Water Purification: Chlorine Bleach

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Infection Control & Water Purification Using ... Bleach

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Dr. Gratton Woodson

Excerpted from The Bird Flu Manual By Grattan Woodson, MD, FACP, which can now be purchased on Amazon.

Infection Control and Water Purification Using Household Bleach
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Bleach is a strong and effective disinfectant. Its active ingredient, sodium hypochlorite, kills viruses, bacteria, mold, fungi, and protozoa on contact by denaturing their vital proteins. Bleach is effective, inexpensive and widely available making it a good choice for use as a disinfectant and purifier.(1) Unscented household bleach is recommended because they can be used for water purification, disinfection, and cleaning. In the US, household bleach usually contains 6% sodium hypochlorite.

Caution when using bleach


When using bleach, be very careful. It will burn any exposed bodily tissue it comes into contact with. The skin, respiratory tract and especially the eye are the tissues usually damaged by careless use of bleach. Even the diluted bleach solutions recommended for use here can cause damage. Use a mask, gloves and eye protection to avoid getting the solution on your skin, clothes, in your eyes, or inhaling it, as this will cause chemical irritation or burns. The simple treatment for bleach exposure is washing it off with water.

It is important to use bleach in a well-ventilated area. Toxic chlorine fumes are released by bleach. These can damage the tissue lining the nose, throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs if inhaled so avoid this. The more highly concentrated the bleach, the more fumes released. Use cold water to dilute the bleach because hot water promotes its breakdown releasing more fumes.

Mixing bleach with other cleaners can lead to release of even more toxic fumes. For instance to combination of bleach and ammonia produces phosgene gas; used as a chemical warfare agent during WW I. For this reason, do not mix bleach with other cleaners or chemicals.

Treatment for exposure to bleach

If you get bleach on you, wash it off with copious amounts of clean water. Thoroughly rise the skin or eye that comes into contact with bleach. This will remove the bleach. Washing should be done as quickly as possible because the bleach will damage tissue as long as it remains in contact with it. It takes a few minutes of washing to get the bleach off. If bleach gets into your eye, wash it for even longer.

If bleach fumes get into the nose or back of the throat, irrigate the area using a salt and soda nasal wash (¼-tsp salt + ¼-tsp backing soda + 1-cup water) using an ear bulb syringe or just inhaling the solution from a cupped palm. There is no treatment for burned bronchial tubes or lungs except rest. A steam tent might help and cough medicine may help. The patient will recover in a few days but often have breathing difficulty and can be in pain with breathing over this time.

Bleach decomposes with time

Bleach decomposes by releasing toxic chlorine gas with time. Exposure to air and sunlight speed its breakdown. Store bleach in opaque containers, keep the top on tight, and don’t open a new container of bleach until it is needed. Once bleach is mixed with water, it will deteriorate quickly; so don’t make more of the solution than you will need for use over the next week or so.

Cleaning contaminated surfaces and objects using bleach

Tools and equipment
Before cleaning, get all necessary tools and equipment ready. These include bleach, a spray bottle, measuring cup, measuring spoons, gloves, eye protection, an apron to protect your clothes, a bucket of clean water, and a sponge or towel. If you plan to clean a floor, then a mop will be needed as well. Even diluted bleach solution will burn a hole in or ruin the color of clothing. If you spill or splash the bleach solution on your clothing, place them in water quickly and you may be able to prevent significant damage.

Preparing bleach solution for cleaning and disinfection

Dilute as follows for cleaning: (2)

1:100 solutions are used for general household cleaning of surfaces.
½ tsp bleach to 1-cup of water (2.5 ml bleach to 250 ml water)
2 tsp bleach to 1-quart water (10 ml bleach to 1000 ml water)
3 tbsp bleach to 1-gallon of water (100ml bleach to 10 liters water)

1:50 bleach solutions are used for disinfecting surfaces contaminated with bodily fluids and waste like vomit, diarrhea, mucus, blood, or feces.
1 tsp bleach to 1-cup water (5 ml bleach to 250 ml water)
4 tsp bleach to 1-quart water (20 ml bleach to 1000 ml water)
6 tbsp bleach to 1-gallon water (200 ml bleach to 10 liters water)

Procedure for disinfecting a contaminated surface or object

To use the bleach solution for disinfecting a surface or object, first wipe up the area with a towel and clean it with soap and water to remove the gross fluids, matter, or dirt. Then spray the appropriate solution on the surfaces or materials or wipe it on with a towel or sponge. Thoroughly wet the entire contaminated area with the bleach solution and let it sit undisturbed for 30 minutes. Wipe the remaining solution off the surface with a moist towel or rinse it off with clean water. Now the area or article is clean and free of contamination.

Disinfecting large containers for drinking water storage

First wash your container thoroughly using soap and water. Use a plastic bristle brush to remove any particulate matter adhered to the inside container surface. A high-pressure spray washer is also useful for this task. Thoroughly rinse all soap from the container.
Spray or wipe the inside of the container with the 1:50 bleach solution. Be careful to drench all internal surfaces of the container including the lid or top. Repeat this step every 15 minutes twice more.

