Hey everyone, I have been man-down with a tummy bug for a few days, it was something I ate, not something I drank. I have been drinking exclusively bottled water for a few months and I have found I have lost weight, my skin has cleared and a side pain I had which I thought might be appendix related is now gone too. My general health is better for drinking healthier water, it wasn't even that I was drinking poor quality water before, I was filtering tap water with those activated charcoal jug filters, but those filters aren't very heavy duty.
I'm writing this post because I came to hear via @angelica7 that Venezuela is experiencing failure of their central water purification infrastructure, people are getting sick from drinking water even after boiling it. I have always had an interest in water filtration and purification, I even built aquarium filters from plastic drums and piping. So I thought I would put together some things that I have learned over time.
MYTH: BOILED WATER IS GOOD ENOUGH TO DRINK
While boiling water is better than not doing so, it only kills disease-causing microorganisms, it WILL NOT destroy contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals.
What you want to do is SAFELY COLLECT, FILTER and PURIFY!
COLLECT
The GIGO principle stands for garbage in garbage out, so you want to get the cleanest water you can find to give you a good start, harvesting rainwater is a good idea, if you collect from your downpipes, ensure your roof sheets are not rusty and replace old steel or crumbling galvanized pipes with PVC pipes, add a leaf catcher mesh type device like in the picture below, or make your own with 955 micron stainless steel or plastic mesh.
If you don't have good rainfall, try collecting from fast-moving water sources, slow stagnant sources are likely unsafe. If you have distilling equipment you can collect salt water.
Ensure you do not collect water from new sewer outlets or near industrial areas or where people wash clothes and urinate in rivers.
Filter
Filtering is the next step to removing unwanted particles, chemicals, and metals, activated charcoal is useful here in the last step to absorb heavy metals and chemicals.
The idea here is to start with coarse material, then fine material, ending off with activated charcoal and cloth. The size of each container depends on how many people you want to provide water for, if it is just 1 person for a short time you likely can cram all layers into an upsidedown soda bottle, but for prolonged use, you will want larger interconnected containers to house the filter media. The order is Gravel > Sand > Activated Charcoal > Cloth
Tips:
Source clean chemical-free gravel away from industrial areas, boil the gravel in a pot over a fireplace, and soak in water overnight.
Clean the sand with hot water and stir it until the water runs clear.
DO NOT USE petroleum-based bbq charcoal briquettes these are highly toxic, purchase or make your own activated charcoal from unpainted and untreated wood products, here is a video on how to make it
After a period of use, wash your filter media out to ensure good flow, activated carbon loses efficacy after a while so replace it every now and then depending on how much water you filter.
Purify
Alright, now you have water that should be fairly clean of solids, chemicals and metals. Pathogens and microorganisms may still exist in the water so now you want to purify it. Different methods include:
Boil the water and allow to cool (Do not use rusty kettles or pots)
Purifying with iodine - Add five drops of 2% tincture of iodine to each quart or liter of water that you are disinfecting. If the water is cloudy or colored, add 10 drops of iodine. Stir and let the water stand for at least 30 minutes before use.
Bleach - 2 drops of 6% Bleach per liter of water. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight chlorine odor. If it doesn’t, repeat the dosage and let stand for another 15 minutes before use. Full chart here
Advanced Purification and Desalination
Distillation
This is the process of boiling water to a vapour and allowing the vapour to condense back to a liquid on a cooler surface, leaving behind pretty much all impurities, including salt (from seawater). Be aware that distilled water will have no minerals or electrolytes that your body need so will actually leach minerals from your body and as such you will need either dietary supplementation or re-mineralization of the water.
If you are using distilled water for long periods of time, re-mineralise it!
It is not a good idea to give distilled water to pets for a prolonged period of time unless you re-mineralise it.
DIY small scale distillation
If you have a dehumidifier, the water it collects will essentially be distilled and drinkable, make sure the collection container is clean and re-mineralise it!
Reverse Osmosis
Revese Osmosis uses water pressure to force water through a semi-permeable membrane, leaving behind pure water, these can be expensive, starting at $250 unfitted but do a great job and is very similar in purity to distillation.
LIFESAVER Bottle or Jerry Can
Check this video out, if you have commerical access to purchase these items, they could be well worth it. LIFESAVER filter media pores are 15nm which will filter out 25nm virus, compared to other filter media with 200nm pores which won't filter viruses at all.
Hope this info keeps you, your family and pets safe during water crisis situations. Also there is a huge wealth of info on Youtube, you can refine and combine these processes and make something really cool to suit you.
