Drinks Bladder - Cleaning

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the couple of useful replies. Will certainly try those that
have been given.

As for the talk of Dead sheep, unrine etc wasnt quite expecting that
reply.... however as a newbie its something to consider when (if) i ever
get in a position that forces me to take water from streams , burns etc
but......... surely ALL walkers should be prepared for being stuck without
clean water and, when there is a likelyhood of it happening carry purifying
tablets ( no weight and NOT expensive) or maybe some other means to clean
the water, maybe through boiling.

I usually carry some purification tablets. As you say the weight is
insignificant. I've never yet used them, but have often drunk from
streams with no ill-effects.

Regards,
--
Neil Pugh

Paul said:

As for the talk of Dead sheep, unrine etc wasnt quite expecting that
reply.... however as a newbie its something to consider when (if) i ever
get in a position that forces me to take water from streams , burns etc
but......... surely ALL walkers should be prepared for being stuck without
clean water and, when there is a likelyhood of it happening carry purifying
tablets ( no weight and NOT expensive) or maybe some other means to clean
the water, maybe through boiling.

It's a bit like going out unprepared for a major airline crash
incident... it's /possible/ I'd be stuck without clean water for a day's
bimble in the Scottish highlands, but not to the extent it's worth
preparing for (if I'm overnighting I'll probably have a stove).

Quoted message said:

I'm sure the guys and gals from mountain/fell rescue would sooner be called
out to someone who is well prepared for such situations rather than someone
who has been daft enough to become dehydrated through violent vomiting
because of a violent stomach bug brought on from drinking contaminated
water.

Yet practically nobody I've ever come across, including at least a few
members of MRTs, ever worry about it. Think about where bottled water
comes from: it rains onto hills, percolates through the ground where the
geology focuses it to a spring, and is then bottled with no treatment.
The only major difference between that and water from a burn is the
water course is above ground when you drink from it, and it may not have
percolated through quite as much biomass first. Numerous houses in
rural Scotland take their drinking water supply directly from such
streams with no treatment, and if you can drink out of a stream with
confidence in a B&B in the morning you can drink from the same sources
in the afternoon with even more confidence as there's no piping and
tanks as middle men.

In summary, your initial caution is commendable, but it's actually not a
problem, and you can save quite a bit of faff and unnecessary weight, as
well as a mildly unpleasant taste!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Simon Challands said:

Depends where you are. High up in Scotland it'll be a thin population
of sheep, but in, say, the Lake District there are a lot of them
around - the ground appears to be one big sheep's toilet.

For some values of "lots". The actual density of grazing on uplands is
low, because the land isn't that rich and it would be too much hassle
collecting and moving large numbers. Compare and contrast to densities
you get in low pasture and you can see it's rather less.

People just don't have a track record of getting ill from upland
streams. They're healthy ecosystems based around a plentiful supply of
clean water that percolates through the peat for an excellent natural
filter.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/