Drinking water is one of the most essential and basic needs of human beings. We need water to survive. Therefore, it is important to make sure that we drink safe water.
Unfortunately, unsafe water can be found in many places around the world. According to a News21 investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 680,000 water quality and monitoring violations, nearly 63 million Americans were subjected to potentially unsafe water more than once over the course of the previous ten years.
The findings reveal that authorities have failed to adequately protect the nation’s drinking water from pollution and contamination by failing to enforce clean water laws and regulations.
In light of these issues, we’ve assembled a list of tips on how you can make unsafe water potable at home.
Contents
Water Filtration
If you don’t have access to safe drinking water or if you’re just looking for an easy way to make your water safer, a water filtration system can help.
According to Aquasana’s National Water Quality survey, 77% of Americans filtered their drinking water at home in 2022, a slight increase from 74% in 2021. This figure indirectly indicates growing awareness about how unfiltered tap water can contain contaminants like lead and mercury, which can cause serious health problems when consumed over time.
Using a water filtration system can be an effective way to purify unfit water for human consumption at home. These systems allow you to remove harmful contaminants from your water by filtering them out, so you can drink safely.
There are many different types of water filters available, but they all have one thing in common: they will remove impurities from your water supply and leave you with clean drinking water.
The most popular kind of filter is called a reverse osmosis system. These filters can be mounted on a countertop or beneath a kitchen sink. They remove harmful chemicals and bacteria from the water by forcing them through a membrane that traps these harmful particles within the filter.
Reverse osmosis filters are great because they’re very easy to install and use, but they do take up some space under your sink or on your countertop if you have limited space available where those options would work best for you.
Boiling
If you give it some thought, water is likely the most significant aspect of your life. It’s what we drink and wash with, but it also helps us survive. When we think about how many people don’t have access to clean water, it’s quite scary. But luckily, there are ways to make unsafe water potable at home.
One of the best ways to make contaminated water drinkable is boiling it. Boiling helps eliminate any bacteria or viruses that may be present in the water. The boiling process also gets rid of most chemical contaminants, so it’s a good idea to boil the water for at least 1 minute before drinking.
If you have time, let the water cool before drinking it. This will help prevent burns from scalding or steam inhalation. You can then add some disinfectant like chlorine bleach or iodine tablets to kill off any remaining bacteria or viruses in your new drinking water.
Boiling is important because contaminated water can cause chronic diseases that can even pass on to upcoming generations. One of the most notorious examples is Camp Lejeune Water Contamination, where thousands of veterans were exposed to toxic chemicals in their drinking water for decades. This caused residents to suffer badly from the symptoms of Camp Lejeune water contamination which included cancers, miscarriages, and birth defects, among others.
Boiling contaminated water is an important step in making sure that you don’t get sick from drinking it. In a nutshell, boiling contaminated water will help you prevent various severe diseases.
Slow Sand Filtration
Making unsafe water potable at home can be done with the help of slow sand filtration. It is a simple process that involves filtering water through sand, gravel, and rocks. Slow sand filters are effective in removing contaminants such as microplastic particles from water.
According to a recent study, slow sand filters can effectively remove minute particles with 99.9% efficacy. The reason for this is due to the fact that these filters have larger pore sizes than other types of filters used for drinking water treatment purposes.
The use of slow sand filters for making unsafe water potable has been around for centuries, but it was only recently that researchers discovered that these filters are also effective in removing microplastic particles from drinking water sources.
In addition to effectively removing microplastics from drinking water, slow sand filters are also good at removing pesticides and herbicides from water sources like rivers and lakes.
Solar Disinfection
Solar disinfection, also known as SODIS, is a simple and effective way to make unsafe water potable. Water bottles must be exposed to direct sunlight for at least six hours in order for solar disinfection to work. The UV rays from the sun kill many of the microorganisms that cause illness.
The best way to use solar disinfection is to fill plastic or glass bottles with water from an unsafe source and leave them in direct sunlight for at least six hours. Bottles should be placed on a table or other flat surface with enough room between them, so they don’t touch each other. The bottles should also be covered by another object, such as a cardboard box or cloth, to prevent them from overheating.
After six hours, check your bottles for visible signs of contamination, such as cloudiness or an off-colored tint. You can immediately and safely drink the water if there are no apparent signs of contamination.
Moreover, according to recent research published in ScienceDirect, SODIS is one of the suggested methods for emergency point-of-use drinking water treatment. SODIS can make drinking water safer by killing microbes like pathogenic bacteria.
In Conclusion
Making unsafe water potable at home is possible in a variety of ways. You can use the methods that suit your needs best. We hope that you find this article useful and make your drinking water safe for consumption.
