131120,24 #14 FOOD STORAGE #14 EMERGENCY WATER PURIFYING WATER ETC. SURVIVALIST 101 survivalist101/outdoor-skills-101/finding-water-outdoors/ Finding Water Outdoors: How to Find Water for Survival by Bryan Wilde on October 7, 2013 The importance of water to the human body should be obvious to most of us. Comprised of 75% water, we need to consume approximately 2 liters per day to maintain healthy bodily function. Even though the Earth is predominantly water, it isn’t always easy to find. If you’ve spent any time outdoors, you know that potable [WATER WHICH CAN GO INTO A POT=POT ABLE=POTABLE BE EATEN OR DRUNK BOIL ALL WATER IF POSSIBLE ] water can be difficult to find in some environments. Sure… there may be water around – but is it safe to consume? And if it’s not safe to consume, how do we purify it with the tools (or lack thereof) we have available? Finding Water in the Wilderness Obviously, plants and animals in the area are finding water to survive, so it must be available somewhere, right? The trick is in knowing where to look, being resourceful, and conserving every drop of water that you do find. The most obvious place to find water is natural bodies of water such as streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Streams and rivers are your best source for water if it can be purified through boiling, a portable water filter, or water purification tablets. Otherwise, you risk ingesting viruses, protozoa, and bacteria that can make you sick. [VERRRY SICK] Stagnant water from lakes and ponds can also be home to bacteria that you definitely do not want in your intestinal track, and should be purified before drinking as well. So, this begs the question of where to find water that is safe to drink when no purification method is available? Finding Water You Can Drink without Purification If you have absolutely no way to purify water (i.e. boiling, iodine, chlorine tablets, etc.), you need to stick to water sources that are almost always safe to drink. Rainwater is going to be your best source of drinking water when no purification methods are available. Rainwater is one of the best sources of fresh water because it is purified by the process that creates it (evaporation) and can easily be collected for consumption. In cold climates, snow and ice are an excellent source of water. Just make sure you melt snow and ice [NOT IN YOUR MOUTH] before consuming it to maintain your body temperature. Condensation on non-poisonous plants, especially morning dew, is another good water source. This water is also purified and ready for consumption. If you have a clear plastic bag, you can use it to cover a leafy tree branch or plant to collect condensation from the leaves. [PUT SOME SMALL HEAVY CLEAN OBJECT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG THIS WILL CAUSE THE WATER TO FLOW DOWN TO IT AFTER A SHAKE IF IT IS ALREADY TAPED WITH DUCT TAPE OVER A SMALL HOLE REINFORCED WITH DUCT TAPE THEN YOU CAN PULL THE TAPE OFF AND DRINK FROM THE HOLE AND LEAVE THE BAG WITH THE DUCT TAPE REFASTENED IF YOU WILL BE IN THE AREA FOR THE NEXT DAY] [ALWAYS HAVE DUCT TAPE WITH YOU IT IS A LIFESAVER IN UNCOUNTABLE WAYS] Even plants themselves have high moisture content and it’s not too difficult to squeeze moisture out of plant matter when necessary. What to Avoid As already mentioned, stagnant water from ponds and lakes should be avoided, as well as river and stream water unless you can purify it. You should also avoid any water that has obviously been contaminated by animal waste or industrial processes. For example, water that has an oily slick on the top of it from a factory up river should not be consumed. Even boiling will not remove many synthetic chemical compounds from drinking water. Avoid salt water at all costs. Not only does it taste bad, it actually dehydrates your body more rapidly and can quickly create a life-threatening situation. Do not drink urine, no matter what you may have seen on TV shows or movies. Drinking it will increase your rate of dehydration and cause a buildup of urea salts in your system. Do not drink blood either due to its heavy iron content, which can cause your body to experience an iron overdose. Simple Purification Methods Boiling is the easiest way to purify water. It does not remove physical sediment or synthetic chemicals [A SHIRT TAIL CAN HELP STRAIN BIGGER OBJECTS], but it does an excellent job of removing pathogens from contaminated water. Boiling for just a few minutes will make even stagnant lake water safe to drink; although care should be taken to remove as much physical sediment from the water as possible. If starting a fire to boil the water is not an option, you can create a rudimentary filter system or you can create a solar still. A filter system is made by putting layers of sand, gravel, and small rocks into a container and pouring water through it. As the water trickles through these layers, physical sediment and some bacteria will be removed from the sample. This is not a guaranteed purification method, but it’s better than