How to filter water. Being out in the wilderness poses some challenges to getting drinkable and safe water for people. It depends on if you have planned on going into the wilderness prepared or for some reason you find yourself there. Ground water must be filtered to remove particles and germs because animals, birds, and bugs use right where they are as a bathroom. These wastes get washed into the nearest body of water when it rains. Fast flowing water is cleaner and can be cleaned with a filter, but streams and creeks can become muddy shortly after it starts to rain. Both need a way to filter them for purification.
Water needs filtration to kill the germs that will make us sick or kill us. The best way to do this is through boiling it. Water boils at 212 deg F. at sea level. The boiling point decreases the higher the altitude. All pathogens die at 185 deg F.
Bring the water to a hard boil and let it boil for one minute or two minutes for high mountainous areas and low barometric pressure. Let it cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. To improve the taste of the water stir or pour from one sanitary container to another. It will be good for about 24 hours. If it is going to be stored for longer than 24 hours in a house or shelter then there are a few other effective methods to use in order to filter the water. They include tablets, liquid, and filters.
Liquid chlorine bleach kills bacteria, but not all protozoa. There are also tablets to carry, but most people have the liquid in their house. In relatively clear water, add two drops per quart or eight drops per gallon. For cloudy water, use four drops per quart or 16 drops per gallon. The temperature should be above 70 degrees F., so, put it in the sunlight. Wait one hour and if the slight sent of chlorine can be smelled, it is drinkable. If no odor, then add the same amounts again and wait another hour. If there is still no odor then it is contaminated and needs to be thrown out. Always use the minimum amount of chlorine because too much is harmful. Drinking water should have a pH of eight to nine. To make water alkaline, add one teaspoon of baking soda or fresh lemon to eight ounces of water.
There are also many brands of pocket portable water filters and systems. No water pressure filter system or electricity is needed. There are hand pump filters and gravity type filters at low cost. Both require a clean bag and a “dirty” bag. The bags are attached to tubing which runs through a filter. With one system, you use the hand pump and filter with the other system, you raise the bag and hang it on a tree limb and let gravity run the water through the attached filter systems and into the clean bag.
Finally, if hiking you should bring a canteen with a metal cup and a cloth and a plastic bag. Add water to the plastic bag, filter through the cloth into the cup and then heat the water in a fire. There are a lot of benefits to have some type of water filter system for outdoor activities or for emergency situations.
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Most of us do not pay very close attention to water until it either is not there or it makes us sick. We naturally assume that our government agencies are doing their job at keeping our tap water clean and healthy, but it is often neither is clean nor healthy is you believe it to be. The importance of water and having clean water is something that is often overlooked by many people and can end up causing a wide array of problems.