[pct-l] Bleach treatment links?

[Hillary Schwirtlich]

We used Aquamira at first, then switched to bleach because it took less
time and was way cheaper and easier to get, plus one of the Aquamira
bottles always seemed to break or leak. The first time that happened we
just used the other, unbroken Aquamira bottle and filled it with bleach and
didn't need more until Bend, OR.

It tastes worse and yeah, is probably bad for you, but we thought the pros
outweighed the cons. I would do it again on another thru-hike.

Seahorse

On Sun, Mar 4, 2012 at 2:31 PM, Eric Lee <saintgimp at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Cameron wrote:
> >
> Now that I am trying to shave a  couple pounds, I am considering aquamira
> or
> bleach as an alternative.
> >
>
> Some people use bleach over the course of multiple months and I guess they
> do just fine but I would personally be uncomfortable with it.  Free
> chlorine
> isn't a very nice chemical and using it in the recommended concentration
> for
> long periods of time seems like something best avoided.  Maybe I'm just
> over-cautious.
>
> Aqua Mira contains an entirely different chemical than bleach does and is
> generally considered to have fewer long-term side-effects than bleach.  (It
> contains chlorine dioxide which isn't the same thing as free chlorine, just
> like sodium chloride isn't the same thing as free chlorine.)  Granted, it's
> much more expensive, so it's out of reach for people on very tight budgets.
> But if you can afford it I'd recommend Aqua Mira over bleach for
> multi-month
> extended use.
>
> I also think Aqua Mira has a much less objectionable taste and smell which
> might mean you'll be less tempted to skip using it.
>
> Eric
>
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