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Topic: de-chlorinated water (Read 2 times) previous topic - next topic
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de-chlorinated water
Yahoo Message Number: 24103
If I filter the water going into the tank, and the filter removes chlorine (charcoal filter), how long would that water be safe to drink?  I know it's not a good idea to filter out chlorine for water storage, but I want to know what sort of window I have to be safe.  Going on a trip this weekend and may have to fill my tank at the campground and depending on the taste of the water, may use my charcoal filter.

Thanks,

-Victor
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24104
Quote from: Sanchez, Victor"

...(snip)..."If I filter the water going into the tank, and the filter removes chlorine (charcoal filter"

Victor:

We've had good luck using just a sediment filter at the intake for the house water and a filter under the kitchen sink to filter out all the other nasties.

Anne
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24105
Quote
   If I filter the water going into the tank, and the filter removes chlorine (charcoal filter), how long would that water be safe to
drink?  I
 
Quote
know it's not a good idea to filter out chlorine for water storage,
but I
 
Quote
want to know what sort of window I have to be safe.  Going on a
trip this

Quote
weekend and may have to fill my tank at the campground and
depending on the

Quote
taste of the water, may use my charcoal filter.
Victor, this is not a trivial question. Variability of conditions in your tank and your local environment would invalidate any formal published labwork, were any to exist. Folks bury water caches in sanitized bottles, no chlorine, for months - without ill effect when consumed. Your tank might do as well, or contaminate the water and cause the bacteria count to rise to dangerous levels in 24 hrs.
Nobody can give you any more specific info than that.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24106
Victor,
 Non-chlorinated water can last quite a long time in your tank without growing harmful bacteria but at times it can happen quite fast as Steve (aq433) has already mentioned. It depends on so many things that no answer can really be set in stone. The fact is that even with chlorinated water going in within 48hrs most, if not all, of it will have dissipated anyway.

Many campgrounds don't have chlorinated water to start with! I know lots of people on wells without a chlorinator that fill their tanks and use it until they need to replace it from another source and then use a charcoal filter. I think way too much emphasis is put on only filling the tank with chlorinated water. You want clean fresh water going in but as for chlorine in it I really think people seriously overstate the helpfulness and effectiveness of it. As Steve said people have underground caches or cisterns of water stored for months without ill effects. In Bermuda and many Caribbean islands underground cisterns are the only way people have of getting fresh water. They catch the rainwater and direct it to their cisterns and store it. Even in Hawaii there are lots of people that do this! I wouldn't worry about filtering it out. In fact when I fill my tank at home it's gone through my home water softener and that has a charcoal pre-filter in it so no chlorine is going in my tank from home. We've never had any problems with the water. Of course I have a Nature Pure filter for drinking/cooking use but still the non-filtered water used doesn't affect us, nor does it smell or anything else even when I've left in the tank for several weeks for emergency preparedness use.

Mike R.
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24107
Anne, Steve & Mike,
 Thanks for the comments.  I will feel better about using the charcoal filter if I have to.  I will be bringing a sediment filter too, in the event the water tastes fine.  The water I have encountered in the high country is pretty clean, it can just taste a little minerally (sp) sometimes.  Oh, I santize my tank every spring, so I know it's clean and not a place that would promote nasties growing.
 BTW, I will be getting a Nature Pure, so this is a short term issue.
Was hoping to have it by this trip, but ...

Thanks again,

-Victor
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24111
Bill, It's true most water softeners use salt, either sodium chloride or potassium chloride for an ion exchange. They use the sodium or potassium ion to exchange for mineral ions that make water hard.
Mostly it's calcium and magnesium but other metals and minerals also.
In doing this it does increase the amount of sodium or potassium in the water. If you have high blood pressure they recommend you use potassium chloride since most people with high blood pressure also have a deficiency in potassium and potassium normalizes blood pressure where sodium can increase blood pressure. Some softeners use iodine for the exchange. Brita filters use iodine for the ion exchange and I can always taste it in water filtered with a Brita filter, I don't taste salt in my water nor does anyone else that drinks it. I know some people with hypersensitivity to it can at times taste the salt just like I taste the iodine from a Brita filter.

Some recent studies have found that the chlorine in water does far more to raise blood pressure than the sodium! Meaning taking the chlorine out of your drinking water is important and not only for high blood pressure. Chlorination also causes trihalomethanes (THMs) to form in the water and these are carcinogens. Chlorinated water has been linked to increased cancer risks among many other things. It is not only bad to consume but also to bath in! That's why there are companies now making alternatives to chlorine for swimming pools and many countries don't use it for water and instead have gone with ozone treatment.

The amount of sodium added to the water depends in part on how much minerals is in the water to start with. Many of the minerals and metals taken out with softeners are far more harmful than the sodium and not just to people but your plumbing, appliances, and other things. Again you can use potassium chloride and this is a mineral that many people don't get enough of in their diet. Those in high heat areas especially benefit from it but also benefit from the sodium since both are lost in large quantities when you sweat. For me personally I don't worry about the sodium and have been able to keep my blood pressure in a good safe range by diet and exercise. If my blood pressure were high I would use the more expensive potassium chloride.

Mike R.
Re: de-chlorinated water
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 24113
"Does that make a difference or is it filtered out with the charcoal."

Bill H., I forgot to mention that charcoal filters DO NOT remove salt! Reverse osmosis is about the only type of filter that removes salt from the water. Charcoal removes many things but salt is not one of them. Not even the Nature Pure filters remove salt.

Mike R.