[pct-l] Charcoal Water Treatment

[Jim Marco]

Annie,
	No, please don't try it. It IS effective at reducing some chemical contaminants & smells, some bacteria, and some viruses. But even a 90% reduction is enough to leave you not feeling well after a ten days, the rough incubation period for most diseases. I believe 1 foot of fresh granulated charcoal is only about 50%. Filters and chemicals are 99.9% or 99.99% or 99.999% effective...never 100%. I believe the two 9's (99.99%) is required for an epa certification for clean water. These are never absolute because of the statistical chance you *could* still have a problem. Boiling never completely sterilizes water, either. It just kills disease stuff you would rather not get. It takes a procedure of boil and wait and re-boil to sterilize it. Or, fairly high pressure boiling, such as an autoclave. Mostly, the little bit that is left is handled by the immune system and/or digestive system.   
	Most stuff we catch from water are parasites and protists. Our bodies are fairly immune to most bacteria and viruses, especially here in the USA. Most everyone gets shots as children against these.
	My thoughts only . . .
		jdm 

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of anneirenehildebrand at gmail.com
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 7:29 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Charcoal Water Treatment

Has anyone tried this? It seems lightweight and fool proof. I am being told that it's perfectly effective for bacteria. Thoughts?
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors. 
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.