Source Citations:
- https://pixabay.com/photos/water-drop-droplet-liquid-mirror-1828830/
- https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water#:~:text=The%20instructions%20below%20show%20you,salts%2C%20and%20most%20other%20chemicals.
- https://rainharvesting.com.au/products/rain-heads/leaf-eater-plus/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8xNbv58oWc
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXepkIWPhFQ
We do not drink tap water but only purified water. There are many purified water stations here in my area, almost all household use them because we all know the value of clean water, and as you pointed out, water from the tap can have impurities like heavy metal or whatever substances that is dissolved in it even though it is clean.
Clean water is not enough it must be close to pure because we drink it everyday and harmful substances will make us sick, even from the air that we breath, the body can only tolerate much.
Complete Bunk! My family has been drinking reverse osmosis filtered water with under 10 PPM TDS for the better half of a decade and we don't suffer from deficiency of any kind. Or our pets.
This is a long promoted myth with no evidence behind it. Distilled water is the best water one can consume, better than RO, getting minerals from water is very ineffective. Our bodies need organic molecules, not inorganic ones, that's how we best utilize "minerals". Our bodies needs for electrolytes and minerals should come entirely from our food, not our water.
https://nutriteam.com/pages/does-distilled-water-leach-minerals-from-my-body
Thanks for the info, I believe as long as you are getting vitamins from other sources it is fine and you often urinate excess vitamins anyway, I wouldn't give to small pets like birds though, especially if they are on mainly seed diets with not much other nutritious intake.
https://ecency.com/technology/@krnel/new-solar-vapor-generator-to-deal-with-global-drinking-water-shortages
Cool i wonder how often you have to change the carbon paper
I don't think the carbon is getting depleted, but last I checked the ink they used, carbon black I believe, isn't readily available for consumers, I'm planning on trying it so I'm gonna have to figure out a good paper/wick but I think I'm gonna use a mirror or lens to help it along anyway.
Very cool, please post about it when you do!
We installed a filter system in our apartment that costed us about $100. And every month or two we have to change the filter for about $15. But the drinking water is so clear and tasty. And now I can't drink water in most of other houses who have no filter. Filters nowadays are very important. Especially I heard that they are adding to water some kind of antibiotics and hormones. I hope our filter will filter those. Anyway, I feel the different between just drinking water from the crane and with the filter. Filtered one is much better.
Haha you became a water snob now!
Yeah, kind of. Maybe such work will exist in the future where people will taste the water and tell if that's good or not. lol Just like those who taste alcohol for money. ☺
I have had a passion for aquariums since childhood. During my middle and high school education, I attempted to make filters for my aquariums because it was an expensive hobby and I was successful. I installed an external filter with an internal filter motor and got cleaner water.
For drinking water, I use a custom-made purifier with 6 filters. It costs about 80 dollars every 6 months, I will start changing the filters myself. I think this will reduce the cost a little more, but the result is worth it.
Nice,. I had a 4 FT aquarium in my teens, for a science expo I also made an undergravel filter with a pipe connected to an external filter and made the water pump out of a DC motor and a small exposure film cannister with a rotor made by my dad on his CNC lathe, was fun, suction wasn't great though.
This can be a good start to collect water in most parts in the world. But for areas where highly industrialised , due to air pollution most of the times PFA's (polyfluoroalkyl substances ) are present in the water. Filtration is complex. Nanofiltration / reverse osmosis must be used for best results.
I would highly recommend gravity filters from Berkley, as I have had personal experience with them:
https://www.berkeywaterfilterseurope.com/
The filters last 10 years, and are portable. Also easy to clean. That considered, the price is not bad.
There are also ceramic based filters out there that have silver baked into them, but I don't remember where.
Good remedy for tummy bugs is Wild Oregano Oil. I'd recommend the pill form, as the pure oil burns like hell in the mouth! 🥵 Also Colloidal Silver is amazing.
My partner has been trying to talk me into getting one, but that price to produce only a few gallons of water a day hasn't inspired me to pull it to the front of the bills, lol. Maybe later this year or early next.
They have been warning the water where I live is not drinkable, and despite having a
https://www.pur.com/shop/faucet-systems/pur-plus-faucet-filtration-system-horizontal-chrome
we are now only drinking bottled water.
As for the oregano oil, it's one of natures best remedies. I use it when I feel a cold coming on and it does wonders for the respiratory system.
Bro, a few gallons of clean water per day, for 10 years. And the one I had did like 5 liters in 2 hours!
It is interesting how all good infos connect together .
The worst will also be chloride we inhale under shower , worst than drinking it even though chloride is found even in all water bottles , despite it is cancerous .
You're right, that's why it is also important to get a filter for the shower. And for those who can't, to avoid making the shower water reach the point of creating steam.
