Water Purification Tablets

[LAC]

Tried these recently when I was in a place where the borehole water had made me a bit ill previously (although not the locals as they're used to it).
Not major ill, just nausea and a bit of diarrhea. I didn't use one per 1 litre though, I used 1 per 3-4 litres and no illness, so I guess they work. I know you can boil but didn't have the time or wish to use the enegy boiling.
Anyone else used these?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OASIS-PURIFICAT...B00LJTGIW0

[Carnebwen]

Never used them, but I have some in my bag. Need to see if they expire actually. Theyve been in there a couple of years at least now.

[Mortblanc]

Why did you not use them at the recommended dosage prescribed by the WHO?

Are you just keen to see how much money you can save, at 2 pounds for 100 tablets, before you crap your guts out?

[LAC]

(15 November 2016, 18:51)Mortblanc Wrote: Why did you not use them at the recommended dosage prescribed by the WHO?

Are you just keen to see how much money you can save, at 2 pounds for 100 tablets, before you crap your guts out?

No, as I said I had a bit of diarrhea previously. The locals don't get any from it so I'm building my immune system/tolerance to it gradually.

[harrypalmer]

Just take the required amount of tabs, its doubtful you will 'build up your immune system'...use the tabs. You only need to be on your own, get a bad dose of "Gandhi's revenge" and you could be dead in 72 hours or less. Have you ever seen somebody die because their body simply can't retain fluid? I have and its not nice.

Use something like a Millbank bag to pre-filter water if its turbid, then use the tabs or better still pre filter, run it through something like a Sawyer mini filter and add tabs (in case of viruses being present). Pre-filter, mini filter then heat the water to 70c to kill of any remaining viruses is another route.

Never, ever, take chances with your water supply.

[Mortblanc]

I have to agree with HP on this one.

Locals do not really "build up tolerance" to bad water.

Everyone that is going to die from the water dies, usually before age one, and those that are left are riddled with parasites and have a greatly reduced life expectancy.

I have known people that died from bad water too and it is not something you want to risk. I know one person that picked up amoebic disentary. 10 years of explosive diarrhea ending in death long after the water was consumed.

WHO estimates that 80% of the deaths world wide are due to bad water, the diseases carried by water, parasites in the water or pollution of the water.

By using purification techniques as prescribed you are eliminating 80% of the things in this world that will kill you.

[CharlesHarris]

Agree with HP and MB on this one. Some waterborne parasites can linger in your system for decades and kill you later when you become older and weaker, as many Vietnam vets are finding out today. Always use at least two combined methods of treatment, at minimum filtration to the 1 micron level followed by UV or chemical sterilization. SODIS is effective only if you can filter well to reduce turbidity and you have clean, food grade containers. Iodine and chlorine have both their advantages and drawbacks. Do your research. I carry a Frontier Filter Pro military version in my kit and also treat questionable sources with either betadyne or potassium permanganate from my first aid kit. I also carry a test kit which can detect petroleum or agricultural chemicals, which indicate that distillation or reverse osmosis is necessary. If near the ocean a maritime desalination kit is useful.

[Mortblanc]

In civilized areas I do not go as far as 2 methods. Most of the bad stuff from the third world are not present in my local woods and most of the water is flowing from spring fed sources and not turbid puddles that smell like a sewer. I had enough of that way back in the day when I dropped two tablets into a quart canteen and one more for insurance, then covered the taste with koolaid.

I used to use Clorox carried in a glass bottle when backacking. Three drops per liter and let it sit for a few minutes before consuming.

The taste and oder was not objectionable since that is what my local utility uses and you can smell the chlorine in the tap water.

Lately I have changed to the very efficient and low cost filters from Lifestraw, Frontier and Sawyer. They have performed well over the past 4-5 years. I keep one in each vehicle.

I sent a Sawyer filter to Africa with a friend who is a missionary a few months back. He reported no ill effects from the water but he was doing double insurance too, by using only bottled water and screwing the Sawyer filter to the bottle.

When he returned home he purchased one of sawyer's family sized units and sent it back to the mission station. Apparently the bottled water is suspicious in their local.

[CharlesHarris]

Bottled water in the Third World can be risky. I spent some time in central America in the 1980s and learned the value of dual treatment and the test kit. Our safety officer was Navy Med veteran of numerous OFDA missions and instilled the drill into us, as having to exfil a casualty stateside impacted the efficiency of the unit all out of proportion to the loss of one man, but also scheduling the evac flight and getting a replacement brought up to speed. Most of the task force were former Coast Guard, Seabees or Navy Medical detailed to OFDA.

[LAC]

Thanks for the advice all, and I shall take onboard what you are saying.

The location is actually in an African country. I'm not a missionary but am doing some project work out there, and I can concur with what you are saying about even the bottled water being dubious. Although the water bottling companies themselves may be fine and following the relevant procedures, there have been a number of reports from the local media about individual employees from the bottled water companies, stealing the bottle safety seals and branding etc, and filling the counterfeit bottles with borehole water which they then mostly sell to fuel stations (suffice to say no checks are made as to the safety of the borehole water they fill it with), so therefore you can't even fully trust the bottled water. The tap water can also be dubious, or pumped with so much chorine as I do not wish to consume it on a regular basis.

The borehole source from where I obtain my water I intend to be my main source of drinking water, so I am now looking to get a large home water filter, and my thinking about this at the moment is to get a 1 micron ceramic filter (I really do not want to spend the time and energy cost of boiling it each time). The water itself is very clear and does not have any noticeable sediment in it so I believe it can go straight to the 1 micron filter stage to filter out any nasties. I also intend to test it to check for the possible presence of heavy metals, and to confirm the existence of any bacteria/pathogens.

Any advice on a large water filter make and model, and a good quality water test kit? I realise that if there are high levels of heavy metals found I will need a carbon element or combined element. I’ve been looking at some of the Doulton filters and they seem quite good. Any advice would be appreciated.

LAC