Purifying Water In An Emergency

[agringo4u]

I put this note under water but I didn't see this discussion until now so I guess I should have put it here.
If you have a home or field disaster and get caught without enough safe water or any type of purification supplies, knowing how to purify any that you find could come in handy. If you drink contaminated water and get sick you have only made things a lot worse. Here is a site that has six or eight different methods for purifying water you are not sure about.
www.emergencywaterpurification.com

[S2man]

Thanks for the nice link, gringo. Since water is so important, having good filtration was one of my first preps. Water is also very high on my future prep's list ;-)

I checked out the link. They seem to have articles on a very wide array of topics. And each seems to be a good, informative overview of the subject.

I would recommend this site to anyone just starting out and needing a good overview of water filtration methods. Then, they could investigate further the options which sound best for them.

My original BO kit included all the 2L bottles we could carry, and a pencil type filter which could be drunk from like a straw, or attached to the bottles and run by gravity. IIRC, that is good for another 30 gallons. It would get us out of the city.

Then I added a big, gravity fed, ceramic filter. It is capable of supplying three of us for 3 or 5 years (sorry. I spec'd unit that years ago). Water for that will be pre-filtered through a sari filter (at least 8 layers of linen) which removes the sediment and ~98% of bacteria.

My preferred emergency filter is the reverse osmosis unit, powered by a 12V, 35psi pump. (note to self: ensure we have fittings to attach pump to filter, and lots of tubing)

A rain-water storage system is high on the wishlist.

Edit: Oh yeah. My latest addition was a jug of Calcium Hypochlorite, pool chlorine, and printed instructions on diluting it to household bleach levels and disinfecting water with it. It will disinfect something like 10,000 gallons of water. I'll be able to disinfect for the whole neighborhood. :) Chlorine is my last resort for purifying water, though. And it looks like I need to look into long-term storage for it, just like long-term food storage...

[Paddy]

agringo4u,

If you want to include calcium hypochlorite in your prep storage, as S2man suggests and many of us highly recommend, here is a good discussion thread.

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=183565

[patience]

Yup. Pour it through your T-shirt, if necessary, then boil the heck out of it for half an hour.

At the moment, we have been drinking our rain-collected cistern water for the past year without treatment, and no ill effects. But, it is filtered going in. We live away out in the sticks, though, have a new metal roof, and keep the gutters clean.

[NCLee]

Patience, after filtering it through a pillowcase, you only have to bring the water to a boil. Exceed the temp used to pasturize milk. Bringing to a boil is a visual indicator that the water has been heated hot enough.

You know how much the CDC is a stickler for things of this nature. Here's what they have to say.

Boiling Water
Boiling water is the best method for making water safe to drink. Boiling water as recommended will kill bacterial, parasitic, and viral causes of diarrhea. Adding a pinch of salt to each quart will improve the taste.

Directions for Boiling Water
•Boil water vigorously for 1 minute and allow it to cool to room temperature (do not add ice).
•At altitudes greater than 6,562 feet (>2,000 m), boil water for 3 minutes or use chemical disinfection after water has been boiled for 1 minute.
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/water-treatment.htm

Lee