Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets

by Potable Aqua

Product Features

• Potable Aqua Water Purification Iodine Tablets (50 Tablets)
• Iodine tablets designed to make contaminated water suitable for drinking
• Tablets prove effective against Giardia lamblia when used as directed
• Intended for short-term or limited emergency use only
• Water is ready within 30 minutes; neutralizes iodine aftertaste and color
• Ideal for campers, travelers, hikers, militaries, and emergency organizations

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Used worldwide by campers, hikers, militaries, emergency organizations, and anyone else who needs to drink water of questionable quality, these Portable Aqua iodine tablets will disinfect contaminated drinking water in a pinch. The tablets--which are intended for short-term or limited emergency use only--make most water bacteriologically suitable for drinking, proving effective against Giardia lamblia when used as directed. Each Potable Aqua tablet contains 20 mg of Tetraglycine Hydroperiodide (TGHP), which liberates 8 mg of titratable iodine when released into water. Within 30 minutes, the iodine will have penetrated the cell walls of the microorganisms, rendering them inactive and making the water safe to drink. Potable Aqua tablets also neutralize the iodine aftertaste and color, helping your drinking water taste better.

About Potable Aqua
Potable Aqua iodine water disinfection tablets were developed by Harvard University in conjunction with the U.S. Army in the 1940s, and have been used by the military for emergency drinking water disinfection for more than 50 years. Pharmacal currently supplies the U.S. Military with Potable Aqua for its emergency drinking water needs. Potable Aqua is also widely used by campers, backpackers, and various other militaries around the world. With the addition of the Potable Aqua Traveler and Chlorine Dioxide Water Purification Tablets, Potable Aqua continues to meet the ever-changing needs of today's outdoor enthusiast.

Product Description

Our Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets make questionable water bacteriologically suitable to drink. Easy to use-water is ready in 30 minutes. One 50 tablet bottle treats 25 quarts of water. Ideal for hiking, backpacking and travel. Perfect addition to your first aid or travel kit.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001949TKS
• Item model number: 301
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,080 of 1,086 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comparing chemical treatment methods, September 4, 2010

By 

Arthur Bradley "Arthur Bradley" (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets (Kitchen)

The EPA estimates that 90% of the world's fresh water is contaminated and unsuitable for drinking. The days of kneeling down on a hike and sipping from the stream are long gone. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because water looks clear or tastes good that it is free of contaminants. That includes frozen water, which can house hepatitis A, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium for months.

There are many options for purifying the water, but this post will compare commercial products that rely on halogen chemical treatments.

Polar Pure - contains iodine crystals, has an almost indefinite shelf life if kept tightly sealed, and very inexpensive per dose cost, requires measuring the dosage using the cap (which can be imprecise).

Potable Aqua - contains iodine tablets, shelf life of up to four years if properly stored - if they've turned a light green don't use, moderately expensive per dose cost, easy to administer doses (two tablets per quart of water).

Micropur MP1 - contains chlorine dioxide tablets, has a shelf life of at least four years, moderately expensive per dose cost, and comes in easy to administer doses (one tablet per quart of water).

Simple household bleach - 2 drops per quart of water (assuming a a bleach solution of 5-6% hypochlorite), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, shelf life of bleach is only about 6 months, must use a dropper to administer dose, very inexpensive per dose cost.

Tincture of iodine - 5 drops per quart (assuming a 2% iodine solution), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, almost indefinite shelf life if properly stored, must use a dropper to administer dose, modest per dose cost.

All of the methods are effective at killing bacteria, somewhat effective against viruses, and of limited value against protozoa cysts. Cryptosporidium in particular is resistant to halogen treatments.

Most treatments only require 30 minutes. However, very cold water (i.e., less than 40 degrees F) should be allowed to sit for 2 or more hours, or be treated with a double dose.

As far as taste, all will introduce some chemical taste into the water. In a very unscientific taste test of chemical treatment methods, my own family concluded that iodine-treated water was by far the worst smelling and tasting, bleach-treated was second, and water treated with Micropur MP1 ready-to-use tablets was the least objectionable.

Finally, you can add Kool-aid to treated water to help the taste. Not only will it help to mask the chemical taste, but the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) converts the chlorine or iodine to tasteless chloride and iodide.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."

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134 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All good backpackers have these, but as the label states they are for "emergency use", January 6, 2010

By 

Balph Eubank - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets (Kitchen)

The 5 most common ways backpackers/campers purify water are
1. Boil it. Obviously slow and cumbersome. If doing strenuous backpacking/canoeing each person will need to boil a big pot of water every night.
2. Natural sunlight - letting water sit in the sun for 6 hours works (need cloudless day, correct kind of clear plastic container). The World Health Organization published a study on this, but Amazon won't let me link to it.
3. Water pump - I have used MSR HyperFlow Microfilter, though there are cheaper options if you can accept it being slightly larger. In my opinion this is the best method.
4. Household chlorine bleach - the EPA and WHO give instructions on doing this. The EPA says this may not kill Cryptosporidium. I've never tried.
5. Iodine tablets -

Positives:
-Tablets are small/light for backpackers
-Only takes 30 minutes to have water ready
-No work required

Negatives:
-EPA says it is not 100% affective against Giardia and Cryptosporidium, especially if the water is cold while being treated.
-The taste is slightly bad ('metallic' is my best description).

I think a good attitude towards these tablets is "emergency use" (which is labeled on the side of the bottle, not visible in the Amazon image). No good backpacker doesn't have these, but I suggest a water pump as the planned primary method. Note: there are also iodine "neutralizer" tablets that are supposed to remove the bad taste (you drop them in after the 30 minutes is up and wait another 30 minutes). In my opinion they barely change the taste and are not worth it.

I'm only giving 4 stars since the EPA says it is not 100% effective against Giardia and Cryptosporidium. I'd give 5 stars if the product was named something like "EMERGENCY AQUA" instead of "POTABLE AQUA".

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for emergency use only, October 14, 2009

By 

Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets (Kitchen)

These are great to have when camping and traveling, but it's important to have a basic plan for water beyond the iodine tablets. You're really only supposed to use them in emergencies. If you're backpacking and need to drink the local water, you should take a filtration system with you or boil the water. This is a good backup to boiling and filtration if you're short on time, or you have equipment problems. Drinking water purified with iodine also tastes foul which is a big issue in rehydrating foods.

Also note that once opened, the Portable Aqua has a limited shelf life.