How to Purify Water: Survival Tricks for Backpackers

There are several ways to purify water, not all equal to efficient. A cheap filter can remove some unwanted elements but not certain viruses or bacteria. Other methods are more prophylactic but may leave certain sediments. This article could save your life so keep reading.

There are countries where bottled water is counterfeit, there are conditions where rivers or lakes are contaminated, and there are conditions where there is simply no water. Dehydration is the worst enemy and your first priority to fight in survival cases especially for backpackers.

Symptoms of dehydration:

Dry mouth and swollen tongue
Extreme weakness
Dizziness
Tachycardia
Confusion
Fainting
Lack of energy
Inability to sweat

Reduced urine and full of toxins that can affect the kidneys

To avoid this you should look for any source of water but definitely discard the sea water as it can worsen the situation. You must get fresh water, rain debris, standing water, streams or canals.

How to purify water and convert it into drinking water - Backpackers

 The best option is the water that flows constantly, but in the worst case we say that you are going to drink water from a puddle where there may be insects that lay eggs or leave excrement. Yes, this water can save your life and you can drink it. Here are two was to purify the water:

1. Procedure with heat:

Use some clothing to make it pass through the water and filter the water. In this way you can separate solid elements, leaves, eggs, earth, etc. Make the fire arrangements and get any container that allows you to boil the water. Bring the water to the boiling point and then allow it to cool while the remaining sediments settle. It is not necessary to boil it beyond the boiling point.

This method will give you 100% safe water that you can drink avoiding diarrhea or diseases. It may not taste good and does not look clear, but rest assured it will not make you sick and it will save you from dehydration. Warning: Boiling water does not remove chemicals that may be toxic (e.g. mercury, lead, chromium) so make sure your water source is as natural as possible.

2. Water Filters:

There is a large variety of small commercial backpacking water filters for campers and trekkers. The system consists of passing the water through a microscopic filtration system that stops the impurities. These are categorized for certain type of organisms, hence the reason in the variety of prices.

Depending on the category of the filter this will or will not allow viruses or bacteria to pass. Before fully trusting a filter you must know what kind of potential hazards you must deal with, for example it would be very risky to drink water from a source that potentially contains hepatitis A and rely only on a filter for organisms like Giardia.

If you are going to use a backpacking water filter for situations not as extreme as drinking water from a creek in the forest then that is fine, but if you travel to areas with potentially dangerous water: boil it.