nothing. [YOU WILL NEED A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER IN ORDER TO GET THE STRAINED WATER SAFELY OUT] Solar Still A solar still is another water purification tool and can be built if you have a clear plastic sheet. The downside is that a solar still relies on the heat of the sun to work. If there’s no sun, a solar still is a waste of time. In addition, while it may remove some pathogens from the water, bacteria can still remain. You can construct a basic solar still with a piece of clear plastic, a hole you dig in the ground, and a small container to catch purified water. Start by digging a hole in the ground. How big you make the hole is up to you, but shoot for at least 3 feet across and 1 foot deep. Place your container in the center of this hole. The container can be anything that will hold water without leaking. Pour water into the hole [THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU CAN PEE IN ORDER TO CREATE DRINKABLE WATER], being careful not to pour it into the container in the center. You can also add green plant matter to the still as the moisture in the plants will also evaporate. Now stretch the clear plastic over the hole and secure on the outside with rocks, logs, or other heavy objects. Place a small rock in the center of the plastic sheet so it dips down directly above the container. As the sun heats the still, water will evaporate and collect on the top of the plastic sheeting where it will run down and drip into the container. This evaporative process extracts sediment and some impurities from water during the distillation process. [THIS WORKS WELL IN SAND ALSO] It can take hours to create enough water to consume, but this is a very effective solution in lieu of safe drinking water or other purification methods. These are simply guidelines that should keep you from contracting dysentey [CONSTANT DIAHHREA] or some other illness from impure water. A good bug out bag should contain a supply of water, portable water filter or water straw [WaterStraw A STRAW SHAPED PURIFICATION METHOD WHICH INVOLVES SIPPING DIRECTLY FROM WATER SOURCE], and water purification drops for purification. You should also include a clean container for collecting water. The best strategy is to assume all water is contaminated. Armed with an understanding of proper treatment techniques, you should be fully capable of quenching your thirst in any survival situation. TOP 5 WAYS OF PURIFYING WATER Top 5 Ways of Purifying Water by Samson Bearkiller on April 4, 2013 https://survivalist101/prepping-101-survival-guide/top-5-ways-of-purifying-water/ Water Purification Methods How to Make Collected Water Safe to Drink LifeGuard 7 Gallon Water Container Even if you have a long-term source of stored water, it’s still a good idea to have multiple ways of purifying water. You should at least have one alternative purification method just in case something happens to your supply or the emergency lasts long enough for you to run out. There are 4 basic methods used to purify water, and different styles for each way. Regardless of which method that you choose, you can make purifying your water easier by letting the water sit for a day after you’ve collected it so that all the sediment [GUNK OR DEBRIS] in it can settle. Then you can just pour or siphon [USING A HOSE TO SUCK WATER OUT] the water off the top and use the rest for tasks that don’t require potable water. Heating One of the first and most well-known ways of purifying water, or anything else that you’re going to drink such as milk or juice, is to heat it. There are 2 primary ways to kill bacteria and other impurities in your water so that you can drink it safely. Distillation This method uses a ton of fuel but produces extremely pure water. It requires boiling the water in an enclosed container and using a hose or other transportation device to allow the steam to escape, convert back to water, and collect in a clean container. Distillation is highly effective but also one of the more complicated ways of purifying water. Boiling This is the surest way to sanitize your water but it may not be realistic if your energy sources are limited. If you opt to boil, it takes anywhere from 3-12 minutes depending upon your elevation to kill pathogens and you’re going to lose part of the water to condensation. For most elevations, 3-5 minutes will suffice but the higher you are, the longer you need to boil it because water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations. If you choose to boil your water, do so when you’re cooking or doing other things that require fuel in order to save as much as possible. Again, this is one of the easiest ways of purifying water as long as you have a heating source. Pasteurizing Heating your water to 160 degrees for a minimum of 6 minutes will kill pathogens and parasites in water. This uses less fuel than boiling or can even be performed using solar heating devices that you can make at home in a pinch. Chemical Treatment AquaPail Water Treatment [IS ONE WAY COMMERCIAL METHOD]Treating