Water Purification Broken Down

The process of water purification treatment is relatively new, Because only within recent history most of the water on earth has become contaminated. Many Hikers and survivalist buy expensive water filters to insure that they will be able to stay hydrated when there water supply is depleted, but this is far from necessary . This process is often seen as elusive and ultra complicated but when broken down it is not complicated at all.

Water treatment has two steps .The terms water purification and water filtration are frequently interchanged and this causes much confusion. These are two distinct processes are not the same!

Water filtration is simply removal of all unwanted debris from the water. Some high tech filtration systems can also remove viruses but this is not a fail safe way to clean out unwanted chemicals, virus and bacteria.

Filtration is as simple as it sounds. Within this process as well as many others planning ahead is the key. If water is left to sit for 8 hours the debris will settle to bottom. The partials will bind together making it easier to be caught by a filter. A bandana, a standard survival item is used most commonly to filter water. Another simple house hold time is coffee filters. Scouring pads are often used as well. Many survivalist use a technique where sand is put into a water container and filtered naturally. Remember that the water should be clear before it is drunk. Ingesting dirt is not the only danger here these particles hold onto life threatening elements and must be filtered out completely. To test the water, Put it in a clear bottle and place it in the sunlight with any sort of printed material under the bottle. If you can read the print from looking through the water then and only then you are ready for the next step.

Water purification is the removal of harmful chemical and viruses from the water. Both of these processes are done naturally by the earth, yet the rate of contamination is exceeding the rate in which the earth cleans the water. It is recommended that when taking water from a natural setting to dig a small hole in a sandy embankment and scoop the water out of the hole ( Egyptian well). This will make some use of the natural process in which water is cleansed as it moves through sand. Yet, it is far from enough.

Purification, the removal of chemicals, viruses and bacteria is the sound step. Boiling the water for one full minute will work well (3min. in high altitude). SODIS is a technique, where water is placed in a clear bottle on its side and then placed in the hot sun for at least 8 hours. The SODIS (solar defecting) is often considered more effective than boiling. Both methods can be done in different situations and are both needed. Adding Chlorine bleach ( 10 drops per quart) is a respected method as well. Yet, mistakes have been made when persons have used bleach with added chemicals (scents). Leave bleached water to sit at least 30 minutes and then check to see how it smells. A faint bleach smell is what you want. If the smell is strong then it is lively to be actively cleaning bacteria. Iodine tablets are a standard but many are allergic, so read the label carefully for allergy information as well as expiration dates.

Knowledge and calm intellect is the key to survival.