Hurricane Preparedness Blog

Bleach has always been the item that everyone knows they should have, but couldn’t tell you why. Besides getting out those stubborn grass stains, it could come in handy after a hurricane. How so? Glad you asked. Let’s turn it over to the FDA for some insight:

Hurricanes, especially if accompanied by a tidal surge or flooding, can contaminate the public water supply. In the area hit by a hurricane, water treatment plants may not be operating; even if they are, storm damage and flooding can contaminate water lines.

For starters, listen for public announcements about the safety of the municipal water supply. If you’re unsure, you can’t go wrong purifying clean tap water.

Now for the list. In an emergency situation, follow these steps to ensure that your water is safe:

• Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water until your supply is tested and found safe.
• If you use bottled water, be sure it came from a safe source. If you do not know that the water came from a safe source, you should boil or treat it before you use it.
• Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms.
• When boiling water is not practical, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite).
• If you use household chlorine bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (~0.75 mL) of bleach per gallon of water if the water is clear. For cloudy water, add 1/4 teaspoon (~1.50 mL) of bleach per gallon. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it.

Note: If you’re unable to boil the water, treating it with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or liquid bleach will not kill parasitic organisms.

Also, use a bleach solution to rinse water containers before reusing them. Use water storage tanks and other types of containers with caution. For example, fire truck storage tanks and previously used cans or bottles may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals.

Just remember when shopping for bleach, unscented, unscented, unscented. Or, save space and unnecessary bleach-to-water-ratio calculations by purchasing water purification tablets.