Modifying an Iodine Dropper?

Hello All,

I haven't posted in a long while here, but I am looking for some advice/suggestions. As I was rebuilding my PSK, as well as outfitting my two scouts with their own, I bought three bottles of Tincture of Iodine 2% for water purification at Walgreens or some other drug store. Its very hard to find Iodine nowadays, I guess.

As I was checking them out, I noticed that the cohesion dropper on these are now very poorly designed. They are no longer split at the tip allowing for solid drops to form. They are not just a stick that takes forever for a drop to form and darn near impossible to get into a water bottle for it to its job.

Has anyone else seen this? Does anyone have a suggestion on how to modify it to create solid, faster drops? Any help is much appreciated!

Garrett

I hope this doesn't sound too flippant, but I suggest you drop iodine completely. There are better ways, like boiling.

My bible for stuff like this is James Wilkerson's [/i]Medicine for Mountaineering[i], sixth edition. His discussion of the caveats, conditions, and contraindications of iodine and tincture of iodine takes up nearly two pages. Total disinfection requires more time than would be required for boiling, in addition to something to counteract the iodine taste (after allowing time for the temperature dependent process to work). He does state that tincture of Io would be useful in a major disaster where boiling might not be practicable.

I was interest to see, reading the section on iodine usage, that my sealed bottles of PotableAqua, carefully resting in my supplies, had now passed their best buy date (more than four years old) and were now undependable.

Personally, I have used boiling as my primary technique for many years in many situations involving clearly polluted water with no ill effects whatever. One of these episodes lasted for an entire month.

Wilkerson notes that the CDC and EPA recommend boiling for one minute. In his judgment (and my experience )bringing the water to a boil is adequate. Boiling temperature varies with altitude, but even on the summit of Everest, water boils at 165F, the temperature at which milk is pasteurized.

To actually answer your question, you can find dropper mechanisms with a rubber bulb and glass tube which you could carry separately, but, frankly, that is getting a simple process rather complicated. A lot of folks go to filtration these days, and it seems to work,but you are hauling around an extra bit of gear....

Can't help with the dropper. Do be aware that any liquids can leak and cause issues with the rest of your kit. Especially something like iodine, which is pretty reactive.

Glad to have you posting again, garrett!

I agree with hikermor. Your primary disinfection technique, assuming fuel availability and the right container, should normally be boiling. If that won't work for you, I'd recommend a filter. The Sawyer Mini is inexpensive and effective when used properly (NB don't expose it to freezing temps after its been used, and it doesn't work against viruses).

If you need to use chemical disinfection I would strongly recommend chlorine dioxide tablets -- I carry them as a backup. Iodine doesn't take care of cryptosporidium, whereas chlorine dioxide will if used correctly.

My sense is that everyone posting in this thread so far knows this, so I'm repeating it for others who may be reading: Remember that disinfection techniques are used to kill microorganisms in otherwise uncontaminated water. Disinfection will not make water safe if its been contaminated by heavy metals, hydrocarbons, or other stuff.

I've stopped carrying bottled iodine after one leaked in my first aid kit and ruined everything inside. It was tightly sealed and wrapped in plastic wrap.



I agree with Choasmagnet on both points. Sawyer filters are easy to use and will treat a practically limitless supply of water as long as you back flush it occasionally. The Sawyer Squeeze has a faster flow rate for an ounce more weight.

As a backup, or if you are traveling to an area that you have to worry about viruses, than the chlorine dioxide tablets will treat more pathogens than iodine. I keep some in my PSK and my wallet. They take up little room and weigh almost nothing.

if you really prefer iodine for water purification than I would suggest carrying it in pill form for the reasons mentioned above.

I do carry some iodine pads for disinfecting wounds and you could also use them in a pinch by squeezing out drops into your water container. I've had a DEET pad develop a tear and ruin my first aid kit for a second time, lucky I guess , so I keep all strong pads in tiny Ziploc bags to protect my other gear.

Good luck with whatever method you decide to use.

I keep a supply of chlorine dioxide in my emergency kit to treat suspect tap water. It's supposed to be more effective then iodine against crypto. Not to mention, iodine flavored water tastes horrible.

There's also the bleach solution recommended in various emergency management agencies (FEMA, CDC) manuals.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/emergency/09_202278-b_make_water_safe_flyer_508.pdf

https://www.clorox.com/products/clorox-concentrated-regular-bleach/#Emergency-Water-Disinfection

Not sure how old you Scouts are, or if this is for regular or emergency use, but...

In case of emergencies, my kids and I all have Frontier Water Filter Straws by Aquamira in our kits. They are small and easier for the kiddos - no leaking, no need for a fire, and no need to measure or time tabs/drops. Just put the two pieces together and drink hrough the straw. (We don't use them regularly, we use boiling and purification tablets for that.)

Here's a link for more info: http://www.aquamira.com/product/aquamira-frontier-straw-filter/

thanks for all your replies. You have given me a lot to think about. I am Cody Lundin disciple, which is why I am a fan of iodine. I am more worried about being able to purify large amounts of water (multiple quarts to gallons), so a straw may not fit the bill.

I will take a look at the chlorine dioxide tablets as those sound like they might be the ticket!

Thanks!

Garrett