[DKYACHT]

Hi guys this might be a stupid question but can I store bleach in a hard plastic bottle like the small gatorade bottles safely? I am 99.9% finished with my big out bag/gear and I thought having a bottle or 2 of bleach would be a nice addition to my water purification/filtering needs.

Part 2 of my question is can I use normal nonsented bleach like you would buy in a grocery store to use for my purification needs?

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[PaulS]

Yes, liquid bleach from the store that is unscented is an excellent method to kill bacteria in water. It only takes 8 to 12 drops per gallon of water so you only need a small bottle with a "dropper" spout built in. I use an eye drop bottle like for "Visine" or other over-the-counter eye medication. Flush it with water and then dry it before filling with liquid bleach. You can also use the dry chlorine products from pool supply houses but the dosages are different - they are cheaper on a per use basis but for me they are less convenient.

 

[DKYACHT]

Yes, liquid bleach from the store that is unscented is an excellent method to kill bacteria in water. It only takes 8 to 12 drops per gallon of water so you only need a small bottle with a "dropper" spout built in. I use an eye drop bottle like for "Visine" or other over-the-counter eye medication. Flush it with water and then dry it before filling with liquid bleach. You can also use the dry chlorine products from pool supply houses but the dosages are different - they are cheaper on a per use basis but for me they are less convenient.

Thanks for that, some very useful ideas. After the 8-12 drops you need to wait about 30 minutes right? So storing bleach in small plastic containers is fine? obviously they need to be strong so they don't leak but like I said above a 'gatorade' type bottle is fine?

 

[PaulS]

A Gatorade type bottle is fine but how are you going to measure out twelve drops to a gallon or three drops to a quart?
I guess you cold use a plastic stick of some kind but a straw is too big to get a single drop at a time.

 

[DKYACHT]

A Gatorade type bottle is fine but how are you going to measure out twelve drops to a gallon or three drops to a quart?
I guess you cold use a plastic stick of some kind but a straw is too big to get a single drop at a time.

I had a few ideas, 1 of which was mark the cap to show 8-12 drops. Or have a 2nd lid with a tiny hole to drip it out slowly. I was more concerned with finding a strong container to avoid potential leaking in my go bag. I will keep it in a ziplock bag or 2 just for added protection, but starting with the right container was a priority.

 

[Inor]

Why couldn't you just use an eye-wash bottle like you buy at Walgreens for $1.59? It already has the straw on the top that is real easy to squeeze out one drop at a time. Plus it is small enough that you won't have to carry around 12 or 16 ounces of bleach when you should really only need maybe 1/2 once in a 72 hour period. Just a thought.

 

[DKYACHT]

Why couldn't you just use an eye-wash bottle like you buy at Walgreens for $1.59? It already has the straw on the top that is real easy to squeeze out one drop at a time. Plus it is small enough that you won't have to carry around 12 or 16 ounces of bleach when you should really only need maybe 1/2 once in a 72 hour period. Just a thought.

I think I might be thinking of something else that you guys are talking about. I thought you guys were talking about the little visine bottles? I'm assuming whatever your talking about is bigger than those? And with regards to the small gatorade bottles I chose those more for their thicker plastic vs their size.

 

[PaulS]

A Visine bottle will hold an ounce or more of bleach which is enough to easily last the 3 days that a BOB is planned to support. Even in a desert region when two gallons a day is good hydration that only amounts to a maximum of 72 drops which is about a tablespoon of bleach. A twelve once drink bottle would last a year.

 

[DKYACHT]

A Visine bottle will hold an ounce or more of bleach which is enough to easily last the 3 days that a BOB is planned to support. Even in a desert region when two gallons a day is good hydration that only amounts to a maximum of 72 drops which is about a tablespoon of bleach. A twelve once drink bottle would last a year.

I think in a bug out situation I'd rather have more than less. I'm going to stick to the small gatorade type hard plastic bottle.

 

[CTHorner]

Chlorine Bleach is an invaluable and necessary addition not only to your bug in supplies, but in your BOB itself. But there are a few problems with off the shelf liquid Chlorine Bleach. First off it has a shelf life of about six months on average and deteriorates at a given rate of 20% a year. Second it is difficult to store safely or in quantity especially in your BOB.

So what do I do C. T.?? You might ask.

Well that's a good question. And the answer is simple, don't buy Liquid Chlorine Bleach for your long term needs.

But you said it was a necessary and invaluable item for us to have in our BOB's C. T. so what do we use?

That's simple fellow Preppers you use Liquid Chlorine Bleach of course. Only you don't buy it off the shelf where it will be worthless when you need it. You make it when and if you need it and it will always be fresh. The best part is that in crystal form it is safe and easy to store.
Where do we get the stuff to make it?
Any pool supply store will have it even CHINAMART.
But if you only want some for your BOB you could ask a friend with a pool or a pool service company for a few ounces.

What you need to know about liquid chlorine bleach is that it is a solution made from mostly water and 3-6% Sodium Hypochlorite. A home made variety can be made from Calcium Hypochlorite both are used throughout the world for water purification.

To make a chlorine bleach solution using calcium hypochlorite, I suggest you get yourself a copy of the Army Technical Bulletin entitled, "SANITARY CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE OF FIELD WATER SUPPLIES" (TB MED 577).
Link to PDF:
http://www.irwin.amedd.army.mil/pages/NTCsurgeon/Preventive Medicine/tbmed577.pdf

From the Army manual, "to make a concentrated chlorine solution that you can use for disinfecting water (or to be used in maintaining a clean and sanitary living environment), you'll want to use calcium hypochlorite that has around 70% available chlorine."
So check the label and make sure it has over 70% active ingredient. The stuff is cheep so go with best you can find.

After you've made your stock of chlorine solution, you'll want to follow the formula from the Army Technical Bulletin in determining how much of the above stock chlorine solution you'll need for your desired number of gallons of water to be disinfected.

Good Luck, and keep your powder dry.

C. T. Horner.

Shameless pandering to follow so stop reading if you like.

Be sure to check out my survival series Corporate Survival Available on Kindle. Link provided for convince. Do not click it unless you want to be directed to my Book.

Amazon.com: Corporate Survival eBook: C.T. Horner: Kindle Store

Thanks again C. T. Horner

 

[pfwag]

I confirm what CT Horner posted however for a BOB, get water purification tablets. They are various chemicals, usually chlorine or iodine based, and they sell them in camping stores. Short term, plain ole Clorox bleach is good but you really have no idea what strength it is "off-the-shelf" and if it is stored at elevated temperatures it degrades even faster. Conversely, store it cooler and it doesn't degrade as fast. You can get some very low cost 0-10ppm chlorine test strips to assure your treated water has enough free chlorine (typically 2-4ppm). BTW, after adding and stirring, let it sit for an hour before using. You should pre-filter any dirty water if at all possible to remove any organic matter as it interacts with chlorine to produce cancer causing chemicals (trihalomethanes). The organic compounds also use up the chlorine in the water and if there isn't enough free chlorine you won't kill off any potential pathogens. If you don't like the chlorine taste, filter it through a carbon filter. Even a good carbon filtering pitcher will take almost all the chlorine out.

For long term, get calcium hypochlorite as CT posted. If I remember correctly, just a pound will treat something like 10,000 -20,000G of water, depending on how chlorinated you want your water. HOWEVER, the stuff is not play dough so be sure to read the handling instructions very carefully and NEVER store it in a container with any metal, and that include a lid on a glass jar. Also, if Murphy's Law applies, it can release chlorine gas so don't store it in your house either.