Polar Pure Water Disinfectant With Iodine Crystals
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Description of Polar Pure Water Disinfectant With Iodine Crystals
Even if you have a great water filter, it's hard to destroy water-borne pathogens, including Giardia cysts that can pass through the smallest of filters. This disinfectant destroys these hazards with the power of pure Iodine Crystalline. This specially designed bottle has a thermometer that determines the iodine solution and temperature. One lightweight bottle can purify up to 2,000 quarts of water. Perfect for travel, the disinfectant has an indefinite shelf life and does not deteriorate when exposed to temperature extremes. Features: Safe and fully effective as long as iodine crystals are visible at the bottom of the bottle One bottle treats up to 2000 quarts of water at less than 1/2 cent per quart Dosage chart printed on the bottle Bottle cap measures and decants solution -- no other equipment needed Compact and lightweight for convenient packing Essential for emergency preparedness Item Specifications: Active ingredient: 99.5% Iodine Crystalline Capacity: Purifies up to 2,000 qts. Weight. 3 oz.Whether you're traveling in unfamiliar countries, camping in the great outdoors, or just want to be prepared in case of emergency, the Polar Pure water disinfectant is a space-efficient, reliable choice. Polar Pure uses a unique bottle design to deploy pure crystallized iodine into contaminated water. This iodine destroys waterborne pathogens, including the Giardia cysts and microorganisms (viruses) that normally pass through filters. All you have to do is simply add water to your Polar Pure bottle--which features a particle trap to prevent the loss of iodine crystals--and you will create a saturated solution to disinfect your water. The water cap then acts as the measuring cup, dispersing the required amount of Polar Pure to disinfect each quart/liter bottle of water.
Polar Pure offers several advantages over other water-disinfectant methods. It's far more portable than carrying household chlorine bleach, which is often available only in a dilute solution when traveling in many parts of the world. It's more convenient than bringing along enough fuel to boil water every time you want a drink, especially at altitude. And unlike most water filters, Polar Pure doesn't get clogged over time. In fact, a single bottle of Polar Pure treats up to 2,000 quarts of water. Other advantages: Polar Pure doesn't deteriorate in extreme temperatures, it has an indefinite shelf life, and it's small and light enough for backpacking or traveling.
Sports reviews of Polar Pure Water Disinfectant With Iodine Crystals
Customer Review: Great Company
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
This is a great product from a great company.
Amidst all the hype surrounding the earthquake and subsequent nuclear meltdown in Japan, it seemed the entire world supply of Potassium Iodide was bought up in a heartbeat. Resigning myself to having faith that the media was overheated and the government may not be trusted to save me, I decided to put the whole radiation scare out of my mind.
But then I remembered I had a bottle of iodine crystals in my earthquake kit. So, feeling sheepish at this point, I emailed Polar Pure, asking if they knew if their product would serve in a pinch, should the worst-case scenario unfold. To my surprise, they emailed me back within 1/2 hour with this:
"While the original intent in the use of Polar Pure was meant for backpackers to disinfect their quart/liter bottles of water, we periodically get questions regarding using Polar Pure to saturate the thyroid gland in case of radioactive nuclear fallout. Polar Pure is not manufactured for the purpose of protecting the thyroid gland in this way but because it is iodine, it will, theoretically, achieve this goal.
From what we understand, the thyroid gland "picks up" iodine 300 times more readily than any other organ in the body and when saturated, contains approximately 15mg of iodine. Anything ingested or absorbed beyond that is excreted by the body through the urine. The thyroid gland may already be partially or fully saturated with a normal diet.
I believe that the 130mg that you refer to is the dosage of potassium iodide tablets - not necessarily 130mg of iodine specifically. I do not know how much iodine is in a potassium iodide tablet.
Each bottle of Polar Pure contains approximately 99.5% pure elemental iodine to create a saturated solution to disinfect your quart/liter bottle of water. Our treatment parameters are based on EPA testing and each treatment contains approximately 4parts per million (4ppm, or about 4-5mg), however this may not necessarily be in one capful. The number of capfuls required depends on the temperature of the solution in the Polar Pure bottle. A warmer solution will be more saturated and so, fewer capfuls are required to achieve the optimum 4ppm dosage. The green dot on the side of the bottle indicates the required capfuls to create this 4ppm dosage for your quart/liter bottle of water.
When used as directed, your quart/liter bottle of water will contain approximately 4ppm, or 4-5mg of iodine. To reach 15mg needed to fully saturate the thyroid gland (assuming the gland is not already partially or fully saturated by normal diet and assuming full saturation of the thyroid is 15mg) you would need to at least triple the amount of Polar Pure solution needed for treatment of water. The number of capfuls required is dependent on the solution temperature, so I cannot tell you how much iodine is present in one capful of your own bottle at any one time. You would have to go by the dosage table on your bottle to reach the 4ppm per treatment dosage."
Well, now I can feel just a little bit better, knowing I won't die of dehydration, nor of Thyroid Cancer.
Separately, with all the gravity I can muster, my heart goes out to Japan. I hope I am never in their position, and I hope I never have to pull out my Iodine Crystals, unless I am backpacking on vacation.
Customer Review: Comparing chemical treatment methods
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
The EPA estimates that 90% of the world's fresh water is contaminated and unsuitable for drinking. The days of kneeling down on a hike and sipping from the stream are long gone. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because water looks clear or tastes good that it is free of contaminants. That includes frozen water, which can house hepatitis A, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium for months.
There are many options for purifying the water, but this post will compare commercial products that rely on halogen chemical treatments.
Polar Pure - contains iodine crystals, has an almost indefinite shelf life if kept tightly sealed, and very inexpensive per dose cost, requires measuring the dosage using the cap (which can be imprecise).
