Chlorine Dioxide Backcountry Water Treatment

When we judge a backcountry water source to be clean read judge the source section above we normally wait 30 minutes after treating with chlorine dioxide.

Chlorine dioxide backcountry water treatment.

Aqua mira is one of the most popular ways to purify water on the trail. Iodine or chlorine chi0fine dioxide to absolute micron fliter nsf standard 53 5b. Chlorine dioxide kills viruses bacteria and giardia in 30 minutes but it is recommended that you wait up to 4 hours to kill cryptosporidium. Chlorine dioxide is a gas.

Chlorine dioxide will get it eventually but requires four hours to work for sure. Chemical treatments are a popular choice with lightweight backpackers but unless they re using chlorine dioxide and waiting a full four hours to drink the treated water they re taking a risk with crypto. When used in very small quantities to disinfect water it is safe and does not lead to health risks. Aquamira is lightweight chlorine dioxide not iodine or chlorine but not readily available in every town.

Chlorine dioxide is iodine and chlorine free. Chlorine dioxide clo 2 is a versatile broad spectrum biocide with a 75 year track record of safe and effective drinking water treatment industrial water treatment and wastewater treatment. In fact their liquid chlorine dioxide treatment was my method of choice before i switched to household bleach myself. It is commonly used to disinfect drinking water.

So is crypto common enough to worry about. Drinking water treatment methods for backcountry and travel use. The unique formula works by releasing nascent oxygen a highly active form of oxygen which is a strong oxidant and a powerful germicidal agent. Disinfection with chlorine dioxide has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing cryptosporidium.

This is the same chemical used for treating municipal drinking water. I recommend purchasing aquamira off amazon for cheap deals then shipping it in a mail drop. Combination filtration and disinfection has a very high effectiveness in removing and killing cryptosporidium when used with chlorine dioxide and an absolute less than or equal to 1 micron filter nsf standard 53 or 58 rated cyst reduction removal filter. Chlorine dioxide has been used by municipal water treatment plants to kill a variety of waterborne pathogens since the late 1940s.

If we don t trust the water source we wait the full 4 hours. Aquamira chlorine dioxide water purifier tablets aquamira has long been one of my favorite water treatment methods. It selectively oxidizes biological pathogens without co generating trihalomethanes thms bromates and other toxic disinfection by products dbps.