Jim,
Chlorine bleach is a great multi-use item to store. It can be used to
treat water, disinfect/clean, deodorize latrines, and probably lots of other
things. Here are some quick numbers:
Water purification:
16
drops (1/8tsp) per gallon/4 liters. Let stand for 15 minutes, retreat
if water does not smell of Chlorine.
CDC recommends
a fresh 1:10 to 1:100 solution for cleaning
up blood spills
FEMA recommends
8oz of bleach to 5 gallons of water for killing mold and 4 oz to 5 gallons
for disinfecting
flood-contaminated articles:
(That's 125ml / 20liters and 250ml / 20 liters for metric
folks)
Bleach does have some problems - it has a limited shelf life (6 months to 2
year depending on who you ask). It's also messy and nasty to clean up
if spilled.
Taking a trip to Costco today, I discovered that they have Calcium Hypochlorite
pool shock in stock. This chemical may be used to make your own
bleach solution. (See the EPA
Web site.)
Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite
(approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. The mixture will
produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 mg/L, since the calcium
hypochlorite has an available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight.
To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine
solution to each 100 parts of water to be treated. This is roughly equal
to adding 1 pint (16 oz.) of stock chlorine to each 12.5 gallons of water to
be disinfected.
To remove any objectionable chlorine odor, aerate the water as described above.
In metric, you need to mix in approximately 7.5ml of powder (by volume) for
every 8 liters to get a 5% bleach solution.
In short, 1 kilogram of pool shock can be mixed to make almost 1,400
liters of standard bleach solution. [Which is enough to treat
many thousands of gallons of water!] A one-pound box makes just under
165 gallons.
You must be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN to get the pool shock that only contains Calcium
Chlorite. The other types of Chlorine, Tri-Chlor and Di-Chlor are not
suitable for this. Be advised that this stuff is a powerful oxidizer, and should
be stored in dry container, sealed away from moisture. It can also catch
fire violently if put in contact with brake fluid and similar substances, so
be careful. But the increased shelf life and mess-free storage, in my
opinion, outweigh any negatives. - JN
JWR Replies: I concur wholeheartedly that bleach is important to store for family preparedness. One important proviso: You want to buy only plain bleach--not bleach with scent or any other additives that could be poisonous. Be sure to check the label before buying liquid bleach. It must have ONE, AND ONLY ONE ingredient: Calcium Hypochlorite!
