Maybe what I should have asked was - what all do we need to kill in our water?
1. Bacteria
2. viruses
3. protozoa (I think things like cryptosporidium and giardia fall into that category).

Is there anything else or is that the only 3 categories of things we need to kill? Because if that's the case I can just focus on the brands that kill 99.9% of all three of those.

 

My bad, looks like there are these categories also:

4. bacterial spores
5. cysts
6. algae
7. fungi

Shesh, this is getting complicated. How do you compare the different brands if they don't all tell everything they're effective against?

 

I don't bring any of the above while out in the wilderness, I use a Sawyer Mini filter which removes all of the above. I then attach an activated charcoal component downstream of that which takes out chemicals and makes the taste much better.

However, at home, I would recommend you take a look at calcium hypochlorite. It's powdered bleach, essentially. It will kill everything and is cheaper than the tablets.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't use tablets either if I had time to use a better method like filtering and boiling, or distilling. I'm thinking of the tablets as more of a back up method if say you're on the go or something and you don't have time to stop and distill water, make a filter, or start a fire for boiling.

Of course it's always good to come prepared with a Sawyer Mini Filter or whatever, but that's only good if you have it with you and it's working properly. What if it got damaged, used up, or stolen? Always good to have back up options.

 

Remember that whatever chemical method you use, make sure to follow the directions. They aren't an instant process. The water needs to be exposed the chemical for a certain minimum length of time to be effective. None of the chemicals result in good tasting water, just safe water. Something else (aeration, carbon filter, etc) needs to be done to improve taste.

 

I know it's not an instant process, but it only takes a second to drop a pill into your water bottle. If your on the go or on the run, I don't think there's a better method. It might take 30 or so minutes to do its thing, but it can be doing that while you're on the move. Just drop a tablet in and go. Might have to shake it for a minute. Taste might be important, but I would think it would become a little less important in an emergency when you're desperate to re-hydrate and in too big of a hurry to worry about it.

 

Aqua mira tablets or drops are a good backup/secondary. A lot of people use the drops as primary while thru hiking often too.

 

I prefer something called 'polar pure' but sadly it is getting harder and harder to find.
while not infinite, the crystals in the jar last MUCH longer than any tablet will.

 

Did some research on the calcium hypochlorite and it appears a 1 pound bag in granular form will treat up to 10,000 gallons of drinking water which is enough for a family of four for some six or seven years at a gallon per day per person.

Calcium Hypochlorite is widely available for use as swimming pool chlorine tablets or white powder and is often known as “pool shock”.

After following the instructions; it destroys disease causing organisms such as bacteria, yeast, fungus, spores, and viruses.

Hope this helped.

 

sodium dichloro-isocyanurate?("Oasis" water purification tablets)

What about "Oasis" water purification tablets, which contain sodium dichloro-isocyanurate?
Are they any good?

 

In my Bugout Bag I carry not only a LifeStraw but a small container of Calcium Hypochlorite. For those of you unfamiliar with Calcium Hypochlorite, it is the main ingredient in "Pool Shock". It is very powerful, has a shelf life of about one million years, and one pound will purify over 50,000 gallons of water. It is so powerful that just a pinch will purify a gallon of water. It only takes about 15 to 20 granules (smaller than the size of a grain of salt) will purify a canteen-full (a quart) of the worst water. One teaspoon added to a gallon of water will actually produce a full gallon of 5% household bleach. A small pill bottle of Calcium Hypochlorite is a lot easier to carry around than a gallon of bleach and it will last a lot longer.

The pool shock has to be pure Calcium Hypochlorite (no algaecide, water clarifiers, or other additives) and it must be in high-concentration, known as "Super Shock" (at least 78% pure Calcium Hypochlorite). You can find it on the Web. Just be sure it is high concentration and contains nothing other than Calcium Hypochlorite and inert ingredients. It is more effective than any of the tablets and who hasn't swallowed pool water in their life?

