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hootyhoo
01-16-2009, 18:13
I don't want a repeat of the DEET episode. So I'm gonna ask this time. Is there any reason not to put my bleach in an Aquamira bottle? Will the plastic melt? Are there any concerns here? Is there a better option -- that is free or cheap?
Why did aquamira prices go up at local outfitters?

Jack Tarlin
01-16-2009, 18:17
As far as melting the plastic, seems to me that bleach has been freely available for sale in plastic bottles or jugs for decades. If plastic affected it, I think we'd have heard about this by now.

I'm sure you'll be fine.

hootyhoo
01-16-2009, 18:41
I thought deet was in a plastic bottle - but when I transfered it too a smaller bottle it melted. I lost about $3.00 worth of deet and had a mess to clean up.

Blissful
01-16-2009, 20:09
Strange why DEET would melt anything - ? Unless you had some leftover chemical in the other bottle and the combination of the 2 did the melting - what kind of bottle did you pour it in to?

vtdrifter
01-16-2009, 20:50
i stored bleach in an aquamire bottle for about 4 months. toward the end of my hike my the pocket i stored it in had a distinctive bleach smell. after i got home, i left the bottle on an unfinished wood surface, and it damaged the surface.
basically i wouldn't recommend using an aquamira bottle for more than 3 months or so (but you get two per set, so there's a thruhike right there).

Dogwood
01-16-2009, 22:12
I can't answer your question but there R different plastics for different uses. Take the case of Biphenal A in polycarbonate plastic Nalgenes and baby bottles. That additive is not a problem, if U think it is a problem, in all plastics because its not in all plastics. If U place petroleum products into non-compatable plastic containers it can cause problems while placing petroleum into an approved plastic container is fine.

Hoop Time
01-17-2009, 08:43
Why did aquamira prices go up at local outfitters?

Most likely due to the steep spike in oil prices late summer into the fall. Plastic is, after all, petroleum based.

What will be interesting to watch is, if oil prices stay down around current levels (they are forecast to be fairly steady through most of this year at least), will prices on items that went up due to high priced oil start to come back down. Those are the sort of hidden costs of our oil habit that sometimes go relatively unnoticed because of all the attention on the gas pumps.

hootyhoo
01-17-2009, 19:54
Strange why DEET would melt anything - ? Unless you had some leftover chemical in the other bottle and the combination of the 2 did the melting - what kind of bottle did you pour it in to?
I put some Bens in an aquamira bottle. It melted that night and turned the bottle to goo and made a mess in my pack - it went right through the baggie that it was in.
Have you never had your deet dispenser in a baggie and after 5 or 6 days it starts to melt the baggie? That has always been the case with my stuff.

Tinker
01-17-2009, 21:14
All plastics are not created equal.
There are many different formulas used in plastic bottles.
Bleach comes in high density polyethylene (HDPE).

This may be helpful:http://chiron.no/pdf/Chemical_Resistance_of_Plastics.pdf

theinfamousj
01-17-2009, 21:38
Deet is a plastic solvent. It will melt through LDPE (low density polyethylene). It will also melt through any waterproofing (usually a hydrocarbon chemical similar to plastic) on a tent which is why you should never spray it on your tent. ('Course I did this six or seven years ago but luckily it was just an $18 Walmart tent that I ruined.)

Deet will also partially melt nail polish. Not the best nail polish remover, but works in a pinch. You have to scrape the melted nail polish goo off of your nails once the deet turns it from solid, hard polish to goo. It won't hurt acrylic nails, though.

Tinker
01-17-2009, 21:41
Thankfully, permethrin does not have the same effect on nylon as deet. I sprayed my new tent's floor and door opening with it several years ago.
Permethrin's only poisonous when you get it on your skin in a liquid state. I don't think it has any solvent properties.