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Purifying water with the sun's rays
Recently, I have gotten on a healthy water kick because, quite frankly, I have been extremely scared to drink our tap water. Plus, I believe that it's important to know survival skills, and knowledge is the key to surviving. So today I'd like to share a free and all-natural way of purifying water. Yup, if you haven't guessed it already, I am referring to sunlight.
Sunlight is an old-fashioned water-purifying practice that's considered to be the most natural way to purify water. It's genius because you can purify your drinking water at zero cost. This water-purifying method requires no special equipment or expensive filters.
How do you purify water using the sun's rays?
You'll want to fill a clean container with clear water and place it in direct sunlight. I suggest using a clear PET one-or two-liter bottle and nothing much larger than that.
A quick note of caution here: Water that's thick and murky with suspended matter will be hard to purify in this manner. So you'll need to use extra precautions and your common sense.
Allow your water to sit in the sun for no less than six to seven hours. This purifying method will work best if the container is put out in the sun at first light and kept there for the majority of the day.
Allowing the water to sit out in the sun all day gives the sediment time to settle at the bottom of the container. You'll want to make sure the water doesn't have any sedimentation in it before drinking any of it.
After about six to seven hours, most of the dissolved particles will settle to the bottom of the container. So then you'll need to drain the clean water into another container.
To do that, you'll need to slowly pour the purified water out of the original container and into another clean container without disturbing the sediment in the bottom.
You'll end up with a small amount of water along with the sediments left in the container that you first began purifying the water in. The other container of water will be purified and free from dangerous bacteria or parasites.
Use the water the day that you purify it. I wouldn't store it for any longer than that and expect it to still be safe to drink. Of course, you can keep repurifying it by this or some other means.
So how does the sun purify the water?
Solar radiation and heat kill the bacteria or parasites present in the water. This is an ancient practice that utilizes solar energy to purify water.
Other ways to kill bacteria in drinking water:
To get rid of bacteria in your water, you can also use unscented chlorine bleach, iodine, or chlorine dioxide tablets.
If your preference is bleach, use 2 drops of bleach solution for every liter of water. Use about 8 drops of unscented chlorine bleach per gallon of water, and if the water is really murky, use at least 16 drops. You can use an eyedropper to treat the water. Just count the drops as you do it, then wait about an hour before drinking it.
Unscented chlorine bleach will kill most viruses and bacteria that can be found in untreated water.
Then, of course, you can also boil your water for three to five minutes or distill it to make it safer to drink.