Survival Skills #1 Water Treatment

Treat all water of uncertain quality before using it for drinking, food washing or preparation, washing dishes, brushing teeth, or making ice. In addition to having a bad odor and taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms (germs) that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis. There are many ways to treat water. None is perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom or strain them through coffee filters or layers of clean cloth. Make sure you have the necessary materials in your disaster supplies kit for the chosen water treatment method.
There are three water treatment methods. They are as follows:
• Boiling
• Chlorination
• Distillation
These instructions are for treating water of uncertain quality in an emergency situation,
when no other reliable clean water source is available, or you have used all of
your stored water.

Boiling
Boiling is the safest method of treating water. In a large pot or kettle, bring water
to a rolling boil for 1 full minute, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate.
Let the water cool before drinking. Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. This also will improve the taste of stored water.

Chlorination
You can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Use only regular
household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite.
Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners.
Because the potency of bleach diminishes with time, use bleach from a newly
opened or unopened bottle. Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat
the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine,
discard it and fi nd another source of water. Other chemicals, such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite as the only active ingredient, are not recommended and should not be used.

Distillation
While the two methods described above will kill most microbes in water, distillation
will remove microbes (germs) that resist these methods, as well as heavy
metals, salts, and most other chemicals. Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting only the vapor that condenses. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water) and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.