While water is the most important element that helps you stay alive, it is important to know that your water is safe for drinking. Water from resources like a lake, pond, or river looks good and tasty, but it may contain harsh chemicals, germs, high chlorine levels, and toxins that can deter your health. Consumption of contaminated water can result in waterborne diseases such as typhoid and dysentery. That is why homeowners have been using various ways of purifying their water so that they can quench their thirst without taking health risks. Read the following methods of purifying water to help you adopt safe drinking.
Boiling
Before the introduction of modern technology, boiling had been the only solution to improve the quality of water. Centuries later, the technique is still considered the simplest yet effective way to kill microorganisms like bacteria and other infectious agents like parasites present in natural water resources. These impurities cannot survive high-level temperatures. All you need is a sufficient amount of heat to bring the water to boil for about 10 minutes. The source of heat can be anything from the water heater to the kitchen stove. Drinking warm water during the winter helps you retain heat and circulate your fluid system. If you don’t like warm water, wait until it cools down before you take a sip.
Distillation
This is the most sustainable way of purifying a liquid by boiling it and condensing its vapors. The process involves condensation from vapor and separation of water from impurities. It removes impurities from the liquid, increases its concentration, and separates through the process of distillation. To distill the water, you will need a container with a pipe that is tightly attached to the narrow opening of the container. When you boil the container, the vapors will rise up and pass through the opening that leads to a condenser. Upon cooling down in the condenser, the vapor becomes clean water in the form of a liquid that is safe for drinking. Distillation is the most effective water treatment but it is a slow process of water purification. As a reason, distilled water is usually expensive in the market.
Filtration
Another effective way of purifying water is removing impurities by passing through a filter system. The process is capable of eliminating contaminants that cause diseases. Unlike the other purification methods that remove minerals from water, filtration is doesn’t lose all the important ingredients found in the water. This water treatment is the most popular purifying system used by homeowners. People use various types of products such as pitcher filters and countertop water purification systems. These products are less expensive as compared to other purification systems.
If you are planning for outdoor camping, consider using survival techniques. You can buy instant purification systems such as survival straws, pocket filters, chlorine tablets, and iodine solutions.