Portable, Simple & Effective
Water purifiers remove microbiological contaminants from your water supply, usually by adding some chemical disinfectant, such as chlorine or iodine. These are particularly useful when hiking or traveling in remote regions; but can also be used to treat your home water supply.
There was one time where you could dip your head into a mountain stream and drinking cool, clean, refreshing water, without fear of ingesting a bunch of dangerous compounds. Now, one has to be more careful.
According to a 2006 Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) study, over 50% of all American streams are polluted: 42% were said to be poor shape; 25% were documented as being in fair condition; and a measly 28% were said to be in good condition. There were research problems with the other 5%.
Unless treated, drinking water containing bacteria can lead to vomiting, diarrhea or worse.
One of the most commonly used water purifiers is an ultraviolet water purification system. This device destroys the DNA of pathogens, rendering them unable to reproduce. This ultimately results in the death of the pathogens.
Iodine tablets are another popular method used to kill microorganisms. When these tablets are added to water, they are effective at removing protozoa, bacteria and viruses but ineffective against removing cryptosporidium.
Iodine purification tablets are not designed to remove toxic chemicals from your water. If you’re traveling, a portable water filter is ideal for this purpose.
Despite the limitations of iodine tablets, they are quite suitable for camping trips and can be readily obtained at any good camping store.
They come in handy should your drinking water supply run out and you need to use the water from a stream or river.
Prior to using iodine tablets, it is important to follow the instructions on the bottle, such as how many tablets to use and who shouldn’t consume water purified with iodine.
Accordingly, the more cloudy the water is, the more water purification tablets you’ll need. If the water has particles in it, you’ll need to strain it first.
If you are pregnant women, have a thyroid problems or is allergic to shellfish, you shouldn’t use iodine water purifiers. Best to consult your physician to see if it would be safe for you to use it. After putting the iodine tablets in the water, you’ll need to let it stand for a while for purification to take place. If the water is cold, let the water stand longer.
| “Chlorine, iodine tablets and boiling are great methods for treating water when you go hiking. But if you want a more comprehensive removal of bacteria from your tap water, get a ultraviolet water purifier for your home.” |
An alternative to iodine water purifiers is chlorine-based water purification tablets, such as Halazone.
It can be used by persons who can’t consume iodine-purified water. Or you could add two drops of 5% bleach per quart of water and let it stand for 30 minutes to an hour, if you don’t have the tablets.
Like iodine, chlorine is not effective against cryptosporidium but can remove giardia. Another drawback is that both chlorine and iodine purified water taste terrible. You may need to add Vitamin C tablets to the treated water to improve the taste.
And lets not forget good ol’ fashion “boiling,” as a way to purify water of microorganisms like giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium which are often found in rivers and lakes.
The drawback is that boiling water may use up your fuel, which if you are in a remote area, that fuel may be in short supply
At 100�C, most pathogens within the water would be killed. If you are at high altitude, water boiling point drops, so you’ll need to boil the water longer.
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Want to remove chemicals from your drinking water, check out this drinking water filter
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