How to Make a Low Cost Water Purifier

In order to make a water purification system at home, it is necessary to create a filtration system that will effectively block harmful bacteria or chemicals that are in the water. A low-cost homemade water purifier is good for camping or performing additional cleaning on already purified water. A homemade water purifier is also a great science fair project for kids.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton or synthetic material
• 20-40 mm PVC pipe
• Small pebbles
• Charcoal pellets
• PVC glue
• PVC connector
• Duct tape
• Small screen
• Faucet aerator

Instructions

1. PVC:
   Use two sections of PVC pipe to create a homemade water purifier. Hook the PVC pipe together with a connector piece and glue in place with PVC glue. Try to keep the glue from entering the interior of the pipe. The pipe should be 20-40mm and approximately 3 inches long per section.

2. Section Two:
   Purchase a piece of screening from a hardware store (window screen repair piece) and cut the screen to fix the pipe with an additional 1/4 inch around the edges. Duct tape the screen around the overlapping sections to the bottom of section two.

3. Section Two Material:
   Add 1 inch of pebbles to the PVC pipe section two, then put charcoal pellets on top of the pebbles until section two is filled to approximately 1/4 inch from the top. Charcoal pellets and small pebbles can be found easily in the fish section of most pet stores. Use the rubber and screening from the faucet aerator and place it above the charcoal inside of the PVC pipe for extra screen protection.

4. Section One:
   In the top section of the PVC pipe, put a 2 by 2-inch piece of cotton or synthetic fiber that has been folded into a square to fit into the top section of the pipe. Increase the size of the material as needed to fill the pipe. This will collect all of the larger material that might be in the water.

5. Pour the water you wish to use through the homemade water purifier and collect in a clean container. This is a quick and easy water purifier that can be made at home for additional water cleanliness, a cool science fair project or a camping trip.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase a faucet aerator smaller than but as close to the width of the PVC pipe for best effectiveness. Clean and change the material in section one daily for best effectiveness and in section two at least every other day.

• This water purifier will not work by itself to clean all water impurities. Water should be boiled after it has been run through this system. Homemade water purification systems should only be used for added water protection in already existing systems, science projects or when the water will be otherwise boiled or chemically treated for complete purification

References

• How to Build Your Own Homemade Water Purifier
• Emergency Essentials

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish