Customer Reviews

Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets

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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.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

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

When I hike in the wilderness I always carry an aluminium canteen & mug because then I can scoop up water and boil it to kill any micro-organisms that otherwise would create a party in my intestines. But when you're on the move you don't always have time to make a fire and boil water for 10 minutes, then wait for it to cool before drinking. These tablets can be dropped into any water container and voila, ten minutes later you have cool safe water to drink. A must-have anywhere in North America and they weigh practically nothing.

Just to let you know Walmart sells two bottles of this in one pack for around $6 in the camping department and I confirm what the one reviewer stated concerning SODIS. I saw a documentary on how India (I believe it was) took their bottled water (in clear plastic bottles) and set them out in the sun to purify it.

Thats even cheaper = FREE (not shipping on the sunlight)

I bought these for a recent trip to India and they worked great. It's a little inconvenient to have to wait 30 minutes for the water to be disinfected, but it was a lot cheaper than an ultraviolet pen so we waited. The water ends up looking weird like a yellowish color but I didn't detect any flavor in it except after a couple of days but still nothing that would bother me. The package is really small so it doesn't take up any space.

Easy to carry, light, small -- you can purify 25 quarts (liters) of outdoor water with each tiny botttle. You need a capped bottle to mix it in. To me this is the best item to carry for hiking and camping emergencies and for temporary outdoor survival.

I wouldn't use this as my main treatment for water on the go, but it's still a "better than nothing" back up AND you can use it to disinfect cuts and wounds since it's iodine.

This is a great product, but you can find it for less at other places such as Walmart.

Packaging was good.

Bought for a camping trip (and for future camping/hiking trips). Did a specific hiking/camping trip just to test different water purifying methods and different methods to start a campfire. Hiked 6+ miles into the woods and camped next to a lake. Scooped water out of the lake and purified the water with these tablets. Takes about 30 minutes for the tablets to do their job. Very little aftertaste. Worked great... NO ill effects with the four of us.

Delivered as pictured. Arrived quickly. Thank you. I purchased a number of these to send with a missionary returning to an orphanage in Haiti after the earthquake.

The items were well packaged and have arrived safely and hope to use the piils to disinfect my drinking water in Africa. Thnak you for the prompt delivery of the iodine pills with no damage to the bottles.