Tired Of Trying To Store Lightning In A Bottle ("pool Shock")? Try Nadcc/sodium Troclosene

Tired of trying to store lightning in a bottle (pool shock)? Try a widely approved alternative: NaDCC/sodium troclosene.

Because bleach has a six-month shelf life for disinfecting water, many people have resorted to including calcium hypochlorite (also known as “pool shock”) in their long term storage plans.

Unicef.org states that for water disinfection purposes sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) has a recommended life of only 6 months after opening, even in a tightly closed opaque bottle. Decomposition also produces undesirable by-products (chlorite or chlorate ions). https://www.unicef.org/cholera/Annexes/Supporting_Resources/Annex_9/Clasen-NaDCC2.pdf

Pool shock (calcium hypochlorite) has long been a mainstay as a longer-term alternative to bleach for disinfecting water. Unfortunately, as one friend put it, “Trying to store calcium hypochlorite is like trying to keep lightning in a bottle.” The stuff is notoriously difficult to store without eventually outgassing until it becomes too weak to be reliable for disinfecting water. Many of us know how frustrating it is to store because it is well-known for destroying the container it is stored in.

If it were not for those pesky problems, calcium hypochlorite (commonly sold as “pool shock”) would be a great disaster prep item because you can make a concentrated “stock solution” with it to treat a huge amount of water.

Another water disinfection chemical, chlorine dioxide, is also good but it is a bit expensive. Iodine and potassium permanganate will disinfect water, but they are not ideal for long-term ingestion. Boiling, of course, is ideal but if fuel is in short supply or if circumstances call for low-key OPSEC...then what?

Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC), also called sodium troclosene, may be the perfect solution to the bleach/pool shock problem.

What it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_dichloroisocyanurate

A friend on another forum has given me permission to share his research on price comparisons and availability of this chemical for water disinfection purposes:

You can buy it in affordable tablets that can treat large or small quantities of suspect water. Amazon sells many options from a brand called Ef-Clor.

Different sized tablets are available for whatever type of containers you use. It has a 5-year shelf life, is in wide current use by many NGOs, and is WHO (World Health Organization) approved.

In reference to shelf life, Unicef.org states, “Internal testing under industry standards has shown that tabulated and strip packaged NaDCC, on the other hand, has a shelf life of 5 years in temperate and tropical climates.”

https://www.unicef.org/cholera/Annexes/Supporting_Resources/Annex_9/Clasen-NaDCC2.pdf

Note: the Amazon supplier mentioned below stated a 3-year shelf life, probably to be very conservative.

Ef-Chor is made by Hind Pharma in India: http://www.hindpharma.com/index.html

Hind Pharma also makes a lot of hospital-grade disinfectants, topical medicines, ORS (hydration salts), a few generic meds, and something like the military Chlor-Floc.


To give you an idea of the prices and available sizes:

$14 for 32 tabs that take care of 132gal per tab: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B07C7PY2YB/

$9 for 100 tabs that each take care of a half gallon: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B0757QQF2K/

$9 for 100 tabs that each take care of a 1.5 gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B0757T83DX/

$40 for 100 tablets that each take care of 6.6 gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-NaDCC-Portable-Purification/dp/B00BYD84MI/

$10 for 100 tabs each good for 2.5gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Tablets-Drops/dp/B0757QNZR9/

$20 for 64 tablets each good for 26 gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B074P58QCX/

$11 for 100 tablets each good for 5.2 gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Tablets-Drops/dp/B076BHDVHX/

$18 for 20 tablets each good for 265 gallons: https://www.amazon.com/Ef-Chlor-Water-Purification-Treatment-Tablets/dp/B0757RK43G/

So, if you spend $20 for 64 tabs (that you only need two of to use in a 55-gallon drum), you’re set for 3 to 5 years. That's 63 cents to disinfect a full 55-gallon drum. (I would also want to get some of the ~$10 boxes for small stuff.)

Keep an eye on the expiration dates on your stash of tablets. As of now, the latest shipments from the above supplier should carry an expiration date of 2024.

This is not the only brand out there. Now that you know which chemical to hunt for you can shop for it on the internet. Speaking of chemical names...

Keep in mind, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_dichloroisocyanurate:

Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (INN: sodium troclosene, troclosenum natricum or NaDCC or SDIC). This means that sodium dichloroisocyanurate is also known as sodium troclosene.

Sodium troclosene is sold by Oasis at a much cheaper price than the Amazon seller described above. This eBay seller (https://www.ebay.com/usr/earth-survivors) sells it, and I know of people who are satisfied with this product purchased from them. This page has a description of the product: https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Oasis-...5-Litre-Expire-12-2022-New-Stock/302668972647


Here is a roundup of the technical data:

From the World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/sodiumdichloroisocyanuratesum_2nadd.pdf

From UNICEF:
https://www.unicef.org/cholera/Annexes/Supporting_Resources/Annex_9/Clasen-NaDCC2.pdf

The CDC also provides an ISC (like an MSDS) but the link that I had went AWOL, but it should still be somewhere on the CDC website.




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Hello. Why do you think it will not outgas in the same way as pool shock? I checked in our market, and the stated shelf life of the commercial (the one you can buy in stores) NaDCC is never over 1 year...

 

It's not what I think, but according to the studies that Unicef.com reported in this publication:

https://www.unicef.org/cholera/Annexes/Supporting_Resources/Annex_9/Clasen-NaDCC2.pdf

(See the bottom of the first column on page 165.)

There are widely varied claims of shelf life by various companies, so who knows why? Possibly to be conservative and to cover their butts in the event of litigation over the possibility of improper storage on the customer's end?


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Are there any chemists/chemical engineers/bio-engineers/microbiologists on board here?

The most confounding aspect of these chemicals (Sodium dichloroisocyanurate, or sodium troclosene, or troclosenum natricum) is their relatively short--and varied--shelf life.


Yenix mentioned that the listed shelf life of sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC)/sodium troclosene in the stores in his country is never more than 1 year; the Amazon seller that was mentioned in the OP listed the shelf life of their product as 3 years. And according to the studies that Unicef.com reported in the publication in the link below, the shelf life is 5 years.

https://www.unicef.org/cholera/Annex...sen-NaDCC2.pdf (See the bottom of the first column on page 165.)

I strongly suspect a CYA tactic going on with various suppliers to deflect possible litigation in the event of lawsuits arising from possible improper storage on the distributor/customer end.

It would be very interesting to determine the true nature of chemical stability, as well as effectiveness against a range of pathogens over time. I brought up the idea of informal but UNBIASED testing on a medical board that I belong to, and we are exploring this idea.

So if you are a chemist/chemical engineer/bio-engineer/microbiologist/etc, we would love to include you in this project, and get some input from you regarding this. 5 years is a great and proven shelf-life but would it be remotely possible to have a longer shelf-life, say for example, if more product was used, or storing under certain conditions, etc.?


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