I live in the south. The old aluminum pot in the yard my dog drinks from would get an accumulation of green glop on it. Don't recall where I got the suggestion but I cleaned the pot and put a dime in it when I refilled it. The glop no longer grows in the pot.

Would someone please explain this phenomenon? Shall I also put a dime (or other silver coin) in my stored drinking water which is in food grade plastic barrels?

-- RT (Rngfr49@yahoo.com), December 26, 1999

Answers

My reply is off topic, but your post remined me of something. Not too far from me is one of the largest gypsy compounds in the US. The Roma people (some) have always put spare change in their truck gas tanks. I don't know the exact reason for this, but it is a practice that is done regularly.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), December 26, 1999.

RT,

YES!!

If it's real colloidal silver, it won't "go away" as does chlorine bleach. Also, it will be beneficial to your body, unlike chlorine.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), December 26, 1999.

If you are going to put a silver coin in water (or milk or whatever) to prevent bacterial growth, you'll have to use a pre-1965 coin as the most recent coins have very little silver. I would feel more comfortable using one ounce silver "rounds" which are 99.+% silver rather than the pre-65s which are only 90% silver, though it probably makes no difference in this situation. You can get silver rounds at most coin dealers. For more silver info go to http://home.earthlink.net/~kenseger/surv/surv.htm under SILVER.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), December 26, 1999.

It has been proven that aluminum causes Alsheimer disease. Better get an othe container for the dogs to drink from. Unless you want a stupid dog, before it dies.

-- bbb (bbb@bbb.com), December 27, 1999.

My dog also drinks Budweiser out of aluminum cans. Should he switch to glass longnecks?

-- RT (Rngfr49@yahoo.com), December 27, 1999.

Regardless of some of the other claims made for colloidal silver, it does have some uses in controlling algae in places like swimming pools. I can't say I really see the need for using it in your water barrels though. Your best bet is to use a clean barrel, clean water, a moderate amount of fresh chlorine bleach, keep the barrels tightly sealed and, very importantly, stored in the dark. You should have no problems with algae. It is a good idea to rotate the water occasionally, we do it ever six months.

...........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@sprintmail.com), December 27, 1999.

The dime is probably influencing the growth of algae not with silver, but with copper. I don't think you would want your dog to ingest copper regularly.

Colloidal silver will turn dark in the sunlight, and will not apear very appetizing. I don't think I would anything more than necessary to your stored drinking water. Perhaps a bit of hydrogen peroxide, food grade stuff, of course, would be helpful.

There is a water technician who posts here from time to time. Perhaps he will see this thread and add some professional insight.

good luck.

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), December 27, 1999.

The following excerpted from a very long article on water purification at www.tex-is.net/users/csbrocato/water.htm

You can also use the metal ions, (Ag+), Silver, for the purification of water. This has been known since antiquity. There are reports, and more will occur in the not-too-distant future, of European and Russian uses of this precious metal in the water supplies of villages. The advantages of silver are long residual bactericidal activity with low concentrations of the metal.

The disadvantages are that you must pretreat the raw water to remove turbidity, organic color, dissolved volatile organic chemicals, and so forth. Also, spores and cysts are resistant. Cold temperatures reduce the efficiency of the silver ions. You need long contact times of the silver with the microbials.

-- RT (Rngfr49@yahoo.com), December 28, 1999.