Water Treatment

Have any of y'all ever gotten sick while using Iodine to treat "raw" water? Do you use the liquid 2% stuff or tablets? Thank you. The thread about the Sawyer just got me to thinking about treating raw water and I am curious what your responses will reveal.

I have not, but I've been very lucky. Many, many years ago while hiking in the Olympic Mountains (Washington) I was only using iodine tabs to treat the water. This was my first hike in Washington State. The water was clean and crisp. On the way down the mountain, headed back to the trail head I spotted a sign that was mostly obscured that read. "Boil water! Water may contain Giardia which causes explosive diarrhea." I had nightmares about that sign for a week or so "waiting" for the symptoms to kick in. Thankfully they never did.

I have had not problems. I carry Potable Aqua as a backup. It's Tetraglycine Hydroperiodide, which is a form of iodine. Each pill releases 8 Mg of iodine when added to water. I have used it when my filter clogged. It doesn't kill Crypto cysts so it is a bit risky.

Mostly have used the tablets.....bought a bottle of liquid for the kits haven't used it.....more for the duel purpose of disinfectant and water treatment.
Haven't had a problem...yet....tabs have a taste as I would imagine the liquid does.

I'm a water boiler........

I am reading Medicine for the Outdoors by Dr. Paul Auerbach. Very good section on water treatment.

Haven't used Iodine in years, but when I did, I never got sick from bad water. I keep some liquid Iodine for the same reasons as Hunter.
These days I generally use Aquatabs (NaDCC, Sodium troclosene) which releases chlorine.

I'd like a Sawyer mini, but they are quite expensive over here.

I agree with Hunter. I prefer water boiling as well. I have used the tablets, the onespecially that have the second set of tablets to neutralize the taste help but still have a bit of a taste.

Melting snow/ice is the best taste, boiling water from a moving source is the next best, IMO.

I have avoided using the iodine tablets since I left the Army. Not due to any aversion except that opening the bottle starts the shelf life decay and I am too stingy to throw away a partial bottle that the Army is not paying for!

Over the years my most favored method has been carrying a small bottle I bought from the pharmacist with the little glass dropper on the screw on lid. Three drops of chlorine bleach per quart has always done the trick and I have suffered no problems, ever. The little bottle will hold enough bleach for a week of water and the cost is basically nothing.

I now use the Sawyer mini. I have had no problems while using it. Have also used the Lifestraw with no ill effects. Very cost efficient per liter and no shelf life or proper dosage to worry over.

I used iodine crystals a long time ago. Now I use chlorine dioxide tablets if I use tablets. Mostly I use the sawyer filter. By the way, raw water is good for you. It is the water with nasties that isn't so great.

Use 8 grams of resublimated iodine crystals in a one ounce glass bottle. Fill bottle with water and let sit for 20 - 30 minutes then pour only the liquid into one quart of untreated water and let sit for 30 minutes. The crystals can be used over and over to treat thousands of gallons of water ! Never been sick from iodine but I hear some folks are sensitive to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lamewolf

Never been sick from iodine but I hear some folks are sensitive to it.

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Yes, do not use if you are allergic to shellfish.......

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lamewolf

Use 8 grams of resublimated iodine crystals in a one ounce glass bottle. Fill bottle with water and let sit for 20 - 30 minutes then pour only the liquid into one quart of untreated water and let sit for 30 minutes. The crystals can be used over and over to treat thousands of gallons of water ! Never been sick from iodine but I hear some folks are sensitive to it.

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This is the method the late Ron Hood likes to use. Though he only let the water in the ounce bottle stay in for few seconds after shaking. The water will only take so much of the iodine and leaving the water in longer doesn't help. Doesnt hurt either so whatever you feel comfortable with.

Until recently, I was unaware of the SODIS (solar disinfection) method of killing pathogens in drinking water by using sunlight and clear plastic bottles (PET plastic is recommended) to help disinfect water. This method may be a good supplement to filters, boiling and chemical treatment. A lot of information on this method is availale on the internet.:clover:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Faiaoga

Until recently, I was unaware of the SODIS (solar disinfection) method of killing pathogens in drinking water by using sunlight and clear plastic bottles (PET plastic is recommended) to help disinfect water. This method may be a good supplement to filters, boiling and chemical treatment. A lot of information on this method is availale on the internet.:clover:

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Good luck with that.

I can think of no better medium for culture growth than a plastic bottle of contaminated water baking in the sun. That is on a par with the old deal of water running over seven rocks being pure.

If UV rays would purify the water it would have purified it in the pond where you got it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kyratshooter

Good luck with that.

I can think of no better medium for culture growth than a plastic bottle of contaminated water baking in the sun. That is on a par with the old deal of water running over seven rocks being pure.

If UV rays would purify the water it would have purified it in the pond where you got it.

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Gee, it is good to see I am not the only one who thinks like that.....

