My question concerns using Clorox bleach to disinfect shower and kitchen wastewater in a tent/camping situation. We don’t re-use the water, and we don’t expect 100% disinfection. However, we do need an easy-to-follow guideline that accommodates a variety of temperatures and quantity of contaminants, and will keep the microbes under control until we can dispose of the water. The rule of thumb I came up with was this:
For a gallon of wastewater, mix in a quarter cup of bleach. Let it stand for half an hour, then sniff it. If it doesn’t smell like bleach, add another quarter cup. Do this twice a day.
Am I grossly under- or over-dosing? Can you suggest a better rule?
Thanks for your interesting question. You didn’t say where the treated water was going to be disposed of. If it is back into a waterway, then we would want a little higher standard, but ground watering probably would have a little lower threshold.
Here are some quick calculations to get you grounded:
A difficult question to answer is how much organic load is in the water and how “uniform” is it from source-to-source and time-to-time. This has a direct bearing on your ultimate needed bleach level. So your suggested approach seems reasonable if you want to provide good quality water back into a waterway, since a noticeable chlorine odor would mean it is nearly “clean” water. If you are using the treated water for other purposes, then the single 1/4 cup application and stirring may be enough.