You should disinfect your drinking water if:
- Your community has been issued a boil water advisory;
- You are using water directly from a stream, lake or shallow well;
- Lab tests of your water show that it contains "fecal coliforms";
- A flood, earthquake or other disaster has disrupted your community water supply;
- You are traveling in an area where water is not well treated; or
- You have a weakened immune system, in which case you should disinfect all of your drinking water.
Boiling is the surest method to make water safe to drink and kill disease-causing microorganisms. Bring water to a rolling boil then keep boiling for 1 to10 minutes depending on how dirty your water is and where it came from.
If boiling is not possible, chemical disinfection or filtering water is the next solution.
Household Unscented Chlorine Bleach: Add two drops per gallon to filtered and settled water. Let stand for 30 minutes. If you are treating water from a lake, stream or shallow well, use twice as much bleach and let stand for twice as long, it is more likely to contain chlorine-resistant parasites from animal droppings. If you use this method in your emergency storage, remember to rotate your bleach every 6 months because the chlorine dissipates and loses its intensity.
Granular Calcium Hypochlorite : Add and dissolve 1 teaspoon of granular calcium hypochlorite to two gallons of water, then add one part of this treated water to 100 parts water to be treated. This is about 16 ounces to 12.5 gallons of water. Calcium hypochlorite is one of the best chemical disinfectants for water. It destroys a variety of disease causing organisms including bacteria, yeast, fungus, spores, and viruses. Calcium hypochlorite granules have a shelf life of about 10 years and remains effective as a chemical drinking water treatment. WARNING: this product must be stored in a well ventilated, dry area. When opening this product move it away from your face, it could burn your eyes, nose and lungs.
Iodine: You can use tincture of iodine to disinfect filtered and settled water.
Common household iodine from the medicine chest or first aid kit may be used to disinfect water. Add five drops of iodine to each quart or liter of clear water. For cloudy water add ten drops and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes.You can also use iodine tablets to disinfect filtered and settled water. Use one tablet for each quart or liter. Iodine can color the water and leaves a taste. Note: Pregnant women should not use iodine drops to purify water as it may have an effect on the fetus.
Common household iodine from the medicine chest or first aid kit may be used to disinfect water. Add five drops of iodine to each quart or liter of clear water. For cloudy water add ten drops and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes.You can also use iodine tablets to disinfect filtered and settled water. Use one tablet for each quart or liter. Iodine can color the water and leaves a taste. Note: Pregnant women should not use iodine drops to purify water as it may have an effect on the fetus.
Water Filters remove impurities from water by means of a fine physical barrier. These range anywhere in price from $14.99 for an individual bottle to $1,499.00 for an expensive filter for 20 people. These are available at most sporting goods stores.
