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Disinfect or "Purify" Water using Bleach
Chlorine, or Other Disinfectants to Purify or Sterilize Drinking Water
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about using chlorine bleach to disinfect drinking water
This article describes how to use household bleach or bleach of other strengths to disinfect water for emergency drinking water use. We also explain how people deal with the risk of Cryptosporidium in drinking water.
This article series outlines methods to purify or sanitize drinking water in an emergency following a disaster such as an earthquake, flood, or hurricane.
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How to Use Bleach as a Disinfectant for Water Purification
Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) Iodine alternatives for disinfectants include chlorine-based products (bleach) and non-iodine-based water filters. Commercial bleach such as laundry bleach purchased at a supermarket contain 3 to 6% sodium hypochlorite. Be sure that bleach to be used to purify drinking water contains only sodium hypochlorite. For example, do not use a bleach-soap mixture.
How much bleach do we need to purify drinking water? It depends on the concentration (strength) of the bleach solution you're using as well as the condition of the water.
If you don't know your store-bought household bleach solution strength, use 10 drops per gallon of water and let the solution stand for 30 minutes. If after 30 minutes there is absolutely no chlorine or "bleach" smell in the water, repeat the dose and let the solution stand for another 30 minutes.
- Steps in Using Household Bleach for emergency drinking water purification
- Fill a canteen or another clean quart container with cleanest water possible.
- Read label on bleach bottle to determine amount of available chlorine.
- Liquid chlorine laundry bleach usually has 4 to 6 percent available chlorine
- Add drops of bleach to the [one quart] container, based on the water bleach concentration table below
- Place cap on the water and bleach solution and shake.
- Also treat the mouth of the container: slightly loosen the cap and tip canteen over to allow leakage around threads.
- Tighten cap on the container and wait 30 minutes before drinking.
- Details about using bleach to purify drinking water are found
at BLEACH DISINFECTANT for DRINKING WATER: Use chlorine (bleach, sodium hypochlorite) to purify the water. (see warnings just above).
| Drops of Bleach to Be Added to a One Quart Container For Emergency Drinking Water |
||
|---|---|---|
| Available Chlorine in the Bleach Solution | Drops of Bleach to Use per Quart of Clear Water |
Drops of Bleach to Use per Quart of Cold or Cloudy Water |
| 1% | 10 |
20 |
4—6% (This is typical household bleachor laundry bleach) |
2 |
4 |
| 7--10% | 1 |
2 |
|
||
Notes to the table above
Watch out: do not confuse the much lower concentration of bleach used when preparing emergency drinking water with the higher concentration of disinfectant needed to disinfect water wells or water treatment equipment
Detailed advice are on this page and more information is at
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT DISINFECTION
WELL CHLORINATION & DISINFECTION
Bleach disinfection of Emergency Drinking Water
If you are preparing emergency drinking water because your water well has been contaminated by flooding, the well cannot be repaired for safe use until flood waters have resided.
See WELL DISINFECTION PROCEDURE, POST FLOODING
- Permanent well water chlorination systems are discussed separately
at CHLORINATORS & CHARCOAL FILTERS.
We provide more details about using disinfectants to purify drinking water
at WATER DISINFECTANT QUANTITY. - If the source water is from a raw water supply such as a stream or pond, the treated water product should have a 5 ppm residual chlorine level after 30 minutes. Under certain conditions, the local medical authority may direct a higher residual of 10 ppm. A chlorine colorimetric test kit is used to test the chlorine level.
In our detailed drinking water chlorination procedure article found
at WATER DISINFECTANT QUANTITY we review again the amount of bleach and also the quantity of other disinfectants needed in more detail and we describe the U.S. EPA's advice for superchlorination of drinking water.
Watch out: Bleach will not kill Giardia in typical drinking water disinfection methods such as those discussed here.
While chlorine can kill Giardia cysts if used in high enough concentration and for sufficient contact time, typically the chlorine concentration in water necessary for Giardia would be too high for drinking purposes.
The chlorine concentration that one would find in a swimming pool, levels of chlorine not suitable for drinking water consumption would require about 20 minutes to kill a Giardia cyst.
In a more complete set of warnings about relying on disinfection to provide safe drinking water given
at WATER DISINFECTION LIMITATIONS we report that relying on disinfectant to kill Cryptosporidium cysts is a mistake too.
Cryptosporidium cysts might even survive a typical municipal chlorine disinfection process (such as at a municipal water treatment plant).
[Click to enlarge any image]
For this reason some municipalities where Cryptosporidium cysts are a concern add a water treatment step using chlorine dioxide. Others may use a combination of UV light and chlorine in the water treatment procedure. This treatment is also available to hikers, travelers, and for emergency water supply use.
Aquamira™ and Katadyn™ (Micropur) provide portable or field-use water treatment kits using chlorine dioxide.
How to Remove the Bleach Odor from Disinfected Water
Do not attempt to remove the chlorine or iodine taste from water until the water has completed its treatment wait period.
Boil the water for a few minutes. Heat will speed the decomposition of the bleach in the water. If you have no heat source let the water stand open for a few hours.
Pour the water back and forth between clean containers - the aeration process will speed the release of the chlorine odor and taste from the water. Iodine treated water won't have such a strong taste but you can improve the taste of treated water further with a small pinch of salt or by mixing in a drink powder like lemonade.
Add vitamin C to the water, or a drink that contains vitamin C.
Watch out: for these limitations on the effectiveness of bleach or chlorine disinfection of drinking water or grey water:
- WATER DISINFECTANT QUANTITY explains that if you use the wrong disinfectant quantity you could have trouble with too much - can't get rid of the chlorine odor or taste, damage, even safety & health issues, while if you don't use enough the disinfectant is ineffective.
