Letter Re: Calcium Hypochlorite

I recently bought a 1 lb. bag of DryTec calcium hypchlorite through Amazon. When I repackaged it for long-term storage I noticed there was very little chlorine odor. I made a 1/2 gal. per directions for stock. I poured the stock directly on the tail of a non-colorfast shirt (bright red that already had white spots from a sodium hyphochlorite spill) and left it for hours; it didn’t even lighten the color. I don’t know any other way to test the amount of available chlorine that I have on hand, but I am deeply concerned that a lot of people who think they have excellent water purification stored for the future are going to get sick due to the failure of the calcium hypochlorite. – K.M.

HJL Responds: Thanks for that feedback. That is an excellent reason for testing and sampling your long-term preps while you have the ability to replace the defective items. Once your ability to replace the items is gone, the need for constant sampling is certainly lessened, but until then you should be regularly testing your ability to “make do”. You will often hear of “Grid-down” challenges, where families will simply turn the power off for the weekend and live as if something had actually happened. You will be amazed at how often well-laid plans don’t quite work out the way you had envisioned. The peace of mind brought about by expending a couple hundred dollars every year on things you consume is well worth it.