Potable Aqua - contains iodine tablets, shelf life of up to four years if properly stored - if they've turned a light green don't use, moderately expensive per dose cost, easy to administer doses (two tablets per quart of water).
Micropur MP1 - contains chlorine dioxide tablets, has a shelf life of at least four years, moderately expensive per dose cost, and comes in easy to administer doses (one tablet per quart of water).
Simple household bleach - 2 drops per quart of water (assuming a a bleach solution of 5-6% hypochlorite), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, shelf life of bleach is only about 6 months, must use a dropper to administer dose, very inexpensive per dose cost.
Tincture of iodine - 5 drops per quart (assuming a 2% iodine solution), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, almost indefinite shelf life if properly stored, must use a dropper to administer dose, modest per dose cost.
All of the methods are effective at killing bacteria, somewhat effective against viruses, and of limited value against protozoa cysts. Cryptosporidium in particular is resistant to halogen treatments.
Most treatments only require 30 minutes. However, very cold water (i.e., less than 40 degrees F) should be allowed to sit for 2 or more hours, or be treated with a double dose.
As far as taste, all will introduce some chemical taste into the water. In a very unscientific taste test of chemical treatment methods, my own family concluded that iodine-treated water was by far the worst smelling and tasting, bleach-treated was second, and water treated with Micropur MP1 ready-to-use tablets was the least objectionable.
Finally, you can add Kool-aid to treated water to help the taste. Not only will it help to mask the chemical taste, but the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) converts the chlorine or iodine to tasteless chloride and iodide.
Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.
Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."
Customer Review: Polar pure rocks in Arkansas
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
Living in Arkansas all my life, Outdoors expeditions are a natural part of life here. One of the main things I hated camping, canoeing or caving is carrying enough water for me and Yes, My Wolf. When I was young we use to drink directly out of the White River with no ill effects then Chicken Farms down south put an end to that. You can see the film of filth formed on the top layer of the River that was never there until the 80s. Recently we had found a fantastic artifact cave with a rusty old pipe and clean looking running water going through the pipe. It was so great to have the polar pure and be able to dip my water jug in treat it with polar pure then leave it sit in the cold stream to keep cool so after a few hours of digging in the hot sun I knew I had clean cool water for me and my girl. There is a slight taste after taste but I found adding a piece of lemon or orange totally covered any unnatural tastes we found. With Man destroying nature at an unbelievable rate, I became concerned with my wolf even drinking from the lakes or streams around here. It took a while but now I have her where she will wait until I tell her safe water and drink from the bottle instead of the body of water which has caused her diareaha and even skin allergies swimming in it at certain times. Even my house water, when the lake levels change drastically has a nasty taste and odor despite everything going through my refriderator filter, I have started using Polar Pure in almost all my home water during those times when it starts smelling. This product has been a lifesaver for me and my critters and hope they keep having the success they deserve so it stays around for a long time. I've not found another product that lasts as long, easier and more compact to use and has so far kept us healthy despite the source of water used.
I recently found a bottle that was over 8 years old) and besides sticking to the bottom of bottle and clumping a little, had no problem splitting it up to put some back for tomorrows excavation and using it to treat my home water today when the lake level just changed again and overnight water started tasting bad....
Customer Review: A Great Solution
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I have read in books that one of the best methods for purifying water was by using iodine crystals, but I must admit, I didn't really understand the concept.
This is a bottle that is about 3 inches high, inside is a relatively small amount of iodine crystals that appear similar in size and shape to shotgun pellets.
The process is to fill the small bottle with water, let it sit for an hour, and then pour the liquid from the bottle (measured in capfuls using the bottle cap) into a liter of water for purification. On the side of the bottle is a simplified strip thermometer which indicates how many capfuls of liquid to use based on the temperature of the solution. The bottle has a built in mechanism (really just a tube but it is difficult to explain) that prevents the iodine crystals from being poured out of the bottle during the process.
The process is similar to using water purification tablets with the added advantage of indefinite shelf life and lower cost.
The bottle has all instructions 'painted' on the side which is an added plus; unlike paper labels, the instructions will not fade away or unpeel. The product also comes with an short description of various purification methods, which is both interesting and 'transparent' as the company is not just promoting their own product.
The company's web site is basic and provides more details if you have interest; and, to give them credit, they responded to one of my e-mail questions within an hour.
If I was starting a basic disaster / survival kit, this would be one of my first four purchases; behind a flashlight, first aid kit, and a good knife.
Two things to note. The bottle is thick glass (I would guess relatively hard to break). Also, if you keep the bottle full of solution, take steps to ensure that the water does not freeze as the bottle may break.
An interesting approach to water purification and a well-implemented product.
Customer Review: Excelent Product!
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
First of all a note regarding the reviews I have seen complaining of an empty bottle: The bottle is not empty, old, expired, or anything else. That tiny bit of Iodine in the base will last longer than you can keep track of / not break the bottle. Honest. For usage, read and follow the directions on the bottle.
I have used this product for several years now, including extensively for international travel (latin america, middle east) and it has worked superbly. I am still on the original container, which is showing no sign of depletion. By contrast in the same time I would have gone through several bottles of pills, which also spoil in air.
There are a few tricks for usage:
1) If you do not care for the taste of iodine it is possible to convert the iodine in your water to iodide by adding a small amount of vitamin C (lemon works well) to the treated water AFTER letting it sit for the required treatment time. Iodide is colorless and tasteless, unlike its brown chemical cousin. This should only be done after allowing water treatment to occur however, since it will render the iodine ineffective for treatment
2) If concerned about viruses you can use a reduced dose of iodine after a filter. This is quite effective
3) Keep the bottle somewhere warm (outside of a pack in the sun works well) This will increase solubility and thus the amount of water you can treat at a time.
Anyway, I hope this is helpful, and happy travels!