AquaMira Question?

[Bruce Tolley]

I recently updated my supply of Aquamira Water Treatment (the two bottle formula) and read the product information. I was surprised to see in the product packaging absolutely no mention of the use cases we buy the product for, purification of drinking water, disinfection of viruses, bacteria, etc. The front package statement says “kills odor causing bacteria and enhances the taste of stored potable water.”  The statement on the back of the package says: “…for use in controlling the build up of slime in water storage containers…”

In contrast, my package of Micropur chlorine dioxide tables states: “effective against bacterial and cysts…” The package also states “Meets EPA microbiological water purifier test standards.” Presumably, the last statement refers to section 2 of this EPA document: http://www.biovir.com/Images/pdf061.pdf

So what gives?  It sounds like I have been using Aquamira (the product) for an application Aquamira (the company) has not tested the product’s efficacy for.

[Bob Moulder]

Huge number of threads on this already.

Check this one.

[Bruce Tolley]

Thanks Bob for the reference to the older thread, While informative, it does not specifically address my question and only confirms my hypothesis that Aquamira has not been certified as meeting the EPA standard.

[Bob Moulder]

Hi Bruce,

Another thread here more specific to the EPA distinction between ClO2 tablets and liquids.

Bottom line is that the liquid is not EPA-certified as a “purifier” whereas the tablets are.

In actual practice many people (myself included) have been using liquid AM for a long time without problems. Furthermore, I also use the pre-mix method (mixing up a 3ml batch to meet my daily needs) and it has been pretty totally effective… thus far. On a few occasions I’ve been forced to drink some seriously manky, warm pond scum treated with the pre-mix and haven’t been sickened from it yet, knock wood. But I do give really nasty-looking water a couple extra drops and wait longer (an hour or so vs 15-30 min usual) before drinking it.

Most definitely, YMMV

 

[Matthew / BPL]

7.08 am and I’ve already learned something today. I didn’t know manky meant anything other than a first evolution of the Primeape Pokémon.

[Bob Moulder]

lol, another good one is the hybrid of ‘stinky’ and ‘manky’…. ‘stanky’  ;^)

[Catherine Harley]

Or the Scots word ‘minging’ :-)

 

[Worth Donaldson]

Pristine is the certified Canadian version and is approved as a purifier.  It is not sold in the US.  I make no distinction between the two other than the fact that the manufacturer of AquaMira has not sought EPA certification in my personal use.

http://pristine.ca

 

 

[James Marco]

No, AM is not certified by the EPA. I used it for several years (after they took iodine off the market) before switching to the UV devices and only had trouble once in New Hampshire after drinking some water in Vermont(I believe.)

AM IS effective, but, you must wait. For me this means I needed two 1qt or 1 liter bottles, or I would run short of water. I had to keep at least one bottle “cooking” for an hour or longer. Not a good thing, when you are paddling for 5-6 hours drinking a quarter liter every 10 min’s. I was ALWAYS rushing things and it eventually caught up with me. So, for about 5 years of use, it was pretty good.

The 1-4 hour wait time was a killer, though. And, carrying all that extra weight (in water as it “cooked”) was just plane dumb. So I switched to a MuV, then a Steripen around 2006 or 2007. I dropped to two 500ml bottles (wide mouth for easy refills.) And, I don’t carry the extra liter(~2 pounds/1kg.) I carry the 3.5oz Adventuror and the slightly lighter Adventuror Opti. Good for 2 weeks on a solo trip. With a 1.25oz set of batteries, it will take me four weeks. (The first one was lost on a hike.) I still carry a couple days worth of AM drops in tiny bottles (refilled each spring) as a backup (another 1.0oz.) but a fair trade for the 2.2 pounds of weight savings. Sometimes I only bring one 500ml bottle. But, I need to KNOW I will have water along the way. For camp, I always bring a 2.5L Platty (carried empty, another ~1.75oz or so.)

[Bill Giles]

Pristine is rather vague about their products and the amount of time required to produce safe water. They do have a time vs temperature chart that is helpful, but they refer to a “simple 15 minute process”, that they don’t explain.  One of the questions that I have never found a satisfactory answer to is whether the long treatment times are necessary for the Chlorine Dioxide to develop or for it to disinfect the water. This might have something to do with the apparent effectiveness of the “pre-mix” process. If the Chlorine Dioxide has already developed in the pre-mix, then the treatment time might be less and the effectiveness might be better. I have no idea how the tablets work, but assume that the Chlorine Dioxide doesn’t develop until the tablets are mixed with water.

[Elliott Wolin]

As has been mentioned in other threads, the long wait time is overkill, it is only necessary for Crypto in cold, high turbidity water.  Giardia in the worst case requires 30 mins or less (if I recall).

One way to get water quickly and be really safe is to bring a Frontier Pro (or equivalent) filter as well as AM drops or tablets.  The small stuff that can pass through the filter is killed very quickly by the ClO2 (5 mins if I recall), the stuff that is hard to kill (Giardia, Crypto) is large and is easily filtered out.

Thus you can protect yourself from everything with only a short wait time just by carrying an extra 2.5 oz Frontier Pro. I was given this advice by an Aqua Mira rep.

[Bruce Tolley]

Thanks everyone for all the discussion but my basic question goes unanswered, Why after being on the market for many years has not AM sought to get its product certified as meeting the EPA standard. I am not arguing that the product does not work most of the time for me or other users. The question is if it performs according to the standard, why not submit it for certification. Maybe the testing cost $ and the revenue from AM is too small to merit the cost. Maybe the product works most of the time but not to the performance standard of the test document at the URL I provided above.

According to the packaging, the manufacturer states that AM is on the market for the disinfection of RV water tanks, not the purification of water for human consumption.

[Buck Nelson]

My post won’t got through, I suspect because of the links. Here’s a current quote from the McNett site:

Aquamira water treatments make it simple to effectively treat water for virus, bacteria, and cysts such as cryptosporidium and giardia, without the bulk of a large filter system. Available in compact drops or tablets, Aquamira’s chlorine dioxide formula is proven effective, making it the ideal choice for outdoorsmen, travelers, and emergency preppers alike.

Google this sentence for more on certification: Recently Aquamira procured the EPA registration for the base chemical from the supplier and we are now in the process of submitting our own label with appropriate claims to the EPA. This is a lengthy process, and requires every claim to be backed up with test data. 

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