Allow the disinfecting solution to sit in the container for 1 hour then discard it. Do not rinse the container with water after decontamination because this reintroduces new contaminates. The container is ready for use. It can be filled immediately after decontamination or the top can be secured and it can be filled later. If latter, repeat the use of the bleach disinfecting steps just prior to filling the containers with water.

Water purification methods

Unscented household bleach
Plain unscented household bleach (6% sodium hypochlorite) is the most practical way to purify a large quantity of water. For adults the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends adding 1/8th tsp of household bleach to each gallon of drinking water to get rid of virus, mold, fungi, bacteria and protozoa.(3) This treatment is not safe for infants until it has been run through a good filter. Allow the water to sit for 30 minutes after adding the bleach before using it.(4)
________________________________________
• 1The sources used for this article include the Hong Kong Department of Health and the FEMA.
• 2All measures are approximations rather than strictly accurate. These dilutions work well for the stated purpose with a large margin of error permissible in the concentration of bleach.
• 3From the FEMA Website
• 4Excerpted from The Bird Flu Manual
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Filtering and chlorinating

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Original post was from Plan for Pandemic preparedness forum, which is not long active

Filtering and chlorinating:
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Filtering and chlorinating: You can filter water if you have a commercial or backpack filter that filters to 1 micron. These are available in sporting good stores and are recommended for use when back-packing. They are not recommended to clean large volumes of water. Filtering eliminates parasites such as giardia and cryptosporidium, but it may not eliminate all bacteria and viruses. Therefore, it's recommended that 5-7 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of chlorine bleach* be added per gallon of filtered water (1/2 teaspoon for 5 gallons). Stir or shake the solution to mix it. Wait 30 minutes before using the water, or cap the containers and store them in a cool, dry place.
"
*Use liquid household bleach that contains 5.25 percent hypochlorite. Do not use bleaches with fresheners or scents as they may not be safe to consume. The above treatment methods use a two-step approach so less bleach is needed, yet giardia and cryptosporidium are destroyed through boiling or eliminated by filtering. Chlorine may not be effective against these parasites. Since adding too much chlorine to water can be harmful, it's important to be as accurate as possible when measuring.
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Treat your water in two steps!

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Original post is from AvianFluTalk preparedness forum:

Disinfection
https://www.avianflutalk.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=963&PID=20904&title=water#20904

The following is an explanation of why you should filter your water FIRST, using one of the filters noted in other posts, and THEN use your chlorine to complete the purification process of your water:

It may be a good idea, if you are planning on using chlorine or other chemical disinfectants, to use an activated carbon filter prior to use to filter out the resultant chlorine and carcinogenic THM's.

Please see below:

Disinfection

Disinfection with aggressive chemicals like chlorine or ozone is normally the last step in purifying drinking water. Water is disinfected to destroy any pathogens which passed through the filters. Possible pathogens include viruses, bacteria including Escherichia coli and Shigella, and protozoans including Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium. Many water systems intentionally leave residual disinfection agents in the water after exiting the plant so it travels throughout the distribution system. The most common disinfection method is some form of chlorine such as chlorine gas, sodium hypochlorite, chloramine or chlorine dioxide. The water and chemical mix are allowed to sit in a large tank, called a clear well. The water must sit in the clear well to ensure that the water is in contact with the disinfectant for a minimum amount of time because it takes time to inactivate the harmful microbes. Chlorine is a strong oxidant that kills many microorganisms and remains in the water to provide continuing disinfection. Other disinfection methods include using ozone which acts very rapidly or Ultra Violet light that is almost instantaneous also inactivate pathogens.

Chlorine gas and sodium hypochlorite are the most commonly used disinfectants, because they are inexpensive and easy to manage. They are effective in killing bacteria, but have limited effectiveness against protozoans that form cysts in water (Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium, both of which are pathogenic). Chlorine gas and sodium hypochlorite both have strong residuals in the water once it enters the distribution system.

The main drawback in using chlorine gas or sodium hypochlorite is that these react with organic compounds in the water to form potentially harmful levels of the chemical by-products trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids, both of which are carcinogenic and regulated by the U.S. EPA. The formation of THMs and haloacetic acids is minimized by effective removal of as many organics from the water as possible before disinfection and/or by adding ammonia immediately after chemical disinfection is completed. Formerly, it was common practice to chlorinate the water at the beginning of the purification process, but this practice has mostly been abandoned to minimize the production of THMs.

