8 Ways To Purify Water

Filters are probably one of the most common forms of purification, as they not only clean out any hitchhikers(microorganisms), but also remove any sediment or discoloration. However, for a filter to provide adequate protection from bacteria, be sure that the filter has a filtration rating of 2 microns or better. This will purify most water to an acceptable level for consumption, unless a virus is present in the water in which case the filter would need to filter down to a 0.2 micron level. A mechanical filter with the ability to filter at a 0.2 level is very uncommon.

Chlorine is commonly used in city water systems, swimming pools, hot tubs.. etc. Chlorine is a bacteria's nightmare and lucky for us its readily available at any grocery or convenient store sold as household bleach. Stay away from the “color safe” and scented brands, just plain old bleach is what we are looking to purchase. A gallon of water can be purified with j ust eight drops of bleach. Let sit for about a half-hour allowing the bleach to remove all harmful bacteria.

Tincture of iodine follows the same purification instructions as bleach, except you will need to use more of it. A basic mixture usually consists of 2% iodine and 47% alcohol. Instead of the eight drops of water you would use with bleach, you will need twenty drops per gallon of water with Tincture of iodine. In many third-world country this is common practice for water purification.

The most common method of purifying water among survivalist and wilderness enthusiast. Boiling water effectively kills all microorganism but the excess fuel required for heating water is always something to take in to consideration. General rule of thumb for boiling water is, bring water to a full boil for five minutes to complete purification process.