Introduction to Filtration and Water Purification
Clean water is vital to survival. In fact, we can last a mere few days without water.
So, having reliable access to safe drinking water is a must when prepping for disaster scenarios. With the right knowledge and supplies, you can effectively filter and purify water through various methods like boiling, adding chemicals, and more. However, it is critical that you fully understand water filtration tips for survival because you can’t always carry the necessary gallon water jugs to your prepping location. You’ll want to learn to purify any water sources you find.
Dangers of Contaminated Water
So, what exactly is considered contaminated water? Bacteria, parasites, pathogens, pollutants, chemicals, toxins, and viruses are the most common water contaminations, each causing illness and other health risks. Contaminated water may be the cause of E-Coli, Cholera, Dysentery and other waterborne illnesses. When it comes to contaminated water, it can affect your home’s tap water during a disaster scenario. Smart preppers include learning to disinfect water as part of prepping.
Importance of Learning Methods to Filter and Purify Water
Most of us in the United States, take clean drinking water for granted. We turn the tap or push a button on the refrigerator and fill up a glass with water. However, natural disasters and catastrophic scenarios affecting a local water supply can be detrimental to health or even life. In some serious cases, adequate water sources can be scarce, thereby jeopardizing your survival.
Finding Sources of Water Outside Your Home
When it comes to a desperate search for drinking water, you may be lucky enough to be nearby a pond, lake, river, stream, a recent rainfall, or other standing water source. Of course, aside from a stream, none of these water sources would be safe for drinking without some sort of purification using a filtration process. Learning how to purify water can literally be a life saver.
Filtering vs. Purifying Water
Filtering water is the process of removing chemicals, minerals, metals, and most biological contamination. Purification can be looked upon as an additional step to ensure the removal of bacteria and other living organisms. A good prepper will learn to filter and purify water based on a variety of methods. It’s critical to learn essential water purification methods so you’ll possess the right skills to ensure you have access to clean drinking water for survival in any unexpected emergency situation.
Water Filtration Systems
Investing in learning about and working with water filtration systems should be part of your prepper plan. While there are multiple types of filters, each works using porous membranes and activated carbon that provides the effective removal and trapping of bacteria, chemicals, parasites, and other molecular contaminants from a water source.
Filtration devices can be in the form of a filter or straw. Each is slightly different, so it’s advised that you learn to use whichever filtration system you intend to use. Don’t wait until an emergency to try to figure out how a filtration process works.
Selecting Water Filters
When selecting a water filter, you will see that filters provide some measurability factors:
:: Filters are assigned a Micron Ratings that coincides with the size of contaminants that can be removed.
:: Filters can be made of fiber, carbon, or ceramic materials, the hollower the fiber, the tighter the filtration.
:: Filters feature a flow rate to show how much clean water can be produced per minute.
:: Filter life details how long a filter will last based on use.
For prepping, you want to select filters that specifically point out that it can remove bacteria, chemicals, viruses, and metals.
Survival Straws
If you’ve never heard of a survival straw, it’s basically a filter that resembles a straw shape, enabling you to drink directly through the straw after the water passes through the filter and is purified before the water reaches your lips. Survival straws are typically used for conveniently drinking water from streams and lakes.
Water Bottle Filters
Like a survival straw, water bottle filters have a filtration system built into the bottle. So, the water is purified before it reaches your mouth. Choose the size and type of water bottle filters that meets your needs and prepper budget.
Charcoal Filter
Creating a charcoal filter is a do it yourself type of filtering method when emergency strikes. The water gets purified through activated carbon, a proven successful water filtration process for removing contaminants. Preppers can acquire activated carbon from used firewood or even charcoal used in a barbecue. By layering sand, gravel, and adding a cloth, one can make a supportive filter layer for the activated charcoal. Water is then poured through the filter. The activated charcoal will absorb any contaminants yielding cleaner water. The activated carbon must be replaced occasionally to keep this method efficient.
