How long to water purification tablets last?
Bill VanRemmen
I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing date of
10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
appears to be unopened with a wax seal around the screw-on cap.
So, can someone tell me what the shelf life of these things (tetraglycine
hydroperiodide) is?
--
-Bill VanRemmen, KA2WFJ
bi...@frontiernet.net
http://www.frontiernet.net/~billy/
My opinions. No one in their right mind would claim otherwise.
============================================================================
"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty
when the government's purposes are beneficient . . . the greatest
dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well
meaning but without understanding."
Justice Louis Brandeis
Olmstead vs. United States,
United States Supreme Court, 1928
============================================================================
Paul Weiss
In article <32D86B...@frontiernet.net>, Bill VanRemmen
<bi...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
> I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing
date of
> 10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
> appears to be unopened with a wax seal around the screw-on cap.
>
> So, can someone tell me what the shelf life of these things (tetraglycine
> hydroperiodide) is?
>
Gary Coghlan of Coghlan's Ltd (the Canadian distributor for the water
purification tabs) once told me that you can test the pills by squeezing
them firmly. If they shatter to dust, toss the bottle out. If the pills
hold intact, then they're still quite usable. Having said that, I don't
think that I'd try to save a miserly $4-$5 and possibly jeopardize my
health by using something that old with that level of uncertainty attached
to its value.
--
Cheers,
Paul Weiss
Backwater Trails: http://www.netaccess.on.ca/~cpweiss/BWT/BWT.html
E-mail: cpw...@netaccess.on.ca
Personal Home Page: http://www.netaccess.on.ca/~cpweiss/
Quote:"Nostalgia sure isn't what it used to be!"
"Does anal retentive have a hyphen?"
jeff...@pacbell.net
Paul Weiss wrote:
>
> In article <32D86B...@frontiernet.net>, Bill VanRemmen
> <bi...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
>
> > I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing
> date of
> > 10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
> you can test the pills by squeezing them firmly....
No, no, no. Water purification tabs deteriorate qiuckly once exposed to air. Not
sure, but they may have a useful life of weeks then. So, unless you can squeeze them
without opening the bottle :), you've gotta rely on the date on the label.
I agree with Paul when he says to dump these 25 year old pills in favor of $5 of fresh
ones.
Luke Klink
>Bill VanRemmen
> <bi...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
>
> > I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing
> date of
> > 10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
> >
> > So, can someone tell me what the shelf life of these things (tetraglycine
> > hydroperiodide) is?
> >
>
i wonder how old his power-bars are.
couldn't resist;)
luke
--
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Luke Klink
lu...@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu
University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee
Kathy Hannah
> > <bi...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
> >
> > > I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing
> > date of
> > > 10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
>
> > you can test the pills by squeezing them firmly....
>
> No, no, no. Water purification tabs deteriorate qiuckly once exposed to air. Not
> sure, but they may have a useful life of weeks then. So, unless you can squeeze them
> without opening the bottle :), you've gotta rely on the date on the label.
>
> I agree with Paul when he says to dump these 25 year old pills in favor of $5 of fresh
> ones.
Go to a good chem supply house, buy the smallest amount of metallic
iodine you can, split it among friends (1/4 oz will last several
generations, or until your house burns down). Put iodine in 2 oz/50 mL
glass bottle with a sealing top, add water. Add supernatant to suspect
water at a rate of 12 mL per Liter, allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add
Vitamin C powder to taste, pour off supernatant into clean bottle.
After each use, add water to bottle. Larger bottles may be used for
larger parties. Takes about an hour to recharge the water in the iodine
bottle. DO NOT CONSUME THE IODINE.
Iodine in a bottle can also be found commercially. Been doing this for
20 years; just got a filter unit this year (heavier and more expensive).
Iodine is the preferred method for eliminating Giardia lamblis (sp).
Dan
Alan Dove
On Mon, 13 Jan 1997 jeff...@pacbell.net wrote:
> No, no, no. Water purification tabs deteriorate qiuckly once exposed to
> air. Not sure, but they may have a useful life of weeks then. So,
> unless you can squeeze them without opening the bottle :), you've gotta
> rely on the date on the label.
