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214K views 596 replies 208 participants last post by  memtb 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I know this has been mentioned in other posts, but with swimming pool supplies now available everywhere this time of year, I thought it deserved another mention.

http://readynutrition.com/resources...ium-hypochlorite-to-disinfect-water_19062010/

This article was originally posted at Survival Topics

Many ourdoorsmen, survivalists, and households preparing for emergency disasters rely upon common household bleach as a disinfecting agent to make water safe to drink.

EDIT do not copy / paste content from other sites
 
#8 ·
A little known problem with long term storage of bleach in your disaster emergency supply cache is that it degrades over time. Consulting a Chlorox bleach representative produced this statement:

“We recommend storing our bleach at room temperatures. It can be stored for about 6 months at temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. After this time, bleach will be begin to degrade at a rate of 20% each year until totally degraded to salt and water. Storing at temperatures much higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit could cause the bleach to lose its effectiveness and degrade more rapidly. However, if you require 6% sodium hypochlorite, you should change your supply every 3 months.”
This is one of the reasons I do not stockpile liquid bleach (except for a new bottle every hurricane season).

But does anyone know HOW the bleach breaks down? Does it have to do with air contact? Or air coming through the seal/through the plastic? Or is it a chemical reaction that will occur even without air.

I was wondering and thinking if having some in glass bottles that are vaccum sealed would have any impact on the shelf-life. Just curious about that.
 
#22 ·
The real problem today is that most commercial bleach has lye (sodium hydroxide) added. If you get a bottle of bleach that contains only sodium hypochlorite as its effective ingredient, that'll still work. But it's important to get something with a powerful oxidizer that you can safely ingest, but just buying a bottle of "bleach" is no longer the ticket.
 
#24 ·
I was able to buy the powdered calcium hypochlorite online, about $20 for six packets, enough to make bleach the rest of my life ;). I had originally bought a packet of the sodium type pool shock at HD, didn't realize it was the wrong stuff. I also bought two gallon jugs of store-brand bleach to get the jugs. Brand-name Clorox no longer comes in gallon jugs, they're some odd amount, about three quarts. After I use them up, I plan to make up bleach solution from the calcium hyp. For the poster who asked about measuring, this is why I'm making two at a time, to get the quantity right. The label also says it's important to add the powder into the water.
 
#26 ·
Calcium hypochlorite is good for disinfecting tanks of water, water in line, water...but, do not use calcium hypochlorite for disinfecting your well.. It doesn't fully dissolve and you will add unnecessary calcium to your well. WHy is this bad? Calcium carbonate is the #1 scale found in water systems.

Sodium hypochlorite is the liquid form of chlorine sold commercially. It is avialable in "strengths" of 4 to 12.5%. Sodium hypochlorite has been buffered with alkaline (caustic) compounds to make it safe. It is not a long-term stable chemical. It degrades with time, dilution, and/or exposure to sunlight. Warning: most commercial "bleaches" have other additives mixed in - surfactants, dispersants, etc...most commercial bleaches are sold as a laundry commodity, not a water disinfection chemistry.

FYI - chlorine is dangerous at a pH of less than 4.5 (gas state); it is an effective liquid disinfectant at a pH of 6 to 7.25 (96% biocidal); it is rather inert at pH's above 7.5 (4% and less, biocidal). Most commercial bleach/sodium hypochlorite is sold at a pH of 9 to 11 for "safety" on the shelf.
 
#27 ·
Warning: most commercial "bleaches" have other additives mixed in - surfactants, dispersants, etc...most commercial bleaches are sold as a laundry commodity, not a water disinfection chemistry.
That's why the only bleach I would trust is Clorox regular, unscented bleach. They have recommended it for use as a drinking water treatment, so they aren't adding other things to it. Who knows what's in the other brands.
 
#29 ·
I called Walmart, they could not get the department to pick up the phone--go figure.

I called Home Depot, though I was on hold for a while someone finally picked up and walked over to the Pool Shock to find out what it had in it. None of them had Calcium Hypochlorite. Was he just reading it wrong or is there some other product I should look for?

I'd really like to stock some of this stuff, just home I can find it!
 
