Water purification (again)

[Dexter]

I went shopping today for a water purification system. Was thinking the tablets would be a good idea... Turned out tablets to treat 25 gallons of water cost $7!!

I see people suggesting swimming pool chlorine. Great idea (does anyone actually do this?) And will the chloring evaporate out in a reasonable time or are you expected to drink pool water??

Can I just buy iodine, or does it even work? The tabs seem to be iodine or similar.

Melted snow I imagine is safe. Rain at least around here is safe.
I would likely just boil water, however it seems an inefficient use of fuel.

Any other low tech ideas? I don't like the idea of fancy expensive pump/filters. Things like that break around here. Especially if they've been in storage a few years. Gaskets dry, etc.

[Just Cliff]

I have been reading up on 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide for water treatment. If openedand kept in a cool place it will only degrade by 1% each year. You can by it from a quart on up to a drum. Food grade does not have stabilizers added so you can also use it for internal medical treatments (another thread)

There are a lot of sites out there. Here is just an example of one.

http://www.h2o2-4u.com/

[Harry Chickpea]

I've been noticing the stabilizers not listed on peroxide bottles for a while. Is it possible they have been phased out?

Iodine. Not a good option. Iodine and thyroid function are intermingled. Too much or too little can be bad.

Pool chlorine is roughly double strength household bleach that isn't quite as "clean." You can use it, but plain bleach is cheaper and easier to deal with.

Melted snow is NOT safe unless you boil it. Snow and rain form around microparticles in the atmosphere. Many of those are bacteria, mold spores, and so on.

Just get a Berky and be done with it.

[Just Cliff]

Or you can make your own homemade Berky.


http://www.modernsurvivalonline.com/...r%20Filter.pdf

[ozarkcat]

I've made one of the homemade Berkys - it takes less than 20 minutes, tops, and MUCH easier on the wallet.

We have groundwater infiltration in our well, with coliform bacteria showing up, but not E. coli. Because of this, we used to treat our water with 8 drops of plain household bleach per gallon (except when we'd had a lot of rain & the water was a bit muddy, then we use 16/gal.) and then putting it through a Brita filter to get rid of the chlorine, etc. We replaced the system with the homemade Berky, and have been thrilled with the results. Instead of having to fill & treat carboys, and then run it through the Brita, we just pour a gallon or two at a time in the top bucket, and open the spigot for good water out of the bottom one.

You can also treat with iodine, and then settle it out with another chemical (sorry, can't recall what it is at the moment).

[Txrider]

Originally Posted by Dexter

I see people suggesting swimming pool chlorine. Great idea (does anyone actually do this?) And will the chloring evaporate out in a reasonable time or are you expected to drink pool water??

There are different types of swimming pool chlorine.

There are gallon jugs that are simply double strength bleach.

Then there are pellets, from 1" to 3", it's a different chemical composition but works, stabilized or non stabilized.

Then there is granular chlorine, what you use to shock a pool.

All of them will evaporate out of the water, which is why folks with pools have to keep adding it in at all times. A normal chlorine level of 8 drops a gallon should evaporate out in 12 hours or so.

A gallon of bleach will be cheaper unless you can get a gallon of liquid pool chlorine for less that 2x the price of a gallon of bleach. And 8-10 drops is all you need for a gallon of water. 4-5 drops I guess with the double strength pool liquid.

[derm]

Cheaper than dirt had these 5 gallon bucket kits that were 20 bucks recently that looked perfect for backup. I got 2.

[littlebitfarm]

The 35% H2O2 is great for water purification. However it is not stable and must be handled with care. I loved to use it on my cistern about once a year to kill off the weird stuff that a normal chlorine level won't get. But since some idiot tried to make a bomb out of it I haven't found any online. Did find a chemical company I could get it from (only because it would be shipped to the water treatment plant that I work at). But a gallon of tech grade was $140 and shipping with hazmat would have been over $100. I used to get a gallon of food grade delivered for $140.

Kathie

[Just Cliff]

Originally Posted by littlebitfarm

The 35% H2O2 is great for water purification. However it is not stable and must be handled with care. I loved to use it on my cistern about once a year to kill off the weird stuff that a normal chlorine level won't get. But since some idiot tried to make a bomb out of it I haven't found any online. Did find a chemical company I could get it from (only because it would be shipped to the water treatment plant that I work at). But a gallon of tech grade was $140 and shipping with hazmat would have been over $100. I used to get a gallon of food grade delivered for $140.

Kathie

LBF Try this site.

http://pureh2o2forhealth.com/

[littlebitfarm]

Originally Posted by Just Cliff

LBF Try this site.

http://pureh2o2forhealth.com/

THANKS!!! I used to get if off eBay but hadn't been able to find anything! Now I just need some rain to fill my cistern so I can treat it.

Kathie

[manygoatsnmore]

Berkey - just buy the filters and make your own housing with the 5 gallon buckets. And you don't have to get fancy with the spigot and all. I started out that way, but find myself just letting the top bucket drip into any 5 gallon clean bucket, then dip it out with a clean pitcher. Great tasting water and if it can clean up my nasty orange well water, it'll work on just about anything! Get the Black Berkey filters though. I didn't have as good of results with the ceramics.