Forum Index > Gear Talk > Bleach? - does it kill the bad stuff
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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostSun Jan 27, 2002 10:26 pm 
I used to use beach or its relative Halozone but it leaks and leaves unsightly spkoches in your expensive back packing clothes and makes you look like a 60's flower child cool.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Dante
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PostSun Jan 27, 2002 10:52 pm 
There's more info on AquaMira at www.thru-hiker.com. Click on "Hiking Articles" then "AquaMira Facts" smile.gif

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Tom
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 12:45 am 
That aquamira looks quite promising. I'm going to order some from my favorite 20% off supplier wink.gif among other items. If anyone wants to piggyback on my order and save the shipping cost, let me know. Cost is a meager $8.26 apiece (hey, that could be the cheapest 14 oz reduction to my pack weight so far biggrin.gif). http://www.mcnett.com/Camping/index.html

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Brian Curtis
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Brian Curtis
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 1:44 am 
I'm a bit skeptical of the Aquamira. No where in any of their literature do they claim that it kills giardia. Their only claim is that it kills bacteria. It seems like an odd omission from a product that is targeted at consumers who are primarily concerned about giardia in their water.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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Dante
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 8:59 am 
According to www.backpacker.com "McNett is awaiting purification registration from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But the company says its tests found that Aquamira kills bacteria, some viruses, and, most importantly, protozoans like Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium." (I just google searched "AquaMira giardia") There's no question chlorine dioxide kills giardia. See e.g. THIS P.S. Check out this TREATMENT COMPARISON

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Quick step
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 9:05 am 
Just curious. Has anyone ever come down with Giardia after drinking Washington mountain water? Or even ever heard of a lab confirmed case of it from our mountains. Not me.

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Dante
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Dante
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 9:30 am 
Not me. I drank untreated water for 20 years in the cascades (not to mention drinking from Issaquah Creek, Lake Samammish, Lake Tradition and Round Lake while swimming or playing in them as a kid) with no ill effects. Still, six months of intermittent runs is nothing to toy with--especially since (1) the cure for Giardia is toxic, and (2) water treatment is relatively cheap and easy. I'd like to see steripen build a pump that would move water over ultraviolet light and into my Platypus. Cool technology, but spendy.

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Stefan
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 9:47 am 
Allison, ask the REI employees. I am sure they are experts in the field of water testing!

Art is an adventure.
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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 10:49 am 
REEEEEEEEI employees are NOT experts in anything! The turn around at that place happens faster than the Indy 500! When I worked there nobody knew anything about anything. Except me that is (backpacking) so I went to Marmot. They dont pay, they dont offer many hours (no benefits then) and they go thru people.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Brian Curtis
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Brian Curtis
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 11:02 am 
Dante wrote:
the cure for Giardia is toxic
This seems like a sort of an odd statement considering the water treatments we are talking about are all toxic chemicals. Flagyl, the most common giardia treatment isn't a particularly dangerous drug when taken properly, though it can certainly have side effects in many people and is quite toxic when taken with alcohol so it isn't something you should particularly desire to take. I took a course prophylactically this last fall when I had a confirmed exposure to giardia, though I suffered no symptoms of giardensis and I suffered no side effects from the flagyl. I did a lot of reading on the subject before taking the flagyl. I'm guessing Aquamira is McNett's repackaging of an identical Canadian product called Pristine. They do claim that it is effective against giardia.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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Dante
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Dante
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 11:43 am 
Well I'm certainly guilty of the occasional "sort of odd comment" redface.gif

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Mike Collins
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Mike Collins
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 11:44 am 
Brian is right. Flagyl, metronidazole, 500mg twice a day for a week is the standard treatment for Giardia. It is not toxic. If you take alcohol in any quantity during the course of treatment you will vomit, but that doesn't make the medicine toxic. It is more a manifestation of alcohol's toxicity.

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Dante
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 12:17 pm 
OK OK I stand corrected smile.gif I'm a tax software developer, not a toxicologist. I was just repeating something I'd read in the "Water Purification" article at www.thru-hiker.com The final option, choosing your water sources carefully, is kind of a hit or miss thing. I don't treat all my water, but then again I also think that eventually I'm going to make a poor judgment and get parasites. One of the few things I carry in terms of medicine, though, is the cure for giardia and cryptosporidia: Metronidazole (trade name = flagyl). I had giardia for 2 1/2 years while I was in the peace corps, and though not fun it isn't something to be terrified of. The medicine is a toxin, however, so don't use having a course of it as a substitute for careful judgment of water quality.

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Dante
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 1:00 pm 
I added this to try to get the post above to show up.

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Allison
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Allison
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PostMon Jan 28, 2002 2:35 pm 
The thru-hiker article was interesting too. Couple of questions for the gang: Has anyone tried the sport-bottle filters? I have't seen any weights for these yet, but they look like they probably beat traditional filters on weight and on bulk. Also PUR has a little filter called the Pioneer that weighs in at 8 oz. I don't think I've seen one of these before. Anyone tried it? I could live with 8 oz and hopefully a bulk reduction. Part of the weight reduction program involves a 2750 ci pack, which is not exactly, er, 'capacious.' I am looking for an alternative to carrying a one-pound water filter but would like to reserve the right to use a filter where I think the water's going to be silty, which means I'm guessing I'm going to end up with drops for one application (high alpine) and a lightweight filter (lower elevations and dayhiking where weight doesn't matter so much) for another application. I used to look for 'ubiquitous' gear, but now I've come to realize that lots of gear that works perfectly for one thing does not work perfectly for another thing. I bet I'm not the only one. smile.gif

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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