Ceramic Filters
The benefit of a ceramic filter is that its tiny pores can trap bacteria, sediment, and other organisms without any additional chemicals. The durable ceramic material allows them to be used over and over again, ideal for emergency use. Ceramic filters are popular among preppers because they come in a variety of sizes. Ceramic filters can be perfect for bugout backpacks.
Type of Water Purification Methods
To ensure you have the best quality of drinking water, following up a water filtration method with a purification method is always a good idea. The extra time and effort to treat the water can help you avoid water-related dysentery or other illnesses during an emergency situation. There are many purification methods that can be performed even in remote outdoor areas, so pick the process that makes you most comfortable and produces the ideal output of clean drinking water to match your needs.
Boiling Water
One of the easiest ways to purify water is by boiling it for 1 to 3 minutes. The boiling process kills most living contaminants like bacteria, parasites, viruses, and other organisms with heat. However, boiling water does not remove most non-living contaminants so filtering first can remove chemicals and metals. Remember that you will need a source of heat or fire in order to use the boil method. A camping stove or supplies to build fires is something a prepper should consider having on hand. Purified water should always be stored in clean, sealed containers after cooling to avoid possible recontamination.
Chlorine and Bleach For Water Purification
It may be hard to believe, but chlorine, unscented bleach, or chlorine dioxide tablets can be used in the event of emergency water purification where drinking water is scarce. This method inactivates bacteria and viruses and kills any organisms and contaminants when it’s added to the water. Yes, the same chemical used in pool shock to remove green algae, you can only imagine that the water would have an unpleasant, chlorine taste. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully so that the water is safe for human consumption. This includes understanding the correct measurements and times for proper balancing during the water purification process. Typically, the chemical treated water must sit for at least thirty minutes before consuming.
Note: Purification tablets, typically made of chlorine bleach, are specifically designed for purifying water and are a popular essential for preppers. These tablets are readily available, affordable, and easy to pack in a prepper’s bugout bag.
Purifying Water With Iodine
Iodine drops or tablets are an alternative water purification to method chlorine. You can even add flavored water drops or powdered drink to the water to mask the bad taste of iodine. Note that this method is NOT ideal for pregnant women or anyone allergic to iodine or shellfish. Seek advice from a medical doctor to see if the iodine method is safe for members of your family.
Reverse Osmosis
I recall learning about reverse osmosis in high school and now while prepping, I wish I had paid more attention. Through the use of pressure, this water purification method can remove contaminants from water. Imagine pushing the water through a semipermeable membrane, allowing only water molecules to pass through. Chemicals and other contaminants (even salt particles) cannot pass through. Yes, this is the same method for removing salt from seawater and I’ve learned that it’s actually quite popular for in-house water filtrations systems and for camping.
Using Sunlight to Purify Water
When it comes to a disaster scenario, where evacuation outdoors is necessary, it’s good to know that ultra-violet rays from the sunlight is a natural killer of living organisms in water. This method is called Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS.) It’s recommended that you first use a water filtration process to clear the water of contaminants. This method of purifying water is also common among preppers because all you need to do is add the water to a small clear plastic bottle and place it in the sunlight for approximately six hours. Exposing the water in clear bottles allows the UV radiation to kill the pathogens. Of course, if you can use the boiling water purification method, do that instead. However, in a dire survival scenario, where you desperately need clean drinking water, use the sunlight method.
Most Important Tip: Water Filtration and Purification Could Save Your Life
You can only survive a few days without drinking water. That’s why understanding reliable, effective water filtration and water purification could be crucial for making informed choices in unexpected emergencies. Prepare for the worst-case scenarios where traditional water sources are unavailable or have been compromised.
Final tips to ensure access to safe drinking water: First, use a filter or survival straw to filter and remove chemicals, metals, and other containments. Then, boil the water to kill living organisms. If necessary, add a purification tablet or when you’re completely desperate to drink water from a pond, stream, lake, or rainfall, use the UV rays from the sunlight to disinfect the water before drinking.
Remember, prepping now and learning how to create a clean supply of drinking water can be a life saver.