Chloramines are not as effective disinfectants compared to chlorine gas or sodium hypochlorite, but do not form THMs or haloacetic acids. They are typically used only in stored and distributed treated water. An example of this sort is proceeses using ozone for primary disinfection which is very quickly accomplished then using monochloramine to create a residual level of disinfectant in the water. Chlorine dioxide is another rapid acting disinfectant against bacteria but unlike ozone it leaves a long lasting residual in the water. Despite these beneficial characteristics, it is rarely used because it may creates excessive amounts of chlorate and chlorite, both of which are regulated to low allowable levels.
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From Princeton

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Princeton University

Chlorine Treatment
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/manual/water.shtml

OA Guide to Water Purification part of The Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick CurtisScChemical Purification
Scroll down to Chlorine Treatment

There are two types of chemical treatment: those using iodine and those using chlorine. There are a variety of products on the market, so follow the directions on the bottle. Be advised that many of the tablets have an expiration date and become ineffective after that point. Also, once the bottle has been opened, the tablets must be used within a certain period. When in doubt, buy a new bottle. Remember that chemical purification methods may only be partially effective, depending on the water temperature.

(SNIP) ... Chlorine can be used for persons with iodine allergies or restrictions. Remember that ... ---CONTINUED---
Last edited by Readymom on Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: formatting
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Liquid Chlorine Bleach

Post by Readymom »

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How to Find Water and Make It Safe to Drink
Copyright © 1998, 2006 by
Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

https://grandpappy.org/hwater.htm

Liquid Chlorine Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite) - Either 5.25% or 6% StrengthKills Bacteria and Viruses.
Not effective against all Protozoa.
Does Not Neutralize Harmful Chemicals or Radioactive Particles.

Relatively Clear Water - Use 2 drops of bleach per quart of water or 8 drops per gallon.
Cloudy Water - Use 4 drops of bleach per quart of water or 16 drops per gallon.

The water should ... ---CONTINUED---
Last edited by Readymom on Thu Apr 11, 2019 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Updated Link
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Emergency Water Purification Calculator

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Originally posted by (AnneZ) at FluTrackers:

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Emergency Water Purification Calculator
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=71811#post71811

Calculates how many drops of bleach needed to purify a given volume of water. Works in American gallons only. http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oemergencypurifycalc.html

This calculator requires the use of Javascript enabled and capable browsers. In an emergency, to purify drinking water, two methods are most often used. They are boiling the water and adding chlorine (household bleach, such as Chlorox) to it. This calculator determines the quantity of bleach and water mixture to meet the desired emergency water purification mixture, based on the condition of the target water. Most emergency experts and health officials suggest a mixture of 8 drops of bleach to a gallon of generally clear water for best results. Based on environment or cloudiness of the water, you may want to change the quantity of drops to 16 per gallon of cloudy or murky water. Enter the maximum possible volume of water container. The entry should be in gallons. Enter the desired drops of the bleach per gallon and select the appropriate water condition from the drop down box. Click on Calculate and read the calculated result in drops that should be added to the volume of water specified. Please remember that this is a guideline.
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Re: Water Purification: Chlorine Bleach

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Making Water Safe to Drink: A Tutorial

http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/03/23/making-water-safe-to-drink-a-tutorial/

Excerpt:

(Scroll down to Chlorine )
Adding bleach to water can also treat it for some pathogens. The American Red Cross actually recommends boiling and using bleach. If you want to add bleach to water that has been boiled, make sure it has been ... ---CONTINUED---
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Re: Water Purification: Chlorine Bleach

Post by Readymom »

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Disinfect water using household bleach,
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water

Disinfect water using household bleach, if you can’t boil water. Only use regular, unscented chlorine bleach products that are suitable for disinfection and sanitization as indicated on the label. The label may say that the active ingredient contains 6 or 8.25% of sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented, color safe, or bleaches with added cleaners.If water is cloudy, let it settle and filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter. ---CONTINUED---
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Re: Infection Control & Water Purification Using ... Bleach

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Water Disinfection-Bleach-Per American Red Cross

3Steps

From the NEIGHBORHOOD EMERGENCY NOTEBOOK available at 3-Steps.org site (above)
http://3steps.org/58.html

Disinfecting: Again, according to the Red Cross, “The only agent used to purify water should be household liquid bleach. Add 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water if the water is cloudy, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. (If it’s clear, only add 8 drops.) If the water does not have a slight bleach odor [after 30 minutes], repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes.” Use household bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite as its only active ingredient).

How much bleach to use for purifying water (according to the Red Cross):
    • amount of water: 1 quart
      • clear water 2 drops
        cloudy water 4 drops
      amount of water: 1 gallon
      • clear water8 drops
        cloudy water 16 drops
      amount of water: 5 gallons
      • clear water1/2 teaspoon
        cloudy water 1 teaspoon
      amount of water: 55 gallons
      • clear water5 1/2 teaspoons
        cloudy water 11 teaspoons
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Re: Water Purification: Chlorine Bleach

Post by Readymom »

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9 Problems With Using Bleach for Water Treatment
https://rethinksurvival.com/9-problems-with-using-bleach-for-water-treatment/

(SNIP) ... Now, while I understand their reasoning–mostly likely because you’re expected to have bleach on hand–it’s just not that good of a choice, especially when there are better options in the form of quality gravity water filters. In fact, bleach would be an almost last-ditch effort to purify water in my household should the need arise.

Why? Here’s several reasons… ---CONTINUED---
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