Are Pool Chemicals Useful For Disinfection of Drinking Water?

I get asked a lot if it is possible to use pool chemicals to disinfect drinking water in an emergency situation. The answer is not a simple one and you will have to make the choice for yourself.

Swimming pool chemicals are various types of disinfectants and sanitizers which work to control the growth of algae and bacteria in the water. The “chlorine” type disinfectant is most common. The chlorine comes from chemicals that release chlorine when dissolved in water.

The chlorine-based chemicals may be called chlorinating liquid, dry chlorine or liquid chlorine. Dry chlorine refers to chemicals in granular or tablet form while the other two are solutions of these same chemicals dissolved in water. When using the dry chemical it should first be mixed with water, then that solution added to the water for disinfection.

There are two main types of chlorinating agents for pools. Read more of this post