Nowadays, most people have prepared survival kits inside their homes that they can use during artificial or natural disasters. Such kits include food, medicine, clothes, gear, and water.
In an emergency, the water supply will be the first to deplete, and finding clean drinking water can be challenging. Water is the most important supply human beings must-have, and people will die after three days without it.
There are various water sources, and you can find them in lakes, creeks, and streams. However, this can be filled with bacteria and other harmful viruses, which can make you sick.
If gas and electricity are not available, you need to find alternative methods to convert dirty water into a safe drinking liquid. Thus, it is essential to learn how to purify your water to survive.
This article aims to discuss several methods on how to filter water even without the use of electricity. This is helpful during survival situations, especially if you are out in the wild.
Due to rapid population growth, water sources nowadays are contaminated with chemicals and other waste materials. That’s why you can never be sure if it is safe to drink, even if it looks crystal clear.
Here are some water sources that you might find outside your homes that need to be purified.
Hot tubs
Lakes or reservoir
Mountain streams
Old capped wells
Rainwater
Springs
Swimming pools
Well water
One of the oldest techniques in purifying water is boiling. It is best to prepare a pot or stainless container to boil the water during an emergency.
First, start a fire and put the pot over the flames. Let the water boil for about ten minutes so that the bacteria will die in the heat of the flames.
One product that you can use today is Calcium Hypochlorite. This chemical can help you purify the water in case of an emergency. If you keep it in a cool and dark place, it can even last for up to 10 years.
Calcium Hypochlorite is also known as ‘pool shock’ because a single amount of it can be able to disinfect up to 10,000 gallons of water.
In buying one, make sure that you choose those that have at least 68% of calcium hypochlorite on them.
To produce clean water, you can add one teaspoon of it to two gallons of water. Allow it to dissolve until it produces a chlorine solution. Next, add the solution produced on your drinking water at a ratio of 1:100 (one solution to 100 parts water or approximately one pint to 12.5 gallons of water).
To remove the foul chlorine odor, you can aerate it. To do this, pour the water back and forth between two containers. You can also try a pool test kit to ensure that the water doesn’t have too many chemicals on it.
Chlorine bleach is one of the common household products which can be used to disinfect water. However, be sure to use it moderately and on these amounts only:
Four drops per quart of Chlorine bleach in every 10ppm of clear water. Increase the amount to 8 drops if the water is cloudy.
Adding 16 drops of chlorine bleach can yield to 10ppm per gallon of clear water.
After the chlorine stays in the water for about 15 minutes, you can smell a slight odor. If there is no odor, you can add more chlorine.
Subsequently, the chlorinated bleach will lose its strength in the water. Then, after one year, it will lose its power, so you need to double the dosage.
Ensure that you won’t use scented bleach or those with additives because they can affect your health.
Most cities in the United States already contain chlorine in the water. Thus, it is unnecessary to add more chlorine to it when storing it.
Chlorine cannot kill all other germs or bacteria in the liquid. As such, it won’t eliminate Giardia or Cryptosporidium, and you need to boil the water or use tablets to make it safe for drinking.
Also, if the water smells bad after a few years of storage, it lacks oxygen. What you can do is to pour it back and forth between two containers until it tastes better. If you are still unsure if the water is safe for drinking, you can boil it. Remember, water will not rot, unlike food.
When clean water is scarce, especially in the wild, you can disinfect it using PET bottles and the sunlight.
First, you need to pour the liquid into PET bottles and expose it under the sun's heat for six hours if the sky is bright or at least 50% cloudy. However, if the weather is not good, you need to put the bottle under the sun for two consecutive days.
PET bottles or clear glass bottles are best for this technique. With this, you can use solar energy to kill the pathogenic microorganisms present in the liquid, which can cause waterborne diseases when taken into the body.
Avoid using PVC bottles because it contains UV stabilizers which can block the solar radiation. PVC bottles are those that have a slightly bluish color on them.
You can also make your version of water filters by using the available materials around you. One of which is through the use of activated carbon, cotton ball, gravel, and sand.
To do this, gather all the materials and layer by layer in a bottle or container. Pour the water you wish to filter, and you can have a safe drinking liquid for yourself.
If you don’t have a clean pot or any container with you during disasters, you can use hot rocks instead.
To do this, build a flame using logs or any wood. Then, throw a few rocks on the fire and let it sit there for about 30 minutes until it becomes hot.