Details are in that article include a discussion of
WATER DISINFECTANT CONCENTRATION
and
WATER DISINFECTANT CONTACT TIME - WATER DISINFECTION LIMITATIONS summarizes the limitations of disinfection in removing contaminants from drinking water This article explains that disinfecting water does not remove all water contaminants - chemicals, for example, can remain.
- WELL DISINFECTANT pH ADJUSTMENT explains how the pH balance of water affects the effectiveness of chlorine disinfection.
Vegetable Disinfection Washes & Treatments
This discussion has been moved to a separate article: VEGETABLE or PRODUCE DISINFECTION
...
Continue reading at WATER DISINFECTANT QUANTITY or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
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BLEACH DISINFECTANT for DRINKING WATER at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- Anderson, A. C., R. S. Reimers, and P. DeKernion. "A Brief Review of the Current Status of Alternatives of Chlorine Disinfection of Water." American journal of public health 72, no. 11 (1982): 1290-1293.
- Arnold, Benjamin F., and John M. Colford Jr. "Treating water with chlorine at point-of-use to improve water quality and reduce child diarrhea in developing countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis." American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 76, no. 2 (2007): 354-364.
- Li, Qilin, Shaily Mahendra, Delina Y. Lyon, Lena Brunet, Michael V. Liga, Dong Li, and Pedro JJ Alvarez. "Antimicrobial nanomaterials for water disinfection and microbial control: potential applications and implications." Water research 42, no. 18 (2008): 4591-4602.
- Dr. Omar Amin, of the Tempe AZ Parasitology Center, corresponded with one of our readers asking about peroxide: "You can use hydrogen peroxide if you want to but we do not have a track record of percentage dilution". Dr. Amin has done research for the US military and for the CDC.
- Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Aquamira™ chlorine dioxide water purification kits - see www.aquamira.com/
"Aquamira Water Treatment Drops were introduced to the Outdoor market in 1999 and have been a favorite of top outdoor guides and instructors ever since. Whether you are camping, traveling in a foreign country or faced with a disaster, our goal is to provide you with safe, pure and good tasting drinking water. Our complete line of water treatment products include leading edge purification and filtration technologies developed and tested in the lab and proven in the field. We offer systems and products that will provide water for a single individual or a village and almost anything in between." - Katadyn™, a Swiss corporation provides water filters, desalinization equipment, and their Micropur chlorine dioxide water purification - see www.katadyn.com/usen/
"Katadyn offers a wide variety of water filtration and purification products suitable for any need. This allows outdoor enthusiasts and travelers to take along products for making their own drinking water when preparing their trips." - Wilderness Medical Society has advice about boiling water for consumption
- Princeton University - www.princeton.edu
- "Bacteria in Drinking Water" - "Chlorine," Karen Mancl, water quality specialist, Agricultural Engineering, Ohio State University Extension. Mancl explains factors affecting the effectiveness of chlorine in water as a means to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. OSU reports as follows:
Chlorine kills bacteria, including disease-causing organisms and the nuisance organism, iron bacteria. However, low levels of chlorine, normally used to disinfect water, are not an effective treatment for giardia cysts. A chlorine level of over 10 mg/1 must be maintained for at least 30 minutes to kill giardia cysts. -- http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/index.html is the front page of this bulletin.
- Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
- "Do Iodine Water Purification Tablets Provide an Effective Barrier against Cryptosporidium parvum?", Starke, Jeffrey A., Bowman, Dwight D., Labare, Michael, Fogarty, Elizabeth A., and others, Military Medicine, 25 October 2001 [possibly a later version of this article appeared in 2005 -DF] http://www.amsus.org/military medicine/milmed.htm
- " Drinking Water Safety in Emergencies ", University of Minnesota extension, extension.umn.edu/info-u/nutrition/BJ646.html
- FDA Warning about drinking hydrogen peroxide: www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hydrogen-peroxide.htm This article cites a 2003 entry in Journal of Food and Science on using Hy.Perox to sterilize vegetables, referring to E.coli - NOT to Giardia.
- www.epa.gov/ogwdw/mdbp/pdf/alter/chapt_2.pdf provides an article on use of disinfectants for water treatment
- This patent application for UV light sterilization www.patentstorm.us/patents/6565803.html Lists good references on water purification for Giardia et als
- Giardia exposure limits for drinking water: see www.mass.gov/dep/water/drinking/standards/giardia.htm is the current regulatory exposure limit (your minimum target for sterilization)
- Wikipedia on history of use of hydrogen peroxide: Information on Hydrogen peroxide as a sterilant is in Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterilization_(microbiology) HO2 has been used for a long time, including by vaporization for sterilizing freeze dryers.
- 1-Bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (C5H6BrClN2O2) is produced world-wide and is also used in cleaners and bathroom disinfectants and deodorizers. Here is an example MSDS for this product, provided by Leisure Time
- U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml
The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM. - Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods. - Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals. - When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
- "Bacteria in Drinking Water" - "Chlorine," Karen Mancl, water quality specialist, Agricultural Engineering, Ohio State University Extension. Mancl explains factors affecting the effectiveness of chlorine in water as a means to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms. OSU reports as follows:
Chlorine kills bacteria, including disease-causing organisms and the nuisance organism, iron bacteria. However, low levels of chlorine, normally used to disinfect water, are not an effective treatment for giardia cysts. A chlorine level of over 10 mg/1 must be maintained for at least 30 minutes to kill giardia cysts. -- http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/index.html is the front page of this bulletin.
- Ohio State University article on the concentration of chlorine necessary to act as an effective disinfectant, and the effects of the water's pH and temperature: See http://ohioline.osu.edu/b795/b795_7.html for details.
- Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
- Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals. - Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
- Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods. - U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml
The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM. - When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
- Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
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Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
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