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Purify Water Simply and Effectively

September 12, 2017 By ParkerMama

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned or linked to in this post, including Amazon Affiliate links

Learning how to purify water is one of the first skills a Prepper must have.  Storing water is only the first step in your emergency water preparedness plan. While we’ve shown you ways to store water for an emergency, you’re going to want to have a way to filter and purify outside drinking sources..

 Filtering and Purifying Water

Filtering water removes things the eye can see from the water, such as bugs, twigs and leaves.

To purify water means removing things the eyes can’t see, such as germs and bacteria that can not only make you sick, but kill you.

*this post contains affiliate links

How To Filter And Purify Water for Survival

 Safe Drinking Water

First filtering, and then purifying potential drinking water is the best practice in order to have safe for your family in an emergency.

Ways to make water safe for drinking include:

*Straining.

Homemade filtering systems.

*Bleach.

*Pool Shock.

*Boiling.

With any of the techniques above, you’ll need to first filter (straining, homemade filtering systems) and THEN purify (bleach, pool shock, boiling).

However, it IS possible to filter and purify water at the same time using the suggestions below.

LifeStraw

Filter and Purify Water With A LifeStraw

Portable and very affordable, you throw *this post contains affiliate links a LifeStraw into each family member’s 72 hour kit, providing an easy way to both filter up to 1,000 liters (264 gallons) of water and remove:

-99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, including E-Coli

-99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites, including Giardia & Cryptosporidium

Bonus:  No funky after taste, the way you would get by using bleach to purify water.

LifeStraw Mission Water Purification System

Looking to purify water on a larger scale during an emergency?   Take a look at the LifeStraw Mission Water Purification System.  

This system uses a high volume gravity filter to filter and purify 4755 gallons of water.   Ideal for group and family emergency preparedness situation.

Pour the water into the top, and clean water comes out the bottom.  How much easier can it get?

Berkey Water Filters

Filter and Purify Water Long Term With A Berkey

The aftermath of an emergency can leave municipal drinking facilities scrambling to provide clean water.  Just ask any one that has been slammed by hurricanes and flooding.  Even after the taps are turned back on, the water flowing through them can be of questionable quality.

Berkey systems filter both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as  lakes, streams and stagnant ponds.  The Berkey is made to tackle hostile environments where electricity, or treated water isn’t available.  No more having to worry if your tap water is safe to drink.

The Big Berkey

The Big Berkey system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites, while reducing harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides.

With a storage capacity of about 2.25  gallons (8.5 liters) this Berkey will filter approximately  12-15 gallons a day, making it the perfect size to keep on a kitchen counter top or by the sink.

How to filter and purify water for drinking during an emergency.

You Must Have A Way To Purify Water

Without access to safe drinking water, you have a life span of three days.   This makes safe drinking water more important than food storage.  You are only going to be able to put away so much emergency drinking water storage. Without a way to filter and purify outside sources of water, surviving a long term emergency is going to be much harder..

Access Outside Water Sources with a Sillcock Key

BTW, while we are on the subject of outside water sources, consider adding a Sillcock Key to your emergency kits. This inexpensive tool allows access to safe drinking water in public buildings during an emergency.

Interested in learning about what else should be included in every Prepper’s 72 Hour Kit and Supplies list?  Read our post on 72 Hour Kit Survival Checklists.

P.S.

Come and join us!

I have a theory that the reason so many people aren’t prepared for emergencies isn’t that they aren’t concerned, but they simply don’t know where to start, and it’s so easy to become overwhelmed.  Let us help you get what you need for the lowest prices in our Simply Preparing Deals Group!

Filed Under: Beginning Prepping, Survival Gear, Water Tagged With: 72 Hour Kit Checklist, drinking water storage, emergency preparedness, food storage, inexpensive water filters, life straw, pool shock, survival

About ParkerMama

Tammy is a mom to 6 wonderful kids, including Parker, who came with an extra chromosome! She is passionate about special needs advocacy, living within her means, and preparing for an uncertain future. Tammy's main blog is Praying For Parker. Make sure to visit her there as well!

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Why Worry About Preparing?

Preparedness for a disaster makes a lot of sense. With recent and predicted events like Hurricane Sandy, The Colorado Wildfires, Fiscal Cliffs, and rising food and gas costs just in 2012 there is no denying that things are changing in our world. Whether or not you believe "The End of the World As We Know It" is near there are plenty of everyday things to worry about: loss of a job, health emergency, local weather events to name a few.

I find that I worry less about the big "what if's" out there the more emergency planning my family does to deal with the unexpected. I will share the survival tips and tricks I have learned while on this preparedness journey and hope that you join in with lots of comments. We all have a lot to learn from one another.

Now, lets get started prepping! Pick a post and start reading. At the end of every post the blog randomly selects three more survival posts for you to check out. Set aside 10 minutes a day to build your preppers knowledge base. We can never be done learning or prepping, right?

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