BTW, the correct concentration of Chlorine in drinking water is 5 PPM. You can even get test strips to measure the Chlorine content.

 

Here in the Deep South (Florida), everyone I know uses a ceramic filter such as Sawyer. By the time a tablet dissolves and purifies a canteen down here, the water has reached a temperature that isn't pleasant to drink while you are already battling dehydration. On the other hand, instantly filtering some cold spring fed water with a ceramic filter allows you to quickly rehydrate in a more pleasurable manner (cold). Iodine is for the birds. Ain't nobody got no time for that nastiness.

 

I inspected water systems for over 18 years and the tablets are only good as a last resort. Yes they will kill bacteria, virus, and protozoa but it won't do much with the protozoa oocyst (like Cryptosporidium parvum) that are the dormant reproductive structure that will make you sick or kill. They have a hard outer shell that keeps chemicals from killing them. The best bet is boiling or the ceramic filter that say it is good to 3 microns.

 

THIS EXACTLY... Crytpsporidium is the biggest threat and bleach or pool shock or Calsium Hypochlorite WILL NOT KILL IT... Chlorine Dioxide does have a much better effective record however physical filtration and boiling are still superior.. If you are relying on pool shock or household bleach you are going to be in for a rather unpleasant shock.. Maybe even deadly.... This little tidbit of "prepper" wisdom known as pool shock is yet one more example of bad information on the net..

 

Water fit to drink!

After hundreds of miles of back country hiking, and relying on indigenous water, I have to say that Iodine purification is barely surviving. It tastes nasty, upsets stomachs....

I really recommend a ceramic filter, as fine as you can afford. Katadyne is the only brand that comes to mind, but I have used three or four. The water is fresh tasting as bottled. And I have NEVER gotten sick from the water.

Crossing Whitney for a week, I started off determined to use what I brought, Iodine. My buddy had a Katadyne, which he offered profusely. I was not to be swayed.

Until I drank about half an ounce of the Iodine water, then tasted his. I became a true convert.

 

Why would anyone want to drink nasty water. I've used this water filter for about 8 years without any problems what so ever. One of the best on the market, if not the best.

 

I have a Sawyer Mini with a 0.1 micron filter. It's rated for up to 100,000 gallons. It's small, light and easy to use. I also have a Sweetwater for when I'm with a larger group. Katadyn also makes a great product that will fit the bill. At the minimum get a Lifestraw those are 0.2 micron filters good for about 1000 liters.

Filtering the water takes only slightly longer than dipping a bottle in the stream and dropping in some tabs. Also, the water is drinkable immediately. I keep tablets in my pack only as a last resort.

 

I have used Polar Pur for many gallons and have not had any problems. 1 bottle will probably last my lifetime, but you have to follow the directions as with any type of purification process you choose.

 

Polar Pure is now off the market as per their website because it can be used in the production of meth.
http://www.polarequipment.com/

You might see it online, even on Amazon, but it is fake. The company quit making it years ago and the meth heads bought all the real stuff up the next day. I'm not sure how they can peddle this fake stuff everywhere, but it isn't Polar Pure.

I consider my purification tabs as tertiary supplies. I use Sawyer filters first, a Seychelle straw secondary, and I have two tertiaries in PP and tabs. Tabs take up almost no space and it doesn't hurt to have fallbacks.

My tab brand is Potable Aqua, which is chlorine based.

 

Polarpure is iodine based and will not kill Cryptosporidium. Past success does not indicate future success. I know of people who would routinely drink straight from streams claiming .. I've done it dozens of times and NEVER gotten sick.. Until they did.. Use what you want, believe what you want but if the system has collapsed and medical care is non existent it's a hell of a time to find out you were wrong.. It just may cost you your life......

 

I have used the Polar Pure product in the past and my family didnt like the taste of the water when finished. I still carry both in my BOB as a plan B or maybe C. With the cost of ceramic filters so low and the size of the Sawyer Mini systems, its hard to not consider as a viable alternative

One thing that is VERY important to consider with ALL tab products is that they require not only time to work but that time varies based on temperature of the water. If its cold, the process takes longer to work.

