View Full Version : Wal Mart Water Treatment
Anumber1
03-26-2006, 17:59
Hey whats the name of that potable aqua/aquamira type water treatment they sell at Wal Mart?
What is the cost and does anyone recommend it?
Thanks a Bunch:sun
Hey whats the name of that potable aqua/aquamira type water treatment they sell at Wal Mart?
What is the cost and does anyone recommend it?
Thanks a Bunch:sun
Walmart near me sells Potable Aqua brand. I've never used it and don't recall the cost, but it's cheap. It comes packaged in two bottles. One contains iodine tablets and the other a neutralizing agent (probably vitamin C).
Dances with Mice
03-26-2006, 21:45
It's cheap. It's light. It works. Be sure to read the directions before your trip since the label is printed in size 0.25 font. Just know how many tablets to use per quart/liter and how long to wait after treatment before use.
Be aware that it does NOT store well. Once it's opened the metal cap will start to rust. Soon the cap will rust onto the bottle so hard that you will need a big pair of pliers to remove it. The first time this happened I was upset at the bottle, the second time I was upset at myself. So if you're a section hiker just trash it after your trip and buy fresh before going out again. Like I said, it's cheap.
I like Polar Pur. It's cheaper, easier to use, & doesn't rust.
I agree with Mice. PolarPure says that it treats 2000 liters. It is very easy to use and the taste isnt bad at all. Cost about $10 for the bottle which is small with a plastic cap (no rust).
Mongoose2
03-26-2006, 22:37
The new Aqua Mira liquid works well and leaves no aftertaste. I use it....no problems to report
Hey whats the name of that potable aqua/aquamira type water treatment they sell at Wal Mart?
What is the cost and does anyone recommend it?
Thanks a Bunch:sun
i have seen them at walmart,i dont use it,aqua mira is much better:cool: neo
I agree with Mice. PolarPure says that it treats 2000 liters. It is very easy to use and the taste isnt bad at all. Cost about $10 for the bottle which is small with a plastic cap (no rust).
i used polar pure for years,i now use aqua mira:cool: neo
i used polar pure for years,i now use aqua mira:cool: neo
Neo, how do you compare the two? I havent tried the aqua mira, but I am pretty happy with polar pure.
tom
sdoownek
03-27-2006, 13:22
i have seen them at walmart,i dont use it,aquamira is much better:cool: neo
I don't know what's in the stuff at Wal-mart, as I really don't shop there. However, I've just got to know why you think that aquamira is "much better"
What were your testing criteria to make this determination? Or is it just uneducated opinion?
What were your testing criteria to make this determination? Or is it just uneducated opinion?
Seeing as it hardly makes a difference if you treat, filter or drink naturally, I can only surmise since it costs the most, it works the best!
Fiddleback
03-27-2006, 21:07
I don't know what the active compound in the WalMart stuff is. Polar Pure is iodine based and AquaMira is clorine dioxide based. I've read, but don't have a scientific citation, that iodine kills viruses, bacteria, and giardia but not cryptosporidium whereas chlorine dioxide kills viruses, bacteria, protozoa and cryptosporidium (crypto with longer treatment time).
Backpacking Light magazine printed a study comparing the efficacy of MIOX, Polar Pure and AquaMira (issue 2, Spring2005). The report did not address giardia or crypto citing recent studies indicating the threat from those protozoa is not as widespread as once thought (or preached by the filter manufacturers:rolleyes: ). The study looked at efficacy within planktonic systems and found all three to be efficacious with no statistical difference. However, within biofilm systems, AquaMira was the most efficacious and Polar Pure was the least of the three at all levels of concentration tested. This is significant as most bacteria (99+%) in natural waters, including the pathogens, are found/live in biofilms. Also significant is the potential for biofilms to clog filters and to grow within the filter element itself.
The article concluded with the caveat that their study did not address turbidity and organic matter and only provided 'one piece of data' for making decisions about treatment methods.
FB
Skidsteer
03-27-2006, 21:11
I don't know what the active compound in the WalMart stuff is. FB
The Wal-Mart stuff is iodine based.
It's cheap. It's light. It works. Be sure to read the directions before your trip since the label is printed in size 0.25 font. Just know how many tablets to use per quart/liter and how long to wait after treatment before use.
Be aware that it does NOT store well. Once it's opened the metal cap will start to rust. Soon the cap will rust onto the bottle so hard that you will need a big pair of pliers to remove it. The first time this happened I was upset at the bottle, the second time I was upset at myself. So if you're a section hiker just trash it after your trip and buy fresh before going out again. Like I said, it's cheap.
anyone know how long it last after the bottle is open. I have heard to ditch it after a yr.
Dances with Mice
06-12-2006, 14:38
anyone know how long it last after the bottle is open. I have heard to ditch it after a yr.The product will probably be fine for a year or more. Getting the product out of the bottle is the tricky part.
Fahrenheit
06-12-2006, 15:15
I've gotten the wal-mart stuff a number of times and never had any problems. I've found that if you keep the cotton that comes in it in the bottle it absorbs moisture and therefore helps prevent rust and the tablets sticking together. But yeah as its iodine based it doesn't really treat crypto but thats usually only a problem around farmland anyway.
If you use PolarPure or Potable Aqua or other iodine based treatments, you can add vitamin C or lemon Koolaid to the treated water after waiting the recommended period. V-C neutralizes the iodine taste. Potable Aqua has a kit that includes the V-C tablets in a separate bottle.
tastes bad. but works fine. i used it for a week or so. takes a little less time then aqua mira.
Pennsylvania Rose
06-13-2006, 09:11
I've found that if you keep the cotton that comes in it in the bottle it absorbs moisture and therefore helps prevent rust and the tablets sticking together.
Or put it in a film canister or ziploc (labelled, of course).
SGT Rock
06-13-2006, 09:59
Problem is that iodine reacts poorly with plastic and metal. It is supposed to be stored in glass. The bottles are glass if you notice. I wouldn't recommend re-packaging them in anything plastic Rose.
Storage in plastic can allow the iodine to leech out. Contact with the metal cap will cause rust (hence the cotton).
Pennsylvania Rose
06-13-2006, 10:20
Didn't know that. Should I throw away the ones that I have? They seem to be OK.
SGT Rock
06-13-2006, 10:22
Well they may be OK. I don't know how long it would take for them to get messed up. But the bottle you keep them in should probably be disposed of (as I understand it) because there is now the potential for iodine leaching out and getting on other things. Some of which it will corrode.
For the record I re-package my VitC in plastic medicine bottles, saves a few grams.