More Water

You will need more water than you actually think. Apart from drinking water, you will also need some water to reconstitute your dried foods such as freeze dried meals, beans and rice, for cleaning your dishes and for adequate hygiene. Excessive dehydration can cause symptoms such as weariness, headaches, loss of mental alertness, urinary tract infections and full blown kidney stone problems. Even if you think you are well prepared for any crisis, consider the fact that you will need 20 to 30 gallons per month for every person in your household. 90 gallons of water will be sufficient to supply one person for a period of three months. However, if there are multiple persons in your family or group, this does not necessarily mean you multiply the number. Certain group tasks like washing the dishes will serve to consolidate the numbers a little. For a 3 months supply, a family of four will need at least 270 gallons of water. So the question is, how are you going to get that much amount of water? A residential water heater of standard size can only accommodate 40 or 50 gallons of water, tops, which is not close to enough.  The Sure Water System can store up to a maximum of 260 gallons of water, which is enough to last a family of four for three months.

Water purification

Since you may not be in a position to store enough water for an emergency, you would need to know how to purify water when you find other water sources There are many ways you can prepare safe drinking water:

*Boiling water: This is the oldest, but tried and true method of water purification. While boiling water does not take much time (about ten minutes), it does not guarantee better tasting water, which is why people back in the day drank tea… and beer, both of which require boiling to prepare.

*Sand, rock and charcoal: Place a layer of sand at the bottom of a sock or a straining container, then charcoal and top with rocks. Filter water into a container. While this method is not enough to eliminate Giardia from your water, it will give the water a better taste and reduce bacteria, at the very least.

*Iodine: This is not a very popular method of water purifications for a number of reasons. For starters, it takes thirty minutes when warm, and one hour if is hot on the outside. The second reason is that iodine tincture antiseptic is poisonous! However, an Iodine tincture first aid antiseptic with 2 percent USP can help prevent skin infections on small cuts, burns and scrapes. You will require approximately 10 drops for every gallon.

*Chlorination: This is a very effective method that will destroy almost all microorganisms. There are two techniques of chlorination to purify water:

>Chlorine dioxide water drops and tablets. Using chemicals to treat water is a safe and effectual way to guarantee water is safe for drinking. Potable aqua tablets have been shown to be very effective against viruses, Crystosporidium, Lamblia, Giardia and bacteria. The best part is that these are easy to use since all you have to do is drop the tablets in water. Aqua Mira water treatment drops are the liquid form of the potable aqua tablets. One bottle (one ounce) is enough to treat 30 gallons of water.

>Chlorine bleach. You only need 10 drops of this per every gallon of water. However, certain rules may come in handy when you are dealing with chlorine bleach:

i) Avoid using scented bleaches, bleaches with extra cleaners or color safe bleaches because these will contaminate your water.

ii) Look out for the expiry date

iii) Never use pool chlorine as this is a much stronger constitute as opposed to laundry bleach.

*Filtration: This is a great way to remove disease causing parasites. Moreover, you can still filter arsenic, fluoride and other contaminants from the water using a big BerkeyHYPERLINK "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BWIX1EQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BWIX1EQ&linkCode=as2&tag=makmononeba-20&linkId=TF5E5W3GB5RNRCVN" Water Filter.

 


 

The big Berkey Water Filter is ideal for every day usage and is portable for camping trips. Most preppers prefer it because it has a prolonged filter life. This system purifies water which is both treated and untreated from sources such as remote lakes, stagnant water supplies and ponds.

 

The aqua pail water filter is a gravity fed water purification system that is portable with no power, no pressure and no pumps. The Aqua Pail 1000, shown below, filters higher amounts of water, about 1000 gallons. You can also purchase the Aqua Pail 400 which filters about 400 gallons of water at about half the price.


 


 

The Katadyn water filter, shown below is the most durable and most rugged micro filter available. This powerful water purification system has the ability to filter up to 13000 gallons of water. The best part is that it has a fast output speed of about 1 liter per minute.


 


 

The life straw water filter is a lightweight straw meant to sip from the water source directly for quick hydration. It has been shown to eliminate almost 100 percent of water borne bacteria and protozoan parasites. As such, this makes it a perfect choice to include in your bug out bag.


The Aqua Mira Frontier Pro Water Filter is attached directly to water bottles, bladders or cups and removes almost 100 percent of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other contaminants. It can filter up to about 50 gallons of water.

 

NB: there is a difference between a water preserver and water purification drops/tablets. A water preserver should only be used when treating water for storage. This works to kill the pathogenic organisms that cause dysentery, typhoid and other serious diseases, just like chlorine dioxide water purification tablets/drops. The difference is that a water preserver also destroys and prevents the growth of algae, fungi and yeast in the water you store.