Water filtration/disinfection/purification options

[David]

There are a lot of items on the market that allow you to access clean potable water. Whether at home or on the go. So this thread is dedicated to different options that are available out there for consideration.

Feel free to post your favorites, experiences and views on the topic.

I like Saywer products. One of my favorites is the Sawyer Mini Water Filter:



Small, light and filters a LOT of water! Way more than you'd need in a typical 72-hour survival situation, even with multiple people involved. Available on line or even in the camping section of Walmart for about $20. Inexpensive piece of gear that could definitely save your life.

[David]

At home we have several methods/devices for disinfection/purification. One of them is the Berkey filter. We have the Travel Berkey size but they make them larger and smaller.

[ratf51]

Ten years ago I bought a Berkey. I had just started working on being more prepared for emergencies and got to the stage of improving our water situation. I researched and decided on the Berkey as our best option for emergency filtration. It stayed in its box with spare filters until about 4 years ago at which point I decided to actually use it on a daily basis. I did some rough figuring on our drinking water consumption and realized that a set of the filters would last us close to ten years before needing to be replaced. We have the Royal which is a 3 gallon version. When I bought it we received 2 of the individual filtered bottles for free. The Berkey does make a difference in the taste of our water.

I keep a Sawyer Mini in my GHB.

[Gnepig]

Plus 3 on the Berkey, ours is the Big- 2 gallon version. Improves our tap waters taste a lot and tastes way better than the fridge filter.

I Keep the Lifestraw in my pack for get home but pack the sawer mini with the carbon attachment (for taste) when hiking or camping.

I have found that when you use the Sawer filters you have to back flush before you go on safari or it won't work. New in package works just fine but after use and drying out, something happens to the membranes to cause them to need to be re-soaked. Learned the hard way in the woods on that one the last time I tried to use one, lucky Jimmy had the back-flush syringe with his kit. Now I will back-flush before and after each use. They never flow as good as the first time you use one tho.

[David]

[SIGShooter]

I'm mostly concerned about clean water after an earthquake so this is what I have:
1. 120 gallons stored in 5 gallon plastic containers (easy to relocate if need be)
2. 1 pound of 99% pure calcium hypochloride to make chlorine (yes, I understand the dangers in having in around the house)
3. Potable Aqua Pure Water Purifier to make a solution from salt that will kill viruses/Crypto/Giardia/etc
4. Katadyn Pocket Water filter and Katadyn Hiker Pro, will eliminate everything but viruses (so add chemicals after filtering)
5. 12 or so LifeStraws and Sawyer mini-filters for on-the-go situations
6. Polar Pure, tincture of iodine, Katadyn Chloride Dioxide tablets, etc for use with the Katadyn and other filters
7. Several Steri-pens with backup batteries & chargers. I used these in Africa and South America and nobody in my family of 5 got sick. Did get some funny looks from people when I was filling the water bottles with tap water in restrooms before running the Steri-pens

[David]

I'm mostly concerned about clean water after an earthquake so this is what I have:
1. 120 gallons stored in 5 gallon plastic containers (easy to relocate if need be)
2. 1 pound of 99% pure calcium hypochloride to make chlorine (yes, I understand the dangers in having in around the house)
3. Potable Aqua Pure Water Purifier to make a solution from salt that will kill viruses/Crypto/Giardia/etc
4. Katadyn Pocket Water filter and Katadyn Hiker Pro, will eliminate everything but viruses (so add chemicals after filtering)
5. 12 or so LifeStraws and Sawyer mini-filters for on-the-go situations
6. Polar Pure, tincture of iodine, Katadyn Chloride Dioxide tablets, etc for use with the Katadyn and other filters
7. Several Steri-pens with backup batteries & chargers. I used these in Africa and South America and nobody in my family of 5 got sick. Did get some funny looks from people when I was filling the water bottles with tap water in restrooms before running the Steri-pens

Sounds like you've got all your bases covered in the water department. I've always wondered about the effectiveness of the Steri-pens. I've seen them and figured they worked but never had or used one before. What kind of battery does it use?

[SIGShooter]

The ones I have take 4 AA batteries and I use Enloops in mine. Good for 100+ flashes (quart size bottle) per charge but I always flash the water twice. If one is good 2 is better

Lithium primaries are supposed to be good for 150+ flashes but of course are more expensive than rechargeable Enloops. Alkaline batteries are not recommended due to the current demands.

Some models have built-in (and non-replaceable) lithium batteries but while they are smaller take time to recharge and the unit has to be tossed once the battery dies.

I used it for 2 weeks in Uganda and 2 weeks in the Amazon (Peru not the shopping site ) and none of us got sick. I highly recommend it since it deactivates all known water borne pathogens as long as the simple instructions are followed.

Always carry backup chemicals in case the Steri-pen is damaged etc. I highly recommend the Potable Aqua Pure Water Purifier since it creates a chlorine peroxide solution (which kills viruses, bacteria, and protoza) from regular table salt. Being paranoid I also carried Katadyn Chloride Dioxide tablets as backup #2.

The Steri-pen and Potable Aqua Pure only cost me $150 total for both and is cheap insurance while traveling overseas or in case of local emergencies.

[David]

I used it for 2 weeks in Uganda and 2 weeks in the Amazon (Peru not the shopping site ) and none of us got sick. I highly recommend it since it deactivates all known water borne pathogens as long as the simple instructions are followed...The Steri-pen and Potable Aqua Pure only cost me $150 total for both and is cheap insurance while traveling overseas or in case of local emergencies.

You're not kidding that it's worth the price. It's been over 20 years now that my wife and I went on a cruise to Cozumel with another couple. We ate in town after the ship docked. All of use had cooked food except my wife who had a salad. She should have known better as she had been a travel agent for ten years. She wasn't even thinking about it, that the vegetables were washed in the local water. Well, as you'd expect, it hit her that night back on the ship. I felt so bad for her. She threw up everything and then some. I had to hold her hair out of the way as she was so sick. So yeah, totally worth having clean water to drink regardless of the cost. If you were in an emergency type situation you could be totally compromised and unable to help yourself or another.

[DBSAR]

I have a few Sawyer-Mini filter kits, one in my BOB, another in the RV, and another i use on hiking. (also have a lifestraw, but have not used that one yet.