>
> I agree with Paul when he says to dump these 25 year old pills in favor
> of $5 of fresh ones.
A good idea. Or spend $9 on a bottle of PolarPure iodine crystals, which
don't go bad as long as there are crystals in the bottom of the bottle.
Great product. I'm not affiliated with the company except as a happy
customer. The important point is that you definitely SHOULD NOT use the
ancient bottle of tablets.
--Alan
__________________
Alan Dove
N3IMU
ad...@columbia.edu
http://hs1304silver1.cpmc.columbia.edu/Alan_Dove/Alan.html
JHOLL4
In <Pine.SUN.3.95L.97011...@merhaba.cc.columbia.edu>, Alan Dove <ad...@columbia.edu> writes:
>A good idea. Or spend $9 on a bottle of PolarPure iodine crystals, which
>don't go bad as long as there are crystals in the bottom of the bottle.
Just remember that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium.
--Cathy Mancus <man...@vnet.ibm.com>
Bill VanRemmen
I didn't know this? How frequent does one find this particular bug in the
Adirondaks?
Alan Dove
On 14 Jan 1997, it was written:
>
> Just remember that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium.
>
> --Cathy Mancus <man...@vnet.ibm.com>
>
I have heard this assertion before, and wondered if someone has a
literature citation for it so I can add it to the DW Panel 9 next time I'm
editing it.
Edmund J. Biow
Kathy Hannah <kha...@pyramid.net> wrote:
>jeff...@pacbell.net wrote:
>>
>> Paul Weiss wrote:
>> >
>> > In article <32D86B...@frontiernet.net>, Bill VanRemmen
>> > <bi...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > > I have a bottle of water purification tablets that has a manufacturing
>> > date of
>> > > 10/71 printed on the label. I am inclined to throw them out, but the bottle
>> > > appears to be unopened with a wax seal around the screw-on cap....
>>
>> > you can test the pills by squeezing them firmly....
>>
>> No, no, no. Water purification tabs deteriorate qiuckly once exposed to air. Not
>> sure, but they may have a useful life of weeks then. So, unless you can squeeze them
>> without opening the bottle :), you've gotta rely on the date on the label.
>>
>> I agree with Paul when he says to dump these 25 year old pills in favor of $5 of fresh
>> ones.
>
>Go to a good chem supply house, buy the smallest amount of metallic
>iodine you can, split it among friends (1/4 oz will last several
>generations, or until your house burns down). Put iodine in 2 oz/50 mL
>glass bottle with a sealing top, add water. Add supernatant to suspect
>water at a rate of 12 mL per Liter, allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add
>Vitamin C powder to taste, pour off supernatant into clean bottle.
>After each use, add water to bottle. Larger bottles may be used for
>larger parties. Takes about an hour to recharge the water in the iodine
>bottle. DO NOT CONSUME THE IODINE.
>
>Iodine in a bottle can also be found commercially. Been doing this for
>20 years; just got a filter unit this year (heavier and more expensive).
>
>Iodine is the preferred method for eliminating Giardia lamblis (sp).
>
>Dan
I understand that adding a few drops of bleach per liter will
disinfect water and then evaporate away if left uncovered for a time.
Does anyone know how effectve bleach is, how much must be added, and
how long it takes to work properly?
Bleach is cheap, readily available and it sounds like it might be
easier to treat water with than the iodine solution mentioned above.
JHOLL4
>On 14 Jan 1997, it was written:
>> Just remember that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium.
In <Pine.SUN.3.95L.97011...@inibara.cc.columbia.edu>, Alan Dove <ad...@columbia.edu> writes:
>I have heard this assertion before, and wondered if someone has a
>literature citation for it so I can add it to the DW Panel 9 next time I'm
>editing it.