#36 ·
Thanks for the link,Monique. I've been meaning to get some of this for a while, but never knew a good source for the right stuff. I've checked locally, but it seems they only sell huge amounts and it had other additives.
Anyway, I just ordered the 6 one-pound bags from these guys. :thumb:
 
#37 ·
Mil-dot, glad to help. Note what I said earlier about containers, though. I originally planned to mix it in regular Clorox bottles, and discovered those are no longer one gallon. So, I bought some store label bleach which are still a gallon, and will mix my first batch after those are used up.
 
#44 ·
I don't feel as if I'm violating OPSEC in this post, so here goes:

After I lost my job as a research scientist due to budget cuts at the DoD, I switched industries and began working as a building engineer at a large chain in the hospitality industry. If I posted name of my employer, doubtless many would recognize it, but I'll keep that to myself.

I do believe working in the hospitality industry in the Central Florida area is a pretty big group of folks, so I don't think that's giving too much away.

One side effect is my facility has a 62,000 gallon pool somewhere in Central Florida, and I'm responsible for it as well as other parts of the facility. My employer was kind enough to pay for my Certified Pool Operator's license, so I know a bit about pool chemistry.

My employer purchases granular Calcium Hypochlorite in 100lb containers for each facility with pools. Cal Hypo is a great shelf stable oxidizer and sanitizer, the two are not the same. I use it primarily for shocking the pool to remove cloudiness and excess chloramine (combined chlorine). We also get a form of cal hypo pucks for our auto feeders.

Now one nice thing about cal hypo is the hypochlorite ion does exactly the same job as sodium hypochlorite, only you get two ions per mole with cal hypo as opposed to one per sodium hypo. More bang per ounce, shelf stable, granular, highly concentrated and fairly easy to handle. It is MY go-to chemical for water disinfection. It also can be used to make a household bleach solution.

Generally I mix up a 500ppm (5%) solution with water to equate to a bottle of commercial bleach, approx 1 tablespoon to one gallon water. Then I follow the usual directions about disinfection.

One word of warning DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW THIS CHEMICAL TO MIX WITH ACID (or any solution with a pH<6) . The result will be free chlorine gas, the stuff that killed soldiers in WWI. You will die a horrible death within minutes from pulmonary edema. But since the water supply you will be working with usually has a pH of 7-8, this is not a problem.

Now a word about trichlor, AKA cyanuric acid. CYA is a stabilizer used by outdoor pools to prevent UV light from the sun prematurely breaking down the sanitizer. CYA can be used to sanitize water, and actually is more potent than Cal hypo, but I find it to release chlorine much slower, and requiring a longer contact time to be effective. It is a backup plan to be sure, but I'll reach for the cal hypo first. I don't have the charts in front of me, just working from memory.
 
#46 ·
Generally I mix up a 500ppm (5%) solution with water to equate to a bottle of commercial bleach, approx 1 tablespoon to one gallon water. Then I follow the usual directions about disinfection.
Laser,

Not sure you meant it this way but just to clarify, mixing CHC as you recomend here is nowhere close to equaling commercial bleach. 6% bleach off the shelf is of a strength of approximately 60,000 ppm and takes only a few drops (about 8) per gallon to disinfect a gallon of water to about 5 ppm. To make a 500 ppm stock solution you add only 1 teaspoon of 65-70% granular CHC to 2 gallons of water. Then you would use about 1 1/4 ounces (2 1/2 tablespoons) of this solution per gallon of water to disinfect it to 5 ppm.
Go here for more details: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

Everything else you mention is spot on.

gk
 
#45 ·
OK... Not being a "pool person," I don't understand the swimming pool lingo. What product should I be looking for? pool shock? pool sanitizer? pool treatment? The web sites have an array of products with different names and I don't know the "shtick." Or should I go to wally world and study the ingredient labels?

Thanks!
 
#57 ·
Is there no one else concerned about this?

I was planning on letting my water sit in an wide open container over night to allow the bleach to evaporate. This is what I do with "city water" at the office before watering my plants with it, or using it in a fish aquarium.

If the Cal Hypo is used in pools because it evaporates more slowly then I will have to leave the water out longer. I also would think that something that easily breaks down into salt and water... sounds more safe for ingestion. I am going to keep rotating my bleach as well as add the powder to my stock.

At this point I plan on using my Berkly for my drinking water. Still, the chemicals would make using clean water for washing more practical. I kind of like the idea of washing my face and dishes in clean water.
 
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