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kenno
Jun 3 2009, 06:03 PM
I've been meaning to say that I do not concider any Suspect's 'water' to be drinkable, no matter what you do to it.
Now that's funny right there. :D :'( :D
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RubiconSalmon
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Fellow Survivalists,

Everyone has great ideas here on purifying water here. (And Kenno has a great and quick wit, too. :D )

Oldmarinesgt, I've also read that you can make a filter from either a bottomless bottle or a cloth sleeve or cloth sack filled with layers of first play sand, then pebbles, then crushed, activated charcoal. The charcoal will take out any suspect tastes and smells as well as many chemicals, the pebbles will take out larger sediment, and the play sand will catch the smaller sediment. After running suspicious water through this filter, boiling takes out the microbes.

(From what I've read on another site, the water doesn't actually have to be 210 degrees to kill the microbes, but rather around 190 degrees Fahrenheit...but in a real-world disaster situation, especially outdoors, few of us would have a cooking thermometer, so in the absence of such a measuring tool, you had might as well bring it to boiling just to be safe.)

Edited by RubiconSalmon, Jun 16 2009, 06:50 PM.
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