Ways to Purify Water in The Wild

Clean drinking water is essential for any trip abroad. It is important for many things such as drinking and cooking, and for your water requirements you can transport water from home, but you will have to carry a lot of water in this case, this is not an ideal option for camping trips.

For this, you must use water from other sources, such as the water sources surrounding your camping sites, such as rivers and lakes, but what makes you worried about this water is a large number of germs and impurities that are present in this water, and for this, we have collected the best water purification methods in the wild to have water throughout the flight.

In this article, we will learn about the best water purification methods, how to properly purify water in order to maintain your health during a camping trip, and what you need to purify water to make it safe to drink. 

Why purifying water is important

Many things spoil the water around us and make it unfit for drinking. The most important of these reasons are bacteria, viruses, and water-borne primary organisms. We will learn about the most water-borne diseases and the most prevalent of these are:

• Amoebic dysentery: One of the causes of this disease is the primary parasites present in both human and animal faeces, and its symptoms are fever and bloody and mucous diarrhoea with severe abdominal pain accompanied by some chills.
• Bacteria: Water-borne bacterial diseases are many, and the most important of these diseases that can be transmitted with drinking water are salmonella, E.Coli and campylobacter.
• Viruses: Viruses can also be transmitted in drinking water and cause many diseases. There are some dangerous viral diseases transmitted by non-drinking water, the most important of which are enterovirus and hepatitis C. 

In order to purify water from these viruses, water purification methods must be used, and the most important of these methods are to get rid of viruses. They are ultraviolet and boiling pens. Also, you can use purification tablets.

What are the ways to purify water?

The question that many have is, how can we get drinking water in the wild? There are many ways to obtain pure and drinkable water, and many methods can be used to obtain it. The most important of these methods is the method of boiling, filtering, and chemical treatment. There are many other methods, but these methods are the most famous for water purification. 

How to purify water in the wild?

Boiling:

Boiling is one of the most common and safe simple ways to purify drinking water taken from wild sources. All you need to do is boil water in a pot of water and then put the water inside and let it boil for 10 minutes in order to kill all the germs in the water and then you can use the water for drinking and cooking safely.

The method of boiling to purify water is considered the least labour-intensive among the many methods used, and as we mentioned previously, this water can be used for drinking, preparing food and making coffee, but after boiling the water, leave it to cool down and then remove the solid parts at the end of the pot.

Purification tablets:

Chemical purification tablets are one of the ideal ways to purify water and it is the safest way that you can use at any time you want, especially on camping trips and stay in the wilderness in order to obtain drinking and cooking water.

The most common chemicals used in water purification are iodine and chlorine dioxide. These substances kill many microorganisms, bacteria and viruses. The most disadvantageous thing about using these tablets is the unconventional taste of water.

Ultraviolet light sterilization pens:

Water purification devices using ultraviolet light are one of the most common methods today, and it is one of the wonderful ways to purify water and works on these pens to eliminate many bacteria, viruses and protozoa, and is considered easy to use. All you have to do is fill your water bottle with water and then move the water with a pen Purification for two minutes.

After this process, you will get pure and usable water for all your daily uses inside the camp and the wilderness, but the disadvantage of this method is that this method requires the presence of an electrical source such as batteries to operate it, and you may also have to filter the water from the sediment before starting to use these pens.

Filtering:

The use of filters is one of the most used methods of purifying water in the wild, and many believe that filters do not remove impurities and solid particles from the water, but today’s garden filters do more than this, as they filter water even from minute components such as viruses, bacteria and disease-causing protozoa.

Chemical filter:

If you want to use pure water for drinking, all you have to do is purchase a water filter with a chemical component. The chemical elements work to eliminate the germs that are considered the most dangerous. In addition to killing germs, you can use the water immediately after the purification process is completed, unlike the boiling method.

Many people worry about the size of the filters used in water purification, but there are many water filters that are small and easy to take with you on camping trips in the wilderness. 

Distillation:

The distillation process is an important process when purifying saltwater, such as seawater and some tropical regions, which contain high levels of salts and minerals that can make you drier when used, and for that the importance of distillation.

The distillation process is known as the process of separating salts and minerals from water in order to make it pure and suitable for drinking and cooking, but the question that many have is, how do I distill water in the wild?

How to distill the water:

• You need two bowls, a large bowl and a small bowl and a lid.
• Put the small pot inside the large pot, then fill the large pot with water and put it on the stove.
• Cover the bowl and let the condensation do its work, the lid should be indented towards the small bowl so that the condensed water drips into the small bowl.
• Distillation is a rudimentary process, but it is a good way to make water more drinkable, and you can use this method in an emergency.

Stone boiling:

Stone boiling is an uncommon method of water purification, but you can use it in extreme emergency situations, and if you need to do this process all you need to do is bring some rocks and a solid container that can withstand extreme temperatures.

Clean the rocks that you brought and then put them in the fire in order to heat them. After heating the rocks, take them out of the fire and blow the dirt out of them and then put them inside the water in the pot, and when the water starts boiling, you will know the success of the process and the water is disinfected after leaving these small rocks for a few minutes.

Plant water purification in the wild:

Certainly, you do not know much information about this natural and economical method that you can use easily to purify water. Some plants are great at purifying water, and we will know what plants can help us purify water and how to do this easily.

In order to purify the water, all you have to do is soak the plants in stagnant water, and this method is one of the ways to purify water without boiling.

Plants that help purify water are:

1. Coriander
2. The rice.
3. Jackfruit seeds.
4. Fruit peels.
5. Coconut.
6. Java plum seed
7. Oregon Grape
8. Reeds and bullrushes
9. Plant Xylem

FAQ

Conclusion

When you go on camping trips or hiking trips, it is necessary to make sure that you bring clean water to drink, and also make sure that the water is clean and free of pathogens, and in case the water runs out during the trip, you can use the various water sources around you, and through this guide that you have you can Find out the best ways in which you can purify water and make it safe to drink.

Read More:

• Benefits of Camping Why Camping Is Good for You
• How to build your own Wilderness First Aid Kit
• Ways to Stay Healthy While Camping
• 12 Best Camping Safety Tips