As an avid outdoorsman has pointed out, about half of people will not drink the water outdoors because they do not believe that it is as clean as the water they get from a countertop water filter. The other half of people never use any source of pristine water purification when they are outdoors because they believe the water outdoors is even more clean then anything that they cold get at home. In the first instance, ignorance of how to make water safe to drink dramatically increases the risk of dehydration. In the second instance, not treating water increases the risk of gastrointestinal illness.
Water found outdoors that is not treated, either with a handheld or countertop water filter, may contain organisms that can make you ill if ingested. To assure as much safety as possible, water should be disinfected, defined as "the removal or destruction of harmful microorganisms." In most instances, water found outdoors must be appropriately treated using an available method which can effectively "disinfect" the water. Disinfection is commonly confused with "purification" although they are inherently different. Pristine water purification, especially in an outdoor situation, may not be able to remove or kill all of the pathogens in the water to ensure its safety. To make sure water is drinkable, it must be treated by boiling, treating it with chemicals, or filtration of some sort.
Vastly different from using a countertop water filter, boiling water kills any and all organisms living within it when done properly. Contrary to popular belief, water does not require boiling for ten minutes (plus an additional minute for every thousand feet above sea level.) The time necessary for water to come to a rolling boil kills most water-borne pathogens, such as Giardia and Cruptosporidium. The boiling point of water decreases with each increase in elevation; therefore, the temperature at which water boils at any given elevation is hot enough to kill any organisms which might otherwise make you sick. Being able to boil water is wholly dependent upon having the fuel necessary, a metal container to boil the water and sufficient time to allow the water to come to a rolling boil, at least temporarily.
Also different from using a countertop water filter is using chemicals, because time and water temperature become very significant with chemical water treatment. The effectiveness of halogens, such as iodine and chlorine, is dependent upon how much is used, contact time between the chemicals and the water and the temperature of the water - the colder the water, the longer the contact time necessary. Most chemicals come in either a liquid and tablet form. The tablet forms are widely popular (more so than liquid because of the mess and uncertainty when dispensing), finding use within the US Military, disaster relief agencies, and those who work outdoors, for example.
Filtration is a final option for assuring safe water outdoors. There is a lot of confusion that exists in relation to the usefulness of filters in effectively disinfecting water. Some filters only remove the "big stuff", while others also remove common viruses. Some filters come in the form of pumps, some are bottles with a filter matrix, and some rely on gravity. Devices that only remove larger organisms are referred to as "filters" while those that remove both the larger organisms and the finer organisms are referred to as "purifiers."
It may not be practical to carry a countertop water filter to obtain pristine water purification when working or finding recreation outdoors, so you might have utilize another method in this article to assure water is safe to drink.
Water found outdoors that is not treated, either with a handheld or countertop water filter, may contain organisms that can make you ill if ingested. To assure as much safety as possible, water should be disinfected, defined as "the removal or destruction of harmful microorganisms." In most instances, water found outdoors must be appropriately treated using an available method which can effectively "disinfect" the water. Disinfection is commonly confused with "purification" although they are inherently different. Pristine water purification, especially in an outdoor situation, may not be able to remove or kill all of the pathogens in the water to ensure its safety. To make sure water is drinkable, it must be treated by boiling, treating it with chemicals, or filtration of some sort.
Vastly different from using a countertop water filter, boiling water kills any and all organisms living within it when done properly. Contrary to popular belief, water does not require boiling for ten minutes (plus an additional minute for every thousand feet above sea level.) The time necessary for water to come to a rolling boil kills most water-borne pathogens, such as Giardia and Cruptosporidium. The boiling point of water decreases with each increase in elevation; therefore, the temperature at which water boils at any given elevation is hot enough to kill any organisms which might otherwise make you sick. Being able to boil water is wholly dependent upon having the fuel necessary, a metal container to boil the water and sufficient time to allow the water to come to a rolling boil, at least temporarily.
Also different from using a countertop water filter is using chemicals, because time and water temperature become very significant with chemical water treatment. The effectiveness of halogens, such as iodine and chlorine, is dependent upon how much is used, contact time between the chemicals and the water and the temperature of the water - the colder the water, the longer the contact time necessary. Most chemicals come in either a liquid and tablet form. The tablet forms are widely popular (more so than liquid because of the mess and uncertainty when dispensing), finding use within the US Military, disaster relief agencies, and those who work outdoors, for example.
Filtration is a final option for assuring safe water outdoors. There is a lot of confusion that exists in relation to the usefulness of filters in effectively disinfecting water. Some filters only remove the "big stuff", while others also remove common viruses. Some filters come in the form of pumps, some are bottles with a filter matrix, and some rely on gravity. Devices that only remove larger organisms are referred to as "filters" while those that remove both the larger organisms and the finer organisms are referred to as "purifiers."
It may not be practical to carry a countertop water filter to obtain pristine water purification when working or finding recreation outdoors, so you might have utilize another method in this article to assure water is safe to drink.
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