Well, here's a couple of sources:
http://nsi.org/Tips/boil.html
http://www.bena.com/nepaltrek/ciwec/ciwdiar2.html
--Cathy Mancus <man...@vnet.ibm.com>
Alan Dove
On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, Edmund J. Biow wrote:
> I understand that adding a few drops of bleach per liter will
> disinfect water and then evaporate away if left uncovered for a time.
> Does anyone know how effectve bleach is, how much must be added, and
> how long it takes to work properly?
>
> Bleach is cheap, readily available and it sounds like it might be
> easier to treat water with than the iodine solution mentioned above.
In a real emergency, if it's a choice of using chlorine or just drinking
the water straight, I would choose chlorine. In any other circumstance
(including a situation where I could build a fire and boil the water), I
would use the chlorine for cleaning white clothes and stick with another
method for purifying water. Chlorine is virtually useless against
_Cryptosporidium_ and of limited utility in killing _Giardia_, it is
completely ineffective against enteroviruses (including hepatitis A), and
has a very narrow range of pH and temperature in which it is effective.
Iodine is a much better choice.
Olof Sandblom
On Tue, 14 Jan 1997, Alan Dove wrote:
> >
> > Just remember that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium.
>
> I have heard this assertion before, and wondered if someone has a
> literature citation for it so I can add it to the DW Panel 9 next time I'm
> editing it.
>
Holton, J. Nye, P. McDonald, V. "Efficacy of selected disinfectants
against mycobacteria and cryptosporidia", Journal of Hospital Infection
27(2):105-15, 1994 Jun
Note that they found iodine-containing compounds less effective than e.g.
glutaraldehyde, and that this article is not directed toward backcountry
users.
Personally, I use iodine, unless I can convince that guy with the wood
burning stove to pack along an autoclave, in which case I'll camp with
him.
Cheers
Olof Sandblom
Dept of Medical Biochemistry
University of Calgary
Michael K. Tamada
>>On 14 Jan 1997, it was written:
>>> Just remember that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium.
[...]
>>I have heard this assertion before, and wondered if someone has a
>>literature citation for it so I can add it to the DW Panel 9 next time I'm
>>editing it.
>
> Well, here's a couple of sources:
>
> http://nsi.org/Tips/boil.html
> http://www.bena.com/nepaltrek/ciwec/ciwdiar2.html
Also, although I don't know if this counts as literature, a very
recent issue of Backpacker magazine talked about water filters and said
that iodine won't kill cryptosporidium. It's not the current (Feb)
issue about Alaska; I think it was either Jan. or Dec.
Two reactions I have to the assertions about laboratory
iodine, and chlorine bleach. Aside from reading the Distilled Wisdom
panel, other good advice in short is: 5 minutes is not enough time for
iodine (20 minutes is the usual minimum, more if the water is cold or
impure), and chlorine is much less effective than iodine.
--Mike Tamada
Occidental College
tam...@oxy.edu
Kathy Hannah
JHOLL4@ wrote:
>
> In <Pine.SUN.3.95L.97011...@merhaba.cc.columbia.edu>, Alan Dove <ad...@columbia.edu> writes:
> >A good idea. Or spend $9 on a bottle of PolarPure iodine crystals, which
> >don't go bad as long as there are crystals in the bottom of the bottle.
>
>
And chlorine won't kill Giardia...
Alan Dove
Olof:
Thanks for the citation. I'll get the paper out of our library and
reference it in the version of Panel 9 that I have on my Web site. In
particular, I'll see what concentration of iodine they used, and what
level of killing they saw. I also use iodine when boiling is
inconvenient, but prefer to boil the water (kills bugs dead).
Van Schaik Willem Anthon Johan
Alan Dove (ad...@columbia.edu) wrote:
: On Wed, 15 Jan 1997, Edmund J. Biow wrote:
: > I understand that adding a few drops of bleach per liter will
: > disinfect water and then evaporate away if left uncovered for a time.
: > Does anyone know how effectve bleach is, how much must be added, and
: > how long it takes to work properly?
: >
When you are daring to go for DIY purification methods, I understand that
8 drops of betadine per liter of water is much more effictive than bleach.
Any comments?
And the betadine can at the same time be used to desinfect wounds.
Willem