About half of people will not ingest water when working or finding recreation outdoors because they fear that it is not as clean as the water they receive from a countertop water filter. It further appears that the other half of people rarely use any source of pristine water purification when they are outdoors because they feel that the water outdoors is even more pure then anything that they cold get at home. In the first example, ignorance towards safe drinking water outdoors dramatically increases the risk of dehydration. In the second example, failure to treat water that may contain microorganisms increases the risk of gastrointestinal illness and other sicknesses.
A major concern with water outdoors that is not treated, either with a handheld or countertop water filter, is that organisms living within the water will be brought into the body and will then make you ill. In an effort to be as safe as possible, water should be disinfected, or "the removal or destruction of harmful microorganisms." In order to achieve this, water must be appropriately treated using one of a couple different available methods which effectively "disinfect" the water. Disinfection should not be confused with "purification" as they are very different. Pristine water purification, especially in an outdoor situation, may not remove or kill enough of the pathogens in the water to ensure it is safe to drink. To be sure that the water you will be ingesting is free from illness causing pathogens, it must be treated by boiling it, treating it with chemicals, or filtering.
Boiling water is quite different than using a countertop water filter because boiling water kills any and all living microorganisms when done properly. Although it is commonly believed, water does not have to be boiled for ten minutes (plus an additional minute for every thousand feet above sea level) to be safe for drinking. If water is allowed to come to a rolling boil, this kills most water-borne pathogens, such as Giardia and Cruptosporidium. And since the boiling point of water decreases with increases in elevation, the temperature at which water boils at any given elevation is enough to kill any organisms which might otherwise make you sick without boiling for additional time. But, with this method, one is completely dependent upon having necessary fuel, a metal container to boil the water and enough time to bring the water to a full boil.
Utilizing chemicals is also very different from using a countertop water filter because time and water temperature become very significant. The effectiveness of halogens, such as iodine and chlorine, is directly linked to how much is used, contact time for the chemicals within the water and the temperature of the water