Filter Water Without Using Technology
Edited by Vanessa Alexandra Avisado, Lynn
When you find yourself in a survival situation, you may not always have access to potable water. You may not have the chemicals or technological means to purify water for drinking. Boiling the water cannot remove the sand and different particles out, and this may adversely affect your health. The best way to survive is to filter water without using technology, relying on the resources available in the environment.
As the world becomes more concerned over the quality of its drinking water, the knowledge to filter water the natural way is considered an essential tool for survival. During emergencies, this knowledge can be handy due to the need for people to be careful of what they drink. Bottled water supply can always run out, as well as other sources of clean drinking water. If this happens, water filtering, combined with some water purification methods, can supply you with the precious liquid to keep you hydrated until the situation normalizes.
Key Steps Prior to Filtering Water
- Gather your water resources. When all remaining sources of sterilized water have been used up, the next thing to do is to scout for sources of water. At home, this can be from water heaters and toilet tanks. If you're in the wilderness, possible sources include rivers, streams, and other body of water. Collect as much water as possible. Do not consider using stagnant and/or smelly water.
- Create a natural water filtering method. If the available water in the environment contains dirt particles, such as sand and other debris, you can use any of the following filtering methods to remove them.
Basic Filtering Method
| Materials Needed: | 10 Gallon Drum | Cork | Piece of Cloth | Gravel, Sand, Charcoal |
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Procedure:
- 1Drill a hole in the lowest part of the side of the 10 gallon drum.
- 2Insert a cork into the hole.
- 3Place a false bottom with several holes inside the container, leaving a gap of several inches from the actual bottom.
- 4Stretch a piece of cloth over the entire surface.
- 5Cover the cloth with a few inches of fine gravel.
- 6Pour three layers of charcoal and white sand.
- 7Lay fine gravel on top of the charcoal bits.
- 8Cover the container with a perforated top.
- 9Pour contaminated water into the filtering container.
- 10Remove the cork to allow filtered water to flow out.
Multilevel Filter
| You'll Need these Materials | 2 Water Containers | A Sharp Object for Drilling Holes | Filter agents: Small rocks, gravel, charcoal, sand, grass or pieces of cotton clothes. |
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Procedure:
- 1The holes must be big enough for water to filter out, but not too large for the filtering materials to pass through.Create small holes at the bottom of a water container.
Single Layer Filter
The method is basically the same as the multilevel filtering.
The difference is in the use of few filtering materials to suggest that there's no abundant supply in the environment.
Procedure:
- 1If there's no cap, poke holes at the bottom instead.Drill a hole in the cap of the filter bottle.
- 2Cover the holes with a layer of cotton or coffee filter to prevent the filtering material from falling out.
- 3Fill the bottle with enough sand or crushed charcoal.
- 4Cover the layer with another piece of cotton or coffee filter.
- 5Let the water drain before repeating the process.Slowly pour water into the filter bottle.
- 6Place the second bottle below to catch the filtered water.
Cloth Filter
If no filtering agents can be found around, you can use your clothing or any fiber instead.
Procedure:
- 1If the cloth is not large enough, tie the corners to pieces of sticks. If there are no sticks, just position the material on the top surface of the water container.Secure the cloth material or fiber to the container.
- 2If there's no water container, drain the water directly to the mouth.Pour water through the material to drain into the water container.
How to Make Filtered Water Safe for Drinking
- 1Boil.Filtered water may look sparklingly clean, but it can still be infested with microscopic organisms such as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium, as well as bacteria like E.coli and Shigella. They carry diseases harmful to human beings. One way to kill these disease carriers is to boil water where they thrive. Boiling without using electricity can be done by making an open fire pit. Leave the water at a rolling boil for at least a minute before letting it cool down.
- 2Bleach.When water cannot be boiled during a situation, use chlorine bleach to remove most of the harmful microorganisms. Read the product label and use an eyedropper to apply the right amount of chlorine to the untreated water. Wait at least 30 minutes before consuming the water.
- 3Iodize.An alternative way to purify filtered water is to add iodine drops. A quart of water requires two drops, and can be increased if the water is a little bit cloudy.
Tips, Tricks and Warnings
- Thoroughly clean the container for storing filtered water before using it.
- If the water coming out from the filtering container is still cloudy, repeat the process by letting it pass through the filter again until it becomes clear.
- It is absolutely essential to boil filtered water if is is to be for drinking purposes. Any kind of filtering method is not an assurance that the water is completely safe.
- To improve the taste of boiled water, add a few drops of honey or lemon juice.
- Add a pinch of ascorbic acid to chlorinated water to remove the chemical taste.
- Change out layers of filtering agents for new ones after using them several times.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
