How can I purify my water?

Being able to turn undrinkable water into potable drinking water is very important.  You must remember to only treat the water before you use it, not when you store it.  There are many ways to treat water, but we will only discuss the three main ones: boiling, chlorine, and distillation.  Each one of these methods can be combined with another to ensure cleanliness of the water

BOILING

Boiling water has historically been the way to kill all the microorganisms that could be in the water.  According to Homeland Security, you need to boil your water for at least a minute.  I would recommend a couple more minutes than that to make sure that bacteria and viruses are killed.

After boiling water, you will need to let it cool.  The boiling will kill the viruses and bacteria, but will not remove any debris in the water.  You might need to filter the water through a piece of cloth to get rid of those particles.  You will lose some of the water through evaporation.  The taste of boiled water can be improved by pouring it back and forth between two containers.  This will put Oxygen back into the water.

CHLORINE

The method of water purification is best explained by going to the following webpage http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_563_,00.html of the Red Cross.  These are the steps they use to explain:

1.     Add 16 drop of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water, or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water. Stir to mix. Sodium hypochlorite of the concentration of 5.25% to 6% should be the only active ingredient in the bleach. There should not be any added soap or fragrances. A major bleach manufacturer has also added Sodium Hydroxide as an active ingredient, which they state does not pose a health risk for water treatment.

2.     Let stand 30 minutes.

3.     If it smells of chlorine. You can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, add 16 more drop of chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water), let stand 30 minutes, and smell it again. If it smells of chlorine, you can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water.

I have also included a table to know the amounts of chlorine to use.

Use can also use chlorine tablets that have been premeasured.  You must still let it stand for 30 minutes after dropping the tablet into the water.  It will have the same effect as the liquid chlorine.

DISTILLATION

Distillation is a method that will remove all the viruses, bacteria, and particles from the water.  You can create a still by having a pot of water, a plastic sheet or lid, and another container to catch the water.  You let the water evaporate through boiling or natural means.  The water condenses on the plastic sheet or lid.  This water then drips down into the additional container to catch the condensed water.  This method is good, but it takes a long time.

If possible, use multiple methods to make sure that the water is clean.  The Red Cross recommends filtering the water using a handkerchief, boiling the water, and then using Chlorine to purify.