How to Purify Drinking Water With Bleach
During a natural disaster or other emergency, the drinking water in your area may become contaminated with dirt, toxins and other substances. Before you can drink the water, you need to purify it by boiling it or by adding bleach to it. Bleach kills contaminants, bacteria, parasites and other substances present in the water. Failure to purify drinking water properly can cause your family to become sick. Make sure to use plain household bleach, not a scented variety.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Strainer
- 3 large pots
- Measuring spoon
- Household bleach
- Large spoon
- Clean container with cover
Instructions
-
-
1
Place a strainer over a clean large pot.
-
2
Fill another large pot with 1 gallon of the water you want to purify. Let the water stand in the pot until any particles in it settle to the bottom.
-
-
3
Pour the contaminated water through the strainer to filter out any large substances.
-
4
Clean out the strainer, then place it over another clean large pot. Pour the contaminated water through the strainer again. Remove the strainer from the pot.
-
5
Add 1/8 tsp. of household bleach to the pot of water and stir it with a large spoon.
-
6
Let the water stand for 30 minutes, then store the newly purified water in a clean, covered container.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
The purified water should have a slight bleach odor; this indicates that the water is, indeed, purified. If an odor is not present, repeat step 5. Let the water stand for 15 minutes then smell it again. Repeat until the water has a slight bleach odor.
To sanitize containers and measuring utensils, mix 1 tsp. of regular bleach with 1 gallon of water. Place the containers and utensils in the bleach solution for two minutes. Drain the water and let the containers and utensils air dry before using them.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit purification image by Rosemary Robenn from Fotolia.com
