How Can You Purify Water?

Ensure your drinking water is safe.

Natural disasters can leave tap water unsafe to drink because of contamination. If you're traveling or in the outdoors, you may not know if the water is safe to drink. In situations like these, knowing how to purify water is a survival skill. Learn how to purify water and you will never have to take a chance and drink water that could make you sick.

Things You'll Need

• Pot
• Stove
• Liquid chlorine bleach
• Eyedropper

Instructions

Boil Water

1. Find a pot that has a lid, and pour the water you want to purify into it. Leave enough room in the pot to allow the water to reach a full, rolling boil.

2. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat to high. Put the lid on the pot to speed up the boiling process.

3. Look for any steam coming from under the lid, which is a sign that the water is reaching a boil. The water is boiling once you see large bubbles rising from the very bottom of the pot to the surface of the water. Allow the water to boil for at least one minute. Turn the heat off and wait for the water to cool before drinking.

Use Bleach

1. Pour water into an uncontaminated container and let the particles in the water settle.

2. Use the eyedropper to add two drops of bleach for every quart of water (add 5 drops per quart if the water is cloudy). Mix the water well and let it stand for 30 minutes (60 minutes if the water is cloudy).

3. Smell the water to see if you can detect a slight odor of bleach. If you can't, repeat the dose. Mix and wait 15 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Since water boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes, add one minute of boiling time for every 1,000 feet above sea level.

• Filter cloudy water through a coffee filter, paper towel or clean cloth before treating.

• Only use unscented, regular bleach to purify water.

• Make sure you boil unsafe water, even if it's already hot from the tap.

• Do not use contaminated vessels to hold treated water. Disinfect contaminated vessels by soaking them for two minutes in a mixture of 1 tablespoon of bleach to every gallon of water.

References

• Washington State Department of Health: Purifying Household Water
• What's Cooking America: How to Boil Water
• Global Village Institute for Appropriate Technology: Clorox Bleach for Emergency Water Purification