your water with chemicals that kill bacteria, viruses, parasites and other impurities is probably the best way to ensure that it’s safe to drink. The downfall to using chemicals is that you can often taste them in the water. You also need to know how much to use because if you use too little, it won’t purify the water but if you use too much, it can make you ill. Unless otherwise stated, you should let your water sit for at least 30 minutes in order to give the chemical time to work. Chlorine Bleach This is just standard household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and is an integral part of your emergency supply kit because it kills everything. Use the unscented kind and simply add 16 drops (1/4 teaspoon) to 1 gallon of clear water or 8 drops (1/8 teaspoon) per gallon of clear water. Rotate your bleach because it begins to degrade after 6 months or so. [DO STORE AND ROTATE MUCH BLEACH IT CAN COME IN EXTREMELY HANDY ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN A FLOOD HURRICAN OR TORNADO ZONE] Iodine Though it changes the color and taste, 2% iodine tincture can be used safely and effectively to purify water as well as clean wounds. Use the same amount of iodine as you would bleach. Iodine kills bacteria and viruses but is only moderately effective against disease-causing protozoa. You can also buy iodine tablets. Calcium Hypochlorite [GET THIS POWDER DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ROTATING] Also known as Pool Shock, calcium hypochlorite has no expiration and doesn’t lose effectiveness. It’s also extremely inexpensive. For about $5 you can get enough to treat 10,000 gallons of water. Make sure that you buy a brand that only has 73% or greater calcium hypochlorite and inert ingredients; no other chemicals or algaecides. Make a solution using ½ teaspoon dry granules to one gallon of water and label this poison. Dissolve the granules in the water and then use 1/8 cup of the solution per gallon of water. This has about the same germ-killing power of bleach as it’s just an alternative chlorine product. Chlorine Dioxide Tablets These are a modern solution to water purification. They work well to kill all of the bad stuff in your water without adding any bad taste or smell. They’re also portable and have no expiration date. The downside is that they take 4 hours to purify your water but they are extremely effective as well as being easy to store and portable. Mechanical Filtration Mechanical filtration may be used independently or in conjunction with either heat or Katadyn Pocket Microfilter chemical purification methods. The concept is simple: the water runs through a medium such as sand, charcoal, silver, and/or ceramic that strains out debris and contaminants. They come in many different forms including: ◾Personal devices such as water bottles ◾Point-of-use filtration that’s attached to your sink ◾Hand-held pump devices ◾Homemade devices built to meet the filtration needs of the user ◾Commercially-produced units that are created to meet water needs when municipal water isn’t available. These come in different sizes and styles as well. Of the top 5 ways of purifying water, this is the easiest and most effective. Ultraviolet Light There are several different types of water purification devices that use ultraviolet light to kill pathogens in water. In order to use this method effectively the water needs to be clear. Homemade versions can be found all over the internet. UV light treatment doesn’t kill viruses. Among the various ways of purifying water, this method is the least effective in terms of killing all the harmful pathogens. There are many different types of water purification methods and which one that you choose is entirely dependent upon your filtration needs. Some simply filter out impurities while others purify your water as well as most chemicals. There are also reverse osmosis machines available but they’re not really efficient in an emergency because they depend upon high water pressure to be effective. They’re a great way to conserve water on a standard daily basis though! [1 PRODUCT HAS REVERSED OSMOSIS WATER IN IT AND IT HELPS TO PURIFY WATER AND TO MAKE IT MORE ABSORBABLE TO THE CELLS I WOULD USE ANOTHER METHOD FIRST [CHARCOAL FILTER UNDER ROCKS CAN MAKE OWN CHARCOAL BY PUTTING WOOD IN A CLOSED TIN CAN AND PLACING THE CAN ON TOP OF ADJUSTED HEAT WHEN SMOKE STOPS COMING OUT THE WOOD IS CHARCOAL PUT CLOTH OVER THE COOLED CHARCOAL AND UNDER IT AND FILTER WATER THRU IT) THEN FINISH BY ADDING THIS TO THE WATER * ADYA CLARITY * IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH BECAUSE WHATEVER AMOUNT OF WATER I HAVE I WANT TO GET THE BEST ABSORBTION AND USE OUT OF IT][CURRENTLY USE IT WITH TAP WATER WHICH HAS BEEN STANDING 24 HOURS AND HAVE NOTICED A DISTINCT POSITIVE DIFFERENCE] ADYA CLARITY IONIC SULFATE MINERALS ADYAWATER.COM ADYA INC. COLDWATER MICHIGAN 49036 131120,24 #14 FOOD STORAGE #14 EMERGENCY WATER AND PURIFYING WATER ETC. MARYsCORNERS
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 02:29:15 +0000