Purifying Your Drinking Water

Having a water purifier is essential if you will be spending any amount of time outdoors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ninety percent of the earth's water is contaminated. Even that clean, clear-looking mountain stream may harbor nasty bacteria and viruses that will make you very sick; or worse. So, what are the best ways to purify water while you are in the great outdoors?

Unsafe Water

With more and more people opting to escape today's fast-paced lifestyle by spending some quiet time camping in the outdoors; it is increasingly common to find evidence of human society everywhere you go. Even in the woods, high mountains or sprawling deserts people always seem to leave some type of "footprint". How often have you made your way to a secluded spot that you were sure no one had yet discovered, only to find evidence of a campfire or, worse yet, trash left behind by previous visitors? Mankind has also left a less visible footprint in the wild areas of the country. Runoff from pesticides and industry has made its way into the water systems that previously were pure and clean. Even water that looks sparkling and refreshing is likely contaminated with human or animal waste or toxic chemicals. Drinking water that has not been treated with a purifier is taking a big risk with your health.

Biological contaminants in the water include microorganisms like Giardia, which is a cause of diarrhea and other intestinal problems, as well as bacteria and viruses. These contaminants can be removed to make the water safe to drink. Several methods of water purification are available; you will need to decide which water purifier will most effectively meet your needs.

Outdoor Water Purifiers

When you are hiking or camping in the outdoors, it is a good idea to bring water with you. However, if you are planning an extended stay it is difficult to carry enough water with you to meet your hydration requirements. You lose a great deal of water while hiking, especially at high elevations and dehydration is dangerous. You can avoid a potentially unsafe situation by planning for a water purification method that you can use in the wilderness. Following are the best ways to provide safe water for you to drink.

Boiling

Boiling water is definitely the most effective way of destroying contaminants in water. By bringing water to a rolling boil and continuing to heat it for about 10 minutes, your water will be clean and safe to drink. Ideally, you will avoid water with scum or other visible debris. Filtering water through a cloth first will remove larger pollutants and is recommended before you begin boiling your water.

The problem with boiling water for purification is that it requires a great deal of fuel, especially if there are several people in your camping party. It is also time consuming to wait for water to boil and then cool enough to drink. An additional problem is that boiled water tends to taste flat. A simple solution for this problem is to aerate the water by pouring it from one container to another several times.

Chemical Purification

There are many products on the market that will purify water using iodine or chlorine. As with boiling, it is best for you to strain the water first, and then add the chemical purifier. Allow the chemical (which may be a tablet or a liquid) to work for about 10 minutes before considering the water safe. It is important to pay attention to the expiration date on chemical purification products. If the product has expired it will not be effective, so check the date before your outing and purchase new if necessary.

Chemical purifiers have a downside, too. For one thing, if the water is very cold the purifier is less effective. In addition, these types of products leave a bad taste in the water. A remedy for this is, again, aeration, or you can add a flavoring like tea. Vitamin C tablets added to the water will also improve flavor.

One word of warning: if you are sensitive to iodine or have a thyroid problem, do not choose a product that uses iodine to purify water.

Filtration

Another good way to provide safe water is to have a filtration system available to use. Methods of filtering can vary from a water bottle with a built in filter, an ultraviolet pen light that purifies up to 16 ounces of water at a time or a larger, camp-sized system that can filter larger amounts of water at a time.

When deciding on an appropriate system for your needs there are a few things to consider. Filtering systems are most effective when combined with a chemical purification product. In addition, ordinary filters will not remove viruses. Some systems combine filtering and purification techniques to effectively remove viruses along with other contaminants.

Some things to look at when selecting the right filter are:

• Pore size - smaller is better
• Ease of cleaning or changing of filters
• Weight of the unit - you will be carrying this around with you so you will want a light unit
• Cost - but cheaper isn't necessarily better

Please, when you are hiking, or camping in the outdoors do not ever drink water that hasn't been treated. Always have some sort of water purifier. While it is possible that you will only suffer mild intestinal problems that will spoil your trip, it is also possible to become so ill that the result is death. It just isn't worth the risk, especially considering the ease and low cost of many water purifiers.