Next, use some gloves or any protective material to get the hot rocks from the fire. Place the hot rocks in your water container. It is best if the vessel is glass and not plastic because the hot rocks will dissolve and damage it.
Also, the hot rocks will heat the water, kill the bacteria on it, and make it safe for drinking.
Another classic method to distill the water and make it safe for drinking is through pasteurization. It can kill the microbes in the drink, and it was discovered in the 19th century. To do this, you need to heat the water up to 149 degrees Fahrenheit for several minutes.
You can use a WAPI or Water Pasteurization Indicator to check if the pasteurization successfully took place in the process. WAPIs are small plastic tubes with industrial-grade wax that melts whenever the liquid is heated to more than 150 degrees Fahrenheit for more than fifteen seconds.
Pasteurization is an effective method. However, it cannot remove all water contaminants such as salts, heavy metals, and other chemicals.
With the advancement of science and technology, various products are available in the market that you can buy and utilize to purify drinking water even without electricity. One of which is the pump water purifiers.
It has many uses, whether you are hiking for leisure or you have an emergency. Meanwhile, various pump water purifiers are available: from small and portable models to those that can be used to pump several liters of water instantly.
The smaller versions of pump water purifiers will require an extra effort to work because you will be doing the pumping all by yourself.
The bigger and sophisticated versions of pump water purifiers will lessen the need for hand-pumping, which will enable you to save your energy on times when you needed it the most in the wild.
If you have difficulty starting a fire or don’t have enough logs or any wood, you can opt to use the sun’s rays instead of purifying the water and making it safe for drinking.
To do this, use a bowl or any container that can hold the water. Next, put a smaller bowl or container inside which will not float.
Fill the big bowl with water and ensure that no other liquid will get inside the smaller or inner container.
Next, cover the entire bowl or container will a clear plastic tarp or wrap, secure it tightly with rubber, twine, or string. Then, put a rock or any other heavy object above the wrap and the inner bowl.
Position the bowl in a very sunny location. With this device, the water will evaporate, but it will be trapped inside due to the plastic wrap. It will form under the rock or heavy object, and it will drip into the smaller or inner bowl. As such, any particles or dirt will remain in the main container, and the water in the inner bowl will be safe for drinking.
However, this method will take days to work fully. Thus it is advised to use this method along with other water purifying techniques.
Some people are hesitant to use tablets or purification drops, but these are some of the products to purify water during emergencies.
Iodine tablets can leave a bitter taste, but these are an affordable, fast, and convenient method. All you need to do is drop one tablet of iodine into a quart of water, and it will release eight ppm (parts per million) of iodine.
You can use two tablets of iodine when the water is cloudy. You need to wait for at least 15 minutes after adding the tablets, and if the water is cold, you need to wait for 30 minutes.
Iodine tablets are not good at killing all germs, and they can have adverse effects on some people.
Meanwhile, drops or other tablets are available at most outdoor recreation stores near you.
In one of the recent studies of MIT published in PLOS One, it has been found out that you can filter water using the branch of the tree.
The tissue of the tree can effectively filter dyes and even bacteria. Indeed, this is ideal for any emergency and communities that live in remote areas and don’t have access to clean water.
However, there more studies are needed to prove the efficiency of this method. Other areas need to be explored to make it safe for people around the world.
Ultraviolet purifiers are available in stores around America. These are convenient options that you can put in your bags, especially during disasters.
It runs on batteries, and it can clean a liter of water in one minute only. UV purifiers can also eliminate almost all contaminants and bacteria in the water.
To use this product, you need to put the UV wand in the water container and hold it for one minute. When the signal of the product lights up, it means that it has already finished cleaning the water.
This product effectively cleans the unseen bacteria in the water. However, it cannot filter bigger particles like pebbles, dust, mud, and dirt.
Another product that you can buy today is a water bottle with a built-in purifier.
If you wish to have one, look for those designed for survival and emergencies rather than everyday bottle filters, which are only intended to improve the taste of the water.
One of the water bottles that you can try is the Sport Berkey Water Bottle. This is made of non-BPA plastic, and you can use it during camping. It can clean several elements, such as aluminum, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals.
Also, this product can remove the following:
If you use it to purify water from any source, it can yield up to 160 refills. Meanwhile, if you use it to purify municipal or water wells, it can yield up to 640 refills.
In sum, water is the most important resource that you must have to survive during an emergency. The body is composed mostly of water, and without it, you’ll die.
