
I’ve discussed making use of your local water resources for survival before here on Richardcyoung.com, and there are a number of water focused pieces of gear in the Richardcyoung.com “Navy SEAL Survival Kit.” Now take a look as Mike Jones, writing for LoadoutRoom.com, details methods for purifying water that he learned as a military survival instructor.
Pre-filtering you water: This is important, if your water is full of particulate matter and other disgusting crap you might want to consider doing a pre filter. I typically do this by putting a shirt over the mouth of my canteen and pouring the water through my shirt. …
Iodine tablets: Light and portable these are my go to method for purifying water when navigating. The bottle will tell you precisely how much is needed to purify your water. …
Bleach: Make sure that you purchase bleach without any other fancy chemicals in them. You want bleach that is 4-6% Sodium Hypochlorite. With this percentage, you can use the “You must be 21 to drink” rule. Which is that you need 2 drops of bleach per 1 liter of water. Once the bleach is in, your wait time is 30 minutes. …
SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) method: Use a clear PET water bottle or clear soda bottle. Glass bottles will not work as they block UV-A rays. Remove any labels from the bottles. Fill the bottles with water (pre-filtered) and place them in an area where they will be exposed to direct sunlight. …
Boiling: An extremely effective way to purify water. Bring the water to a roiling boil for 1 minute to be extra safe….
Filters: There are many excellent filters out there. Just be aware that not all virus may be removed and additional purification may be necessary (iodine, bleach, UV light).
Originally posted December 21, 2016.