Starting out my A.T thru attempt on the 29th and starting off using bleach and a bandana style filter method (switching to AM after the temperature rises -- bleach is 1/2 wait time in cold water (I hear) versus AM whose time is increased in cold water) and wondering how many bleach drops will be a good amount to sufficiently treat the water ? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance - Seth "CTWhistler"

The typical recommendations I find say 8 drops/gallon or 2 drops/quart - doubled for cloudy water.

Couple of things to note:

1. American Red Cross suggests 4 drops per liter or quart. But there is no need to get too scientific. Anywhere between 4 and 8 is probably fine.

2. Bleach (and iodine too) won't kill some of the bigger baddies -- like certain protozoa (e.g. crypto) -- at least not in the dosage that you can still tolerate drinking afterwards.

3. Some hikers choose chlorine dioxide instead -- as that can kill all three classes of biological baddies: viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. HOWEVER, the chemicals work sluggish in cold water -- so treatment time can range from 30 minutes (room temp) all the way to 4 hours (for water just above freezing). Since few of us are ever willing to wait this long in the middle of the day, I see this as a false sense of security.


If you are concerned about protozoa, then I highly recommend combining chemical treatment (bleach) with a simple filter. Let bleach work on the tiny and easy to kill stuff -- then use a simple filter block out the big stuff. AquaMira Frontier Pro filter weighs only 2 ounces! In addition to blocking protozoa, it will clarify your water and its carbon core will improve water taste as well -- including the removal of any residual chlorine taste.

@ Aaron - thanks for the tips !

@ Benjamin - good insight also - and I forgot to mention that I will be using it in combination with a 4 Micron pre-filter (then bleach treat / or AM based on water temp) and then a Frontier Pro (prefilter will help increase the expected life of the Frontier) (only using the bleach treatments for about the first 4 weeks or until the average water temp rises a bit) and then switching to an Aqua Mira Drops and Frontier Pro dual setup :-) But good to know that these combinations appear to be decent options for now !! Thanks again for the quick replies and the good insight - Happy Trails :-)

Seth:

Good combination there. Just to belabor the point a tiny bit more... if you are using the Frontier Pro (or any other cheap filter) -- then combining with el cheapo bleach ought to be good enough. There's no need to spend money on expensive chlorine dioxide (liquid or tablets) -- unless, of course, you have an existing supply on hand already.


EDIT: Just noticed now that you will be using a mini dropstopper bottle. If the droplets are smaller than most, then feel free to follow the upper range (say 6-7 drops per quart). Your Frontier Pro will adsorb residual chlorine taste.

Edited by ben2world on 03/18/2011 21:50:41 MDT.