When preparing for emergencies, pack water supplies as well as water purification products. You can buy these at local stores near you. Always read the labels and be sure to learn the proper way of handling them.
Also, it is crucial to learn the basic water distillation techniques such as boiling, pasteurization, the use of hot rocks, solar silt, and others. With these survival skills, you can save your life and the life of your family and friends.
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You need to stay hydrated, that’s for sure, but is the tap water in your home safe? It is considered generally safe if it comes from a public water system in the United States, such as one run and maintained by a municipality.
When drinking water leaves a treatment plant on its way to your house, it must meet strict safety standards. That doesn’t mean that your water is free of all contaminants, but that the levels of any contaminants supposedly do not pose serious health risks.
What it does not mean is that it’s going to taste good. Or comply with your doctor’s orders should you have a health issue with chlorine and or fluoride, present in most municipal water.
Having some method for the water you drink and cook with to pass through a quality water filter is the best way to be certain of great-tasting water without the high cost of having to haul bottled water into the house. And you do have multiple choices for how to do that.
Based on lots of research, testing, and tasting, here are my picks for the Best Inexpensive filtering pitcher, under-sink reverse osmosis, and countertop filtering systems.
The field is crowded with lots of choices, but for the money, I don’t think you can beat the highly improved ZeroWater, 20 Cup Water Filter Pitcher. That’s mostly because of its 5-stage filter, which will filter 40 gallons of water before it needs to be replaced—about every two months with typical use.
At a 20-cup capacity, this pitcher easily holds enough filtered drinking water for a family, provided it is filled regularly.
The pitcher is completely BPA-free; filters are quick and easy to change and don’t leave black flecks in your water. The filter promises to reduce chlorine taste and odor, copper, mercury, and cadmium.
If you’re serious about home water filtration, it won’t be long before you ditch the pitcher in favor of a reverse osmosis system, which is what we have in our home.
This is a fairly simple installation that goes in the cabinet under the sink, but it can get pricey if you call a water service or plumbing company and accept whatever product they’re selling that day.
A much cheaper way to do this promises fabulous results: Buy a high-quality system yourself and perform the installation if you have basic plumbing skills. Or once the system arrives, call a plumber to install it.
Either way, you’re going to come out as a winner if you go with my pick for the Best Inexpensive: APEC Top Tier 5-Stage Ultra Safe Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter System. Remarkably, this system requires no electricity, working with gravity and water pressure to produce excellent drinking water.
For starters, it removes 99% of contaminants, including arsenic, chlorine, lead, fluoride, heavy metals, bacteria, virus and more—and that’s a very good start! Check it out. Plan on replacing filters approximately every 12 to 36 months.
If you prefer a more robust system that guarantees up to 6 gallons of purified water (depending on the model) available at all times (enough to take care of daily drinking and cooking needs for 4-6 people) consider Berkey Filters. All Berkey Filter systems are made in the USA and we really like that.
Big Berkey Countertop Water Filter System comes in sizes from 2.25 gallons to 6 gallons, with 2 Black Berkey Elements and 2 Fluoride Filters. Each purification element has a lifespan of 3,000 gallons; each Fluoride Filter can filter up to 1,000 gallons.
Berkey is big, and if you have space, it’s a great system because of its power to purify even seriously contaminated water. Berkey makes an impressive line of water filters, and this company really deserves your attention.
Berkey Water Filters are undoubtedly the runaway favorite of folks who are prepared for disasters. I don’t have room for a Berkey in my kitchen where we have a reverse osmosis system. But in the basement? As an additional source of pure water? In Vangie, our camper van? Oh yes!
Travel Berkey has a capacity of 1.5 gallons, and designed to be a great traveler
The system is just 18” tall and 7.5” in diameter.
Are you confused about the best and least expensive way to guarantee you’re drinking purified water that tastes good? Grab a calculator. Compare how much your household is spending on bottled water per day, week or month. Then multiply to get to an annual cost.
How does that number compare with the price of say a ZeroWater Filter Pitcher (consider both the purchase price and the cost of replacement filters)? How long would it take to recoup the cost of a better system, when you consider that you will stop buying bottled water?
Or if the idea of having only 10 cups of water available compared to a constant supply (under-sink reverse osmosis) or a super big amount sitting in a big shiny countertop container, crunch those numbers, too.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Updated and republished: Jul 25, 2023
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