Steam is worst than drinking it indeed .
oh those are cool, quite pricey but cool.
Thanks for the info on the remedies, will consider for next time, lucky I don't get sick like this often.
This information is very useful specially to the place that contains dirty water or the place that is not safe to drink with. I really appreciate this post and I would like to do this. Another great ideas. Well done. 👏👏
You have to be careful first and you will avoid making the same mistake again because you always drink clean water, even if you think that clean water is mineral water you should not drink it because you never know when you will get sick. Take care of your health always and try to stay clean. Hope your demand to stay disease free will increase and you will rarely get sick. And since you mentioned clean water lastly but in our village area arsenic is low in many cases. There is so much in this case we have to get into such a situation, but we draw water and drink water from the tubewell or the tube well where arsenic free water is extracted. Thank you so much for sharing such a beautiful awareness post about your body with us and may you always stay healthy, stay well and try to keep others well. special thanks for supporting teams and cc @megadrive
This is a very serious subject and most people dont grab the problem we will all have in a short term , for some people it will be no water at all and for other it will be contaminated water .
We all talk about it because it is real and all over the world .
Thank you for sharing so much infos
A lack of essential clean water can cause many physical problems. Drinking enough water not only quenches our thirst but also removes dehydration from the body. As a result, physical fatigue is removed and energy is restored. Water supplies oxygen and other nutrients to blood and blood cells.
Another name for water is life. We often hear this. The human body needs water every day to stay healthy and prevent disease. Life without food is difficult, but life without water is impossible. Every animal, including humans, needs water for survival.
In order to keep the body healthy and functional, a balanced diet should contain sufficient amount of pure water. Water is the only non-caloric food item among the six food items. Which helps in controlling the calorie level and nutritional level in our body. So everyone needs to consume enough of the non-caloric food component to lead a healthy and normal working life. Drinking pure water is necessary for the healthy and proper functioning of the internal organs in the body.
This is some great and useful information. It's important information too! Thank you for doing such a deep dive into this topic and spending the time to share it with the rest of us! Great Post!
Wow, what incredible information, I had not read you. I just wrote an article where I share my concern about this issue, but also what can we do from Blurt, how can we contribute and help others? And I find your publication, which is of great value to me.
I have to look for more information about it, but I didn't know that from my house, I can design my own filter. I must confess that it scares me, because I give more confidence to technology, but this is not working either.
Here I filter the water and then boil it, but in the same way more is needed. Thank you for sharing valuable and interesting information for users.
I hope you get better soon.
Good vibes.
Yes filter first and then boil, that is the right way, you can improve the filtration and clean or replace the filters from time to time.
I will do that, but here in Venezuela the filters are very expensive. It's amazing how much we can no longer acquire, but we try to get ahead.
You can make your own filter, even if only with gravel, fine sand and cloth. All thoroughly washed of course. If you can get or make a layer of activated charcoal that is even better. look up some youtube videos on how to make it by burning untreated wood.
Just as the popular saying,
When people drink a healthy water, they live healthy. But when they don't, they drink sick instead of life.
Thanks for the enlightenment sir, I've learnt alot.
Wow, what a comprehensive method of water purification. I really learnt something new today, kudos sir.
Aside contaminants like metals and salts, there are still micro organisms called thermophiles.
They survive high temperatures upto 122°C and can harm the body.
It is imperative for everyone take cognizance of the kind of water they ingest.
We are happy that you have recuperated and wish you success and more healthy lifestyle.
How do you kill thermocytes then? Boiling point is 100 degrees so they will survive.
There is no published accurate method to counter thermophiles but Ultraviolet sterilization is considered to be one of the most effective water treatment disinfection methods.
Ultraviolet is the most important .
Yes I actually forgot to add that to my post, that comes at the end of the filtration cycle when the water is clear from suspended particles, the clearer the water the better the UV can penetrate.
That is absolutely right sir.
You can still add it to the post to further educate blurt members who are yet to read it and for future referential purposes
verry goods mr. megadrive
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What about electric purification system we can also use it.In modern way chemical compounds and inorganic materials contaminants are removed from water.
Hi @megadrive, hope you are well. I have a question, have you thought of listing Blurt on another exchange apart from ProBit Global? One that is a bit more accessible to the general public, so to speak. Thanks in advance.
Hello!
Great article, but I just have to ask. Where are you from, that need to filter your water? Rainwater in Norway is not recomended to use, even if you filter it. I work in an oil rig in the north sea, and we have our own system to make drinkable water out of sea water. Don't ask me how we are doing it, but it's getting really clean. I test the water everyday, and we also sent it into a lab onshore once a month