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Comment by bigbubba | Hacker News Reader

You can also render water relatively safe to drink using small amounts of bleach. I've done it a few times whilr camping. EPA.gov has instructions for it, you only need a few drops of bleach per gallon (roughly 3.75L) of water. One large bottle of bleach is enough to purify water for months at least.

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergenc...

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In Peace Corps we used a filter bucket and added bleach. Took very little bleach, though I don't recall how often we had to change the filter. It was essentially this: https://www.outbackwater.com/outback-5-gallon-gravity-powere...

It's probably a bit safer (easier to control) to use iodine which I carry for camping, even if only as backup. Once it's done it's thing, you can then put in some Vitamin C to neutralize most of the funny taste.

I don't think Iodine is safe to use for long periods.

Thru-hikers use it for six months at a time. It's safe enough for emergency use for someone with no preexisting thyroid issues.

But you don't know if you have pre-existing thyroid issues. Prolonged use should include monitoring thyroid function.

see https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry...

Water that has been disinfected with iodine is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with thyroid problems, those with known hypersensitivity to iodine, or continuous use for more than a few weeks at a time.

Ok, so if clean water is unavailable for more than a few weeks, hop on down to the clinic and trade some ammo for a thyroid checkup? If you're planning for the end of the world, then yes you'll want a backup water plan. For realistic emergency scenarios iodine is a practical water treatment option.

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