drinking water part 2

[The Yakherd]

There's much talk about iodine to purify the water, but what about chlorinetabs?
Do they work well?
What about taste?

Johan

[Sharon]

www.pristine.ca
No taste, easy to use and small to carry.

[Lars]

About chlorine tablets.

I know of people who took European such in the Himalayas, and got
really sick, while others had bought Indian made chlorine tablets in
Kathmandu and were fine. So there is more than one type.
Cooties are best zapped with regional counter weapons. Each to his own, sort of.

The immediate downside of the Indian tablets is an obnoxious chlorine
flavour. They seem to keep your belly together during the trek though,
regardless of what you eat or drink. But I hate to think of what they do
to your innards over time.

Personally i find the taste of iodine goes quite well with the mountain cuisine.
Particularly with that unmistakeable Nepali flavour that comes from leaving
grains in a damp container over monsoon.

I lost ten kilos on my last trek. Just as a bonus.

Lars
Stockholm

[happycamper]

Chlorine tabs don't kill the Giardia parasite. Iodine does.

[yakshaver]

Yes, the grains in the damp container.... :)
I do use Iodine little pills with the afferent ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) neutralizer. I also find it associates well with everithing Nepal...
But there are so many fluids available at lodges, including tea (quite nice) hot lemon drink, etc., as well as boiled water, that I don't have to put up with the iodine taste for much of the journey.
I usually prepare one litre of water purified with iodine in the morning, and because I drink so much tea or lemon drink at lodges, I often find I still have some water left in the bottle by the evening. Never got tummy troubles in all my Nepal trips. Unlike when I do to posh Sydney restaurants sometimes...