You can drink the water now

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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One of my sisters-in-law is a pharmacist, and she tested several brands of bottled water. She'll only drink Planeta Azul and Cristal. Forget the faucet.

maybe it is psychological, but i stocked up on Crystal, and find i like it better than Dasani.
 

Tom0910

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Sep 28, 2015
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I put 3/4 of a teaspoon of unscented chlorine bleach in the big bottles of water and have never been sick in ten years,the EPA recommends 6 drops per gallon so I think my math is about right using 3/4 of a teaspoon.
 

waytogo

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Apr 3, 2009
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I put 3/4 of a teaspoon of unscented chlorine bleach in the big bottles of water and have never been sick in ten years,the EPA recommends 6 drops per gallon so I think my math is about right using 3/4 of a teaspoon.

Is this their recommendation for 5 gl containers, faucet water, or all water in general?
 

Tom0910

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Sep 28, 2015
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Is this their recommendation for 5 gl containers, faucet water, or all water in general?
6 drops per gallon x 5 gallons=30 drops,there are 60 drops in a teaspoon so I am going a bit heavy but it works for me. They recommend doubling the dosage if the water is cloudy. The truth is that the chlorine bleach completely dissipates in 24 hours but at that point you have accomplished what you set out to do which is to kill any bacteria in the water.
 

AlterEgo

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Is this their recommendation for 5 gl containers, faucet water, or all water in general?

I've watched my in-laws prepare salad. First they mix tap water with bleach and wash everything thoroughly. Then they discard that water, and use bottled water with just a drop or two of bleach and rinse thoroughly. Never seen anyone get sick.
 

RDKNIGHT

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Mar 13, 2017
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Folks seriously let me know how drinking tap water works out for you...... I don't even brush my teeth with it.......in the states I don't drink the tap water... Hello flint Michigan. its best to drink all water bottle with lime....
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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I haven't seen it mentioned yet in conjunction with using bleach to purify drinking water - If you use bleach to purify low turbidity water so that it is potable, it's equally important to mix thoroughly and wait a minimum of 30 minutes for the chloro do to its thing before using that water.

The purifying effectiveness of chloro degrades quickly after manufacture. A bottle that has been on the store shelf for a few weeks and then in your closet for more than 6 weeks is not as effective and a slight increase in the amount used and a longer wait time may be needed to achieve the same results as opposed to a fresh bottle of Chloro.

This idea of bleach for drinking water is really intended for times when you have no other alternatives and for the short term until access to a better potable water alternative becomes available. Bleach is a toxic and corrosive chemical (Sodium Hypochlorite). If it was the best option for drinking water, then municipal water systems would be using bleach. These water treatment systems often do use chlorine as part of the sanitization process but in this case chlorine is a liquefied gas. Chlorine and bleach are not the same thing. In both cases though, Chlorine and bleach are both toxic, corrosive and reactive with other substances.

Consume your bleach with care.
 
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RDKNIGHT

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Drinking bleach is nuts... what are you people thinking about ....drinking bleach what the hectic is going on here today....
 

Timotero

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Feb 25, 2011
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Drinking bleach is nuts... what are you people thinking about ....drinking bleach what the hectic is going on here today....



The US military has added "bleach" (in the form of calcium hypochlorite) to drinking water while on deployments for decades. The Division Surgeon sets the "chlorine residual" level (expressed as ppm for "parts per million") based on the waters source, climate, endemic diseases, and other local factors.  Unit FST (field sanitation teams) then test the water for ppm and add more "bleach" if necessary.  This is done with everything from "water buffaloes" (300 gallon water trailers) to 3000 gallon blivets. 

The water does tend to have a slight chlorine taste, but that is easily masked by adding some of the various drink powders that come in the rations (MRE's or if your old enough, C rations). 

But as previously stated, nowadays, I prefer my water to be "brewed". 
 

Tom0910

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Sep 28, 2015
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I've watched my in-laws prepare salad. First they mix tap water with bleach and wash everything thoroughly. Then they discard that water, and use bottled water with just a drop or two of bleach and rinse thoroughly. Never seen anyone get sick.
I do the same but I don't use tap water I use bottled water.
 

Tom0910

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Sep 28, 2015
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Drinking bleach is nuts... what are you people thinking about ....drinking bleach what the hectic is going on here today....
AGAIN,it completely dissipates within 24 hours so NO,I'm not drinking bleach,geez. 
 
Jan 7, 2016
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I've given-up on the water here...I've taken to brushing my teeth with Presidente Light, satisfying and not the least unpleasant and no after taste, especially when you continue drinking it the rest of the afternoon! No health risk either, unless you take into account liver damage and ultimate liver failure...sh*t happens!
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Nowadays, most modern armies have portable filtration systems that deploy alongside a sizable contingent of soldiers. Older less sophisticated armies issued bottled iodine tablets to add to individual canteens. Iodine over time has been replaced with a bottle A and a bottle B procedure to neutralize the iodine and improve the taste after the water is purified. It would be much cheaper to issue each grunt with a bottle of chloro. Wonder why they don't do that? Nowhere is adding bleach to water considered an acceptable long term water treatment solution. Sure for a day or two or three while equipment arrives and gets set up or for short term troop movements from one area to another but not day after day indefinitely. If an army cannot supply clean drinking water to its troops, it has no business being on the battlefield.

I can find no authoritative source declaring water and bleach safe for long term consumption. I can find internet advice suggesting that it is. Just like I can find on the internet that vaccines are bad for you, and some snake oil merchants opining on all sorts of concoctions that will cure all sorts of ailments. Just because silver has some antimicrobial properties, doesn't mean we should all be gulping down colloidal silver @ $59.95 a bottle. In the absence of a reasonable number of sanity based sources declaring something safe, one should be careful.

If someone chooses to add bleach to their already potable tap water or even their bottled water, who am I to care. However, one should exercise some degree or restraint before telling others it's a good thing to do unless you have proof to back up that advice. If you've got proof that long term consumption of hypochorite is okey dokey, I'd like to see it.

Yes the chlorine properties off gas when exposed to air, but in a sealed full container of water, rendering the chlorine inert takes longer but leaves behind the chemically altered salts in that water.

Here in the DR good quality bottled water is available as a safe alternative to tap water. I add a chloro puck to my cistern and am able to wash my dishes and shower with no ill effects. I have no idea what is living in the water distribution pipes in this country except that I know there is no lead. I do not consume piped water here, or use it to prepare food. To be assured of the safety of the water supply despite the delivery infrastructure that currently exists would require treating the water again at the house before it enters the the pipes to the taps.

I'd have no problem washing a bunch of apples in a chloro solution then putting the apples into a bowl to dry before eating one. However, until a surgeon general says, "hey everybody, bleach is the new mega food", I'm going to keep my consumption of the stuff that turns my yellow socks white, to a minimum. Other's are free to drink it if they think it will help.