My go to is a sawyer mini with the mylar bag setup. So simple my kids can fetch with it. I can fill our canteens or Nalgenes in minutes and have high confidence that the water is safe. When possible I try to run the water through a coffee filter first to remove debris and larger contaminants. This helps lengthen the filter life.

 

LifeStraw for your $100 light BOB / GHB.

Katadyne for your $500 mega-BOB / GHB.

 

Lifestraw? Don't be taken in by big advertising. Buy a Sawyer Mini for less and get a by far better product.

Nothing wrong with a Katadyn, but you can use a less expensive Sawyer there too if you are willing to add toxin protection.


If you want something small and dry there is potassium permanganate, though it takes some training to use it. If your chlorine dioxide tabs go out of date you can refill the old little bottle with PP and get a supply that will last you months.

 

How effective are the UV products like Steri-Pen at killing contaminants? I know it does nothing about sediment, but does it kill everything when used correctly?

 

Just watch it when handling the powdered bleach. The dust from that stuff will ruin your clothes and carpets.

Another warning with the tablets... I was testing some Aquamira tablets a few weeks ago and dropped one and then couldn't find it. I figured it rolled into the floor drain after an exhaustive search could not locate it. Nope. Fell into the lace area on my shoe and got stuck there. The next day after getting my shoes wet while washing the dog I took my shoe off to find a really nasty rash and peeling skin and then located the mostly dissolved tablet between the upper and the tongue of the shoe. Funny though it didn't hurt and I couldn't feel it. So, watch it with handling and storage on those too.

I prefer using the usual unscented bleach method of 8 drops per quart for dirty water, 4 drops for "clean" water. I had commercial bottled water and my own treated tap water stored in my truck for a year in my tool box and the bottled water tasted terrible while the bleach treated water tasted like fresh chlorinated tap water. Not a scientific test, but the bleach treated water didn't make me sick. I didn't try the bottled water, based on the smell.

 

The only difficulty with the liquid bleach is carrying it in small portable containers. I haven't found any that work. I got little dropper bottles made from the same plastic as the bleach jug but they eventually split open for no apparent reason (maybe they froze though).

 

I keep a Katadyn Hiker Pro in my GHB, and we have LifeStraws in bags for everyone else.

At home, we're using county (filtered) water. Long term "grid down" (no county water) plans are stored water + bleach (liquid, followed by solid if that runs out) + berkey for volume water needs.

 

Somebody asked about the oasis water purification tablets. It seems to be some kind of chlorine, but it doesn't actually say chlorine dioxide on the website anywhere that I can see. However it does say this about them:

Oasis Water Purification Tablets are effective at killing bacteria, bacterial spores, cysts, algae, fungi, protozoa and virus and are especially lethal to Entamoeba Histolytica. Shelf life is 3-5 years. The wait time is 30 minutes.

I don't know about cryptosporidium. I think that is a protozoa so it should kill it, but you would think they would want to mention that one specifically, yet they didn't so who knows.

I believe the Katadyn Micropur MP 1 will take care of cryptosporidium, but it takes like 4 hours.

Somebody also mentioned the Steri-pen. My understanding is that you have to have fairly clear water for it to work. Same as the SODIS method of using the sun to kill everything in the water. That could be a problem in survival situation if you don't have that clear of water. I'm also not sure how you would know if it actually worked or not, or if there is anyway to tell.

As for liquids, I would personally rather have some kind of tablets (individually wrapped) for a backup because a liquid could potentially leak out in your pack. Most of the tablets don't seem to have very long shelf life though. 5 years seems to be about the best that I've seen.

I don't know why so many people like the filter straws. I would prefer to boil my water also to make sure it's doubly safe. That would be hard to do with a filter straw. The straw filters are really only good for personal use, but with a pump filter it's easier to share the water with someone else. With a pump filter it's also easier to collect water that you can take with you, which again, would be harder to do with a straw filter.