Actually, it does work. It pasteurizes the water, which is just as good as disinfection. It isn't the UV rays that kill the pathogens it's raising the temperature and sustaining it over a set period of time. Milk is pasteurized in the same way. Water pasteurization is gaining ground throughout the third world because it reduces the need for both wood collection and burning. The key is knowing what the internal temperature is and how long that temperature is maintained. In sub Saharan Africa that isn't a problem. In the Danial Boone National Forest that's a whole other ball game. Typically, a soy bean wax is used inside the bottle to indicate when the correct temperature has been reached. Once it melts you know it's hot enough. The wax is referred to as a Water Pasteurization Indicator or WAPI. Google "WAPI Water" and you'll get a ton of hits.

I use the iodine crystal method.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick

Actually, it does work. It pasteurizes the water, which is just as good as disinfection. It isn't the UV rays that kill the pathogens it's raising the temperature and sustaining it over a set period of time. Milk is pasteurized in the same way. Water pasteurization is gaining ground throughout the third world because it reduces the need for both wood collection and burning. The key is knowing what the internal temperature is and how long that temperature is maintained. In sub Saharan Africa that isn't a problem. In the Danial Boone National Forest that's a whole other ball game. Typically, a soy bean wax is used inside the bottle to indicate when the correct temperature has been reached. Once it melts you know it's hot enough. The wax is referred to as a Water Pasteurization Indicator or WAPI. Google "WAPI Water" and you'll get a ton of hits.

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Then it should be safe to fill that bottle up with tunafish salad and let it sit in the sun all day???

Pasteurizing is a delicate process requiring close monitoring of temperatures and cleaning of the equipment used for the process.

Your vitamin D pasteurized milk is not done in plastic jugs sitting in the sun al day.

And this process is not used by any of the people I have known who have spent years at mission stations in sub Saharan Africa. They boil theirs, then run it through a Berkley, then add bleach.

Sure. You can even let mayonnaise sit in the sun all day then eat your fill. You might want to do some research on it. Or not. Up to you. Having one more tool in the toolbox seems like a good thing to me but maybe not.

Plus you are dealing with a small bottle of water at a small depth. A pond surface will not reach the same temperature as the water in the bottle because of thermal exchange with the larger volume of water beneath it.

I think what Kyrat is saying and I agree is pasturation of water is possible, but being able to do it with assurance of safety in the field is not possible. Temp and weather conditions alone would hamper the process.

Well if you had a plastic bottle...(like everywhere in the world)...and no other way, I would consider it....and hope I was rescued before I died of the shmitts.

When you do a search on SODIS out on the web there is an amazing amount of clinical/lab research and information about this technology. Apparently it is "the" method of choice in many, many third world countries. To be honest until it came up on this thread I do not think I had ever heard of it. Still very hard for me to accept that you can fill a 2 liter bottle out of a ditch/pond/river with cloudy water, set it out in the sun for 6 to 8 hours and that as far as bio hazards go it is safe to drink. But as Rick pointed out, I always like adding "tools" to my tool box. To be truthful, I figure I view this as a "back up" and as long as I am in North America dealing with water purification issues I will address it in this order: 1. My Sawyer filter system 2. Sawyer Minie, then depending on wood/fuel availability 3. boiling 4. Iodine treatment 5. SODIS I always enjoy learning new camping skills!

If you can dig a seep, your water is going to be clear and probably safe to drink anyway. You set them in water bottle in the sun on a dark or reflective surface for awhile and your going to be 99% good. Questionable water or turbid water and your chances are 9-86%. Not the greatest odds.

In certain environments you will either hydrate or die. South Florida in the high heat and humidity you will lose water without and benefit of evaporation for cooling. If you don't replace those fluids or cool down you will die and 3 days would be a long haul! Day 1 your dead if you move and don't hydrate depending on your condition.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick

Actually, it does work. It pasteurizes the water, which is just as good as disinfection. It isn't the UV rays that kill the pathogens it's raising the temperature and sustaining it over a set period of time. Milk is pasteurized in the same way. Water pasteurization is gaining ground throughout the third world because it reduces the need for both wood collection and burning. The key is knowing what the internal temperature is and how long that temperature is maintained. In sub Saharan Africa that isn't a problem. In the Danial Boone National Forest that's a whole other ball game. Typically, a soy bean wax is used inside the bottle to indicate when the correct temperature has been reached. Once it melts you know it's hot enough. The wax is referred to as a Water Pasteurization Indicator or WAPI. Google "WAPI Water" and you'll get a ton of hits.

---

The SODIS concept seems to be accepted by a number of organizations and agencies, not only by "barefoot hippy/New Age" sources. Cody Lundin (When All Hell Breaks Loose) provides a lot of detail, but his book is not the only source. Muddy water still needs to be filtered or have sediment settle, but this method may be useful where fuel is scarce and sunlight available.

SODIS might be examined as another method to use, not simply dismissed out of hand. After all, it is only about 150 years since the germ theory became accepted. :smartass:

Dave Black (What To Do When The **** Hits The Fan) is a mainstream survival writer who mentions SODIS favorably.

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