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Sunday, December 8, 2013

Purifying Water in an Emergency

Purifying Water in an Emergency


This is not far from my home, a river going out 
into part of Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior.  :)


If you are caught in some sort of an emergency without healthy tap water or stored water, there are several ways you can make water safe for drinking.  The first choice, if possible, would be to boil it...

Boil
Bring the water to a boil and boil for a minute.  

Some sites will tell you to boil it for 5 minutes; but really, just getting it to a boil will do it.

Bleach


Use regular household bleach (5.25-8.25%) that hasn't had perfumes or dyes added.

Use 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) per gallon of water and let it sit for 30 minutes.

For cloudy water, use double the amount of bleach.

Iodine


Use 3 drops per quart or  12 drops per gallon of water and let sit for 30 minutes.

Use double if the water is cloudy.

Iodine Tablets


Use per the directions on the bottle.

Home-Made Filter
Use layers of gravel, sand, and charcoal to drain the water through.  You can cut the bottom off of a 2-liter bottle, turn it upside down, layer charcoal, then the sand, and then the gravel at the top.  Use a cheesecloth,  coffee filter, or  nylon over the opening where the water comes through the bottom.  
You can use different types of sand in the layers also with the more coarse sand above the fine sand.  You can even include cloth in between some of the layers.

Emergency Filter Straw
You can purchase special "straws" to drink water through like these: (great for a backpack)






Sunlight


You can use a clear water bottle and lay it in the sun for at least 6 hours.  The ultraviolet light kills pathogens in the water.  Here is an informative article about using sunlight to purify water.  (click here)   

Alum?


I found this interesting article about how you can use Alum to remove "suspended particulates" from the water before filtering it.  I had never heard of doing this, but you can check it out.  (click here)



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4 comments:

  1. Boiling Billy applies the Venturi Principle of water pressure. There aren't any moving parts so it's maintenance free. It's our way of harnessing nature's technology. When there aren't any pumps, solenoid valves or electronic taps, there are fewer breakdowns and, importantly, less energy is consumed.

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  3. This type of water filter is identical to the faucet-mounted filters as it is mounted to one faucet or sink. But, the difference is the mounting style. Navigate to this website

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  4. I think i need to be aware of how survival water purification. Thank for info!

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