Water Purification

         I wanted to do a post about different ways to purify water. Having clean drinking water may be the most important resource we need to prep for.  There are a few simple ways to purify water, and I am going to share some of the most common.

Boiling-
       When water is heated to boiling point, any bacteria or other impurities are purged from the water. This is the ideal form of purification in my opinion as it is a simple process, provided you can make fire, and usually tastes better than filtered water. You will want the water to boil for at least five minutes but if you can keep it boiling for about 20 minutes then you will be that much safer as by that time you will have killed 99.9% of any bacteria.
        You do want to keep in mind that boiling water will not remove any solids, metals, or minerals.

Water Purifiers-
         Water purifying devices come in various sizes and shapes, but they all can be broken down to one similarity, a filter of some kind. I have seen Water purifying straws, water bottles, water bottle attachments, and pumps. These are very nice, however they have limited number of uses. Some can have replacable filters that can be purchased, however they usually must be ordered from the manufacturer. This filter method is good for right after a shtf scenario but when you have used them up they are gone.

Make Your Own Filter System-
           This system is great because it filters out not just bacteria, but also metals, minerals and larger particulates. And by making it yourself you don't need to worry about having to by brand name filter from stores. Plus you can make them much larger for cheaper. You can use a bucket, plastic, rolled bark, the possibilities are really up to you.
           What you will need to create a filter is a multi layer system consisting of sand, charcoal, grass, and gravel/small rocks. Charcoal is the key component to removing bacteria. but if you have multiple layers of these ingredients it will work even better. And then you would just poor the water in the top then have a hole in the bottom of your container where the purified water will come out.

Purification Tablets-
         You probably have seen these sold in the Sporting Goods section at your local Wal-Mart or at your favorite outdoors website. They are usually iodine tablets, these kills bacteria in the water, but will also not remove any minerals, metals, or other solids. Also I have read that pregnant women, women over 50, and people with thyroid problems should check with their doctors before using the tablets.
          Also, water purified in this way does not taste very good so keep that in mind before using them on your hikes.

Bleach-
         Believe it or not you can actually use common household bleach to purify your water. We even used this in the Army back when I went through basic training. TO do this properly and lafely you will need to add 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of regular unscented liquid bleach for every gallon of water. Make sure to stir it well and then let is sit for 30 minutes.

Stay prepared, stay alive!