How long before water purification tablets expire?
Most products have an expiry date and water purification tablets are no exception. Expiration time can vary according to quality and type of purifier.
As a general rule most types of water purification tablet should be used within 4 to 6 years if unopened. The exact expiration date will be marked on the outside of the tablet package. If the package is opened the contents should be used within 1 year, as the chemicals lose their effectiveness.
Do water purification tablets really work?
There a several ways water can be polluted, making it unsafe for humans to drink – contamination could include:
First of all, dirty looking water may or may not be dangerous to your health, it all depends what’s in it. Dirt, grit and soil isn’t particuarly dangerous, but it may contain germs and toxic substances.
If you have no symptoms, but you had to drink suspect water, you can chew/swallow charcoal as a quick temporary measure.
Charcoal can absorb a huge amount of pollutants and helps to nullify the effect of poisons in the stomach.
If you have absolutely no symptoms, then you could afford to wait and get a checkup with your regular doctor whenever you. A blood test would show up any pathogens.
If you have any symptoms at all, such as:
stomachcramps
dizzyness
stomach ache
nausea
vomiting
diarrhea
fever
chills and shivering
In these cases, you should get to the hospital emergency room as soon as you’re able.
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Chlorine dioxide is by far the most common active ingredient found in most water purification tablets.
Like all the others, this type of tablet does very little to remove any bad taste or smell. In fact, chlorine tables give the wate another flavour to add into the mix!
Seperate products are sometimes sold in tablet form to remove tastes and smell. (Think Potable Aqua with PA+Plus tablets.)
Iodine is also used to purify contaminated water but care must be taken with water temperature. In colder water (less than 16 degrees C) it can take twice as long to purify dirty water.
Iodine-based tablets can take longer than chlorine, which is a powerful micro-organism killer.
Aquatabs are a very popular form of tablet. They use a chemical called NaDCC, or Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate.
They do a pretty good job and take a short time relative to their competitors. Katadyn Micropur, for example, can take up to 240 mins compared to 40 mins for Aquatabs and they are affordable.
That said, Katadyn are very efficient and it’s probably worth waiting for purer water. If you’ve ever had dysentry, you’ll know what I mean!
How much do water purification tablets cost?
When it comes to iodine tablets, most brands offer two options.
Tablets can be purchased in singular bottles of 50 tablets, each tablet containing 20mg of tetraglycine hydroperiodide, which releases 8 ppm of titratable iodine.
However, a number of companies will package these tablets alongside taste neutralizer tablets, also in bottles of 50 tablets. 2 iodine tablets will treat 1 quart of water, so an entire bottle will treat 25 quarts in total.
As for prices, sold alone, Potable Aqua iodine tablets cost approximately $9.95. When packaged with the taste neutralizer, cost varies from $12.95 to $13.50. Chlorogene T25 tablets come in tubs of individually sealed 5 x 25g chlorine dioxide tablets, priced at around $48. Lifesystems offer 30 tablets at $12.35, while Potable Aqua offers options of 20 packs from $8.42 or 30 packs from $12.13. Some suppliers will also package taste neutralizers with the chlorine dioxide tablets, but prices for these are higher, as evidenced by the above table (approximately $14.30 per packet).
Do water purification tablets make water taste bad?
Different tablets have different taste characteristics depending on the active ingredient:
Chlorine (bleach) – strong aftertaste and chemical smell
Chlorine dioxide – slight aftertaste
Iodine – strong taste like rust
NaDCC – very slight taste, not disagreeable
Does purified water taste bad?
How to improve the taste of purified water
Some tablets come with another set of pills that are added after the water has been treated. These ‘taste improver’ tablets contain a chemical such as hypochlorite to absorb the aftertaste.
Effervescent vitamin C tablets can also be added to the water. It’s a pleasant taste and completely disguises any unpleasant taste left by purification tablets.
Can I use expired water purification tablets?
In theory, the active ingredients will just deteriorate or evaporate away becoming less effective. They cannot turn into something dangerous, but will be weaker.
Expired tablets may still work, but not as effectively. It could be tempting to simply double up on the recommended number of tablets – I wouldn’t recommend this.
It isn’t worth taking chances with dirty water. Just replenish your stock of purification tablets when they expire.
Note: Manufacturers always give themselves a safety margin so it would probably be OK to use tablets that are just a few months out of date in an emergency (if you really have to).
In this case, leave the water twice as long before drinking it.
Do aqua tabs expire?
Aquatabs expire, just like any other chemical-based product. In general, they are good for 5 years for the date of manufacture.
Aquatabs are sealed individually in aluminium foil sleeves and the expiry date is printed on each packet. However, this date is only effective if Aquatabs are stored in a cool dry place, and if the wrappings are not punctured.
Do micropur tablets expire?
Katadyn Micropur tablets are silver-based and have a much longer shelf-life than chlorine or iodine-based tablets.
Expiry date is 10 years after the date of manufacture.
Do chlorine Dioxide tablets expire?
As a general rule, all chlorine-based water purification tablets expire after 4 years. I wouldn’t use them much past the expiry date unless in an emergency.
Are water purification tablets bad for you?
Water purification tablest are designed to dissolve in water, killing micro-organisms so that it’s safe for humans to drink.
The very fact that the active ingredient kills living organisms shoud be a red flag – we are living organisms!
In the case of iodine, for example – we all need iodine in minute quantities, but more than 2 grams will kill a human being.
ALL of the chemicals used to purify water will kill you if you swallowed them directly. They are intended to be used strictly as directed by the manufacturers.
