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#106481 - 11/13/08 03:47 PM A new way to purify water?
ncmtns Offline
member

Registered: 07/12/02
Posts: 90
Loc: NC
"Water can be purified using Silver Sol liquid. By applying four drops of Silver Sol liquid into eight ounce glass of water, and letting it stand for about two minutes, it will purifiy even raw river water. Add 32 ounces of liquid Silver Sol to a 55 gallon drum of water to keep your water storage purified for years."

p.155 A Fighting Chance, Dr. Gordan Pedersen

http://www.banditsbuddies.com/focus/silver-shield.shtml

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#106482 - 11/13/08 05:19 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: ncmtns]
Eric Offline
member

Registered: 09/23/02
Posts: 294
Loc: The State of Jefferson
My doctor had me try colloidal silver for an intestinal parasite. The stuff gave me a nasty headache. YMMV

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#106483 - 11/13/08 05:44 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: ncmtns]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
An excerpt from Wikipedia for you: "Currently, colloidal silver is marketed as an alternative medical remedy, though there is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness for any medical condition.[1][2] Excessive use can result in argyria, a form of silver toxicity."

Read more at Wikipedia or another reference, if you wish to do so. I'll stick with silver threads woven into my non-stink clothing to take advantage of silver's antimicrobial properties. Emergency rooms use a preparation called "Silvadene" on some burns. I figure there is a reason that is is available only by prescription. Chalk up using colloidal silver for water treatment next to using grapefruit seed extract (GSE) for the same purpose. No thanks!

CamperMom

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#106484 - 11/13/08 06:44 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: CamperMom]
Folkalist Offline
member

Registered: 03/17/07
Posts: 374
Loc: Fredericksburg, VA
I forget exactly what it was called, but they used some sort of silver-something ointment on me in the emergency room when I got second and third degree burns from boiling water on my hand and wrist. Gotta watch the camp stove . . . <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
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#106485 - 11/14/08 06:25 AM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: Folkalist]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
It was probably Silvadene or a similar preparation with a different name. Basically, this is a sterile preparation of petrolatum (Vaseline) with silver. The petroleum jelly blocks air from irritating the nerve endings while the silver kills "germs." Silver preparations have been used in burn treatments for years. There may be something else used now, but silver-containing eye drops used to be placed in newborns' eyes immediately after birth to prevent blindness from possible contamination during birth.

CM

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#106486 - 11/14/08 07:05 AM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: ncmtns]
Mike M Offline
member

Registered: 08/17/03
Posts: 23
Loc: Alexandria, VA
The American Red Cross fields a low cost system using colloidal silver in the filter. Not quite UL but you never know what you may have to resort to when trekking around.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79042

Mike M

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#106487 - 11/14/08 04:56 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: Mike M]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Interesting article.

Going back to the original post, the idea was to add a few drops of colloidal silver directly to water. The Red Cross is distribting a clay filter that also contains colloidal silver. Some filters and even reservoirs and hoses have silver in their coatings to inhibit bacterial growth. Drops of silver in the water VS silver in a filter sound like totally different approaches to me.

CM

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#106488 - 11/15/08 06:41 AM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: CamperMom]
chaz Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Tennessee
CM seems that the silver added to the ceramic would be held there and wouldn't leach into the water? I could be way off. I'm no scientist. But I would avoid just ingesting the stuff. Bleach drops are bad enough. To me any of the purifing tab etc. would be bad. I like to filter then boil most questionable water.
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#106489 - 11/15/08 07:08 AM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: chaz]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
The items featuring silver that I've used have silver ion coatings that kill beastie buildup in the surfaces or within the filter. Who likes black mold or other contaminants growing inside tubes and bladders? Also, I read somewhere that pond scum, even the invisible stuff, shortens the life of filters. I don't like the idea of actually ingesting colloidal silver. Small amounts in topical preparations don't much worry me, though. When feasible, I'll restrict my silver to jewelry... <w>


CM

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#106490 - 11/15/08 05:31 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: chaz]
Keith Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1667
Loc: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Related concept here . . .

Most of the anti-microbial treatments for clothing (the new anti-stink stuff) uses a silver ion recipe.
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#106491 - 11/15/08 06:05 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: Keith]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
YES!

I have a few shirts with silver threads. One long-sleeved one for winter weekends has been quite satisfactory. I also bought some short-sleeved summer-weight "Silvermax" shirts from <dresswelloutdoors.com.> The lighter ones do snag really easily, but for about $10, and their comfort level, I can live with replacing 2 T-shirts each summer. I found I could wear one of these shirts for several days with no stink in the summer, hiking the AT in Virginia. I sweat like a racehorse BEFORE my hot flashes kick in, so that is saying a lot. I'm tempted to recycle the snagged shirts into underwear, but haven't tried that just yet.

CM

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#106492 - 11/15/08 07:29 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: CamperMom]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
From what I've read about the production of 'silver based clothing' it's a very polluting process, so I am going to rinse and hike in the old stuff. As far as carrying Silver drops to treat yer water just stick with the Aqua Mira....
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PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!

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#108958 - 01/08/09 12:34 AM Re: A new way to purify water? (for rats maybe) [Re: ncmtns]
Jim M Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
I'll look it up in "Dangerous properties Of Industrial Materials"
Says, "Synonym; argentum" and has warnings about silver compounds causing generalized argyria. Then I suppose, the pure silver forms a compound with other elements and molecules and is deposited in the blood vessel walls, kidneys, testes, pituitary, bronchi, etc. Once deposited in the body, there is no known method by which the silver can be eliminated, it says here. Lowestlethal dose in humans is 0.7 mg/kg of body wt. But when given a much higher dose(100 mg/kg of body wt.) to a bunch of rats only half of them died!
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Jim M

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#108995 - 01/08/09 03:30 PM Re: A new way to purify water? [Re: ncmtns]
sarbar Offline
member

Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 1453
Loc: WA
Be very careful with it. In the 90's colloidal silver was being touted as a wonder drug for everything snake oil salesmen could dream up (from cancer to treating water).

There were people that ingested way too much - and it turned their skin funky shades - which could be permanent.

Not a good thing! Silver has its purposes, just be careful with it.
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www.trailcooking.com

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#109105 - 01/10/09 02:55 PM Re: A new way to purify water? (for rats maybe) [Re: Jim M]
chaz Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Tennessee
I'm sure ingesting any type of metal could be bad. I'm not about to knowingly, that's for certain! sick
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Enjoy your next trip...

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