NaCl solution

hi there

I want to prepare a NaCl/KCl saturated solution in water, adding a few drops in my bottle in order to resupply my body of lost salts from perspiration.
On the trail/bicycle ride I find it more practical than adding grains of salt to water. My concern is the long term potability: even a small amount of solution should last me weeks, so I'm asking if anyone knows for sure that a saturated NaCl solution will make microbiological growth impossible (bacteria, vira and such), or at least delay it for a very long time.

franco

If you look, or google, you can find that one of the traditional uses of NaCl (salt) is as a food preservative agent. It has been used for thousands of years.

In your case, it looks like you could consider NaCl to be a preservative for water.

Pray tell, what biological or bacteriological food can be found in pure water or pure NaCl/KCl crystals?

Even sugars have been used for thousands of years as food preservatives, under the right conditions.

If the solution only contains NaCl and KCl then there is nothing to support microbial growth. The solution should last indefinitely. A saturated solution is going to vary in the concentration of NaCl and KCl depending on temperature. A non-saturated solution would probably be a better choice. Since they have different solubilities, one of them (NaCl or KCl) will have a higher concentration in the water than the other, depending on the temperature. A non-saturated solution would be a better choice if you wanted to maintain a specific ratio of NaCl to KCl or know how much you are adding.

You might want to consider just adding Morton's Lite Salt to your food and, possibly, water. IIRC, Lite Salt is roughly 25% Na, 20% K the remainder being Cl. I take Lite Salt with me on my trips for the same reason you are interested in the saturated KCl/NaCl solution.

Lite Salt does taste beastly, but is very effective for rebalancing electrolytes. I was having some cramping and spasming in my feet the other day, added a little Lite Salt to my morning juice and voilà, my cramps were gone.

MNS

Or you all could just eat bananas and potato chips with your water. Tastes way better <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
And it gives a ton of potassium with the sodium (potassium being needed to process sodium correctly).

I know, I know: however, after the second bottle I no longer appreciate the taste of plain water, especially if lukewarm. Salt makes it much more palatable --> I drink sooner and more of it --> my hydration improves.
I usually carry some fruit and tomatoes too, for antioxidants, other mineral salts and vitamins

btw: Pika, I live in Italy, I'm pretty sure Morton Lite is not available over here.

Thanks for the tip for the unsaturated solution, Sleigh!

I don't think it would be practical to carry a near saturated solution for an entire trip, but it might be practical to mix a near saturated solution at the beginning of each day. I guess you could work that out.

Here here on bananas for potasium. I'm outside most all the time and in the southern heat and humidity I sweat buckets. Bananas for me stop the cramping from loss of minerals. Even though I'm acclaimated to the heat, it can still finish you off if you don't take care of yourself. Back in the day, we used to eat salt tabs but not anymore, too much sodium.

How about the product Nuun? You should be able to order online. No sugar at all.

http://www.nuun.com/nuunis/whatisnuun.html