Left over Aquamira

Assuming your old solution is still effective, I see no harm whatsoever "topping off" the old. Makes no sense to bring 4 bottles.

Not that you asked, but next time around, order the tablets. No need to count drops and no more waiting 5 minutes for solutions to mix. The tablets (either Aqua Mira brand or Micropur brand) are also more potent/concentrated than liquids — and thus more effective against viruses, protozoa, etc.

Ben,
If using a 2 ltr platypus do I add 1 or 2 tablets if leaving it sit for aprx 8 hours?

"Not that you asked, but next time around, order the tablets."

Try pricing the tablets vs. the liquid on a per-liter-treated basis — chlorine dioxide tablets are a lot more expensive, whether from Aqua Mira, MicroPur, or Potable Aqua.

If you believe that the tablets are more potent, you could literally double the dosage of Aqua Mira liquid and still come out $$ ahead.

Obviously not a big factor for those doing infrequent, low mileage trips, but if you're out a lot it adds up.

David — if you double the treatment time — say from 4 max to 8 whole hours, you should be able to half the dosage — and thus 1 tablet for 2 liters instead of just 1 liter.

Brian — I thought you and I went through this before, but maybe I just got you mixed up with someone else. Anyway, in my (and others') conversation with AquaMira rep — the chlorine dioxide in tablet form is 3-4 times MORE than in liquid form. That's why:

1. AM liquids ONLY mention treatment against bacteria — and is COMPLETELY SILENT about treating protozoa.

2. AM liquids are not EPA registered (becaue they couldn't be and thus are forbidden from mentioning protozoa on their packaging / directions).

3. AM (or Micropur) brand tablets are EPA registered — and are allowed to mention treatment against all three: bacteria, viruses and protozoa

The AM rep said one could safely use AM liquids to treat protozoa as well — by QUADRUPLING the dosage.

So, doing the math…

But I no longer use chlorine dioxide anymore. Even with tablets, the 4 hour max. time (for cold water) is too long for me — and I don't really want to be guessing whether 30 minutes is enough or should I leave it for another hour or two…

I now use a combination of chlorine (household bleach) to treat only viruses and bacteria (which only requires 20 minutes) — then drink (suck) water through my AquaMira Frontier Pro filter to block the bigger and chemically harder to kill protozoa.