How to Purify Water
As clean water supplies dwindle many people may be wondering how to purify water. It seems that there are constantly more dangers; water treatment facilities’ inability to remove chemicals from flushed pharmaceuticals, fluoride being added to the water in some countries even as it is outlawed in other countries, heavy metals leaching into tap water from old plumbing, and a recent string of natural disasters displacing people from the ease of receiving clean water from their sink, just to name a few.
Many people have already adopted the use of filters attached to their tap, or pitchers that filter water for drinking, but are these methods sufficient for filtering out all of the contaminants that threaten health? Furthermore, if your home is destroyed and your community is desperately waiting for disaster relief, or if you end up lost or stranded in the wilderness, it is up to you to figure out how to purify your water in these critical situations.
Some common activated charcoal filters, sold to attach to taps and in pitchers or water bottles, claim to filter out most pharmaceutical chemicals, which are added to the water supply by people flushing their unused prescriptions into it. These filters also remove most of the heavy metals, like lead, that leach into the water supply through old plumbing systems.
However, there are limits to the effectiveness of activated charcoal filters. There is also bleach in tap water to kill bacteria and viruses. Bleach is not removed by these filters, so you may want to let the water you take from the filter sit out for a bit so that the bleach evaporates. Also, these filters need to be replaced regularly and many do not filter out fluoride; in fact, their websites boast that they leave fluoride in the water.
Not everyone has an issue with having fluoride in their drinking water; in fact some people like having it. If so, then an activated charcoal filter can work for you under normal circumstances, but if you are alienated from your tap by a disaster or an adventure gone wrong, they might not do you much good.
In that kind of situation, knowing how to purify water could save your life and the lives of those that you care most about. If you find yourself in this kind of situation in an area with snow on the ground or with frequent rain fall, it may be easier for you. You will need containers to collect fresh fallen rain or snow. Do not drink outright, because water from snow or rain fall can easily become contaminated, even if just from a collection container that is not sterile. If you cannot wait for the next rain or snow fall, you can collect snow already fallen or water from a natural source, preferably a moving river or stream rather than a stagnant lake or pond.
The next step will be to boil the fresh fallen water or snow for at least one minute to kill all bacteria and viruses. If it is not fresh fallen, or if you want to take it one step further, distill the water by allowing it to continue boiling and condensing the steam on a large clean plastic sheet. Drape the plastic so that the condensed water drips into a sterile container. If you do not have a container or a way to boil the water, clean plastic sheets can be used over water sources or vegetation heated by sunlight to condense evaporating water in the same way, and then another clean plastic sheet spread over a hole dug in the ground can be used to collect the water. This process will take longer, but can be sped up by using a black plastic sheet under the water source to attract sunlight. All of these distillation processes can be used with salt water as well.
If you are worried about the fluoride added to your drinking water, you are not alone. There are limits to the amount of fluoride that is supposed to be present in drinking water, as fluoride is toxic when ingested in large amounts. It is added to water supplies in order to improve the dental health of citizens, but it can be, and is, argued that the helpfulness of fluoride in any amount is negligible. To eliminate fluoride from your drinking water, use a reverse osmosis or activated alumina filter.
There are many reasons and ways to purify water. If you are desperate and alone high in the mountains without any tools available and find a pure spring bubbling from the ground, this is the only scenario that might allow for skipping the purification process. In that case, it is either sure imminent death from dehydration or a possible risk for poisoning. However, even pure mountain springs can become contaminated by animals defecating or dying nearby, so if you have the tools, it’s best not to take the chance. There is just no scenario that can deny the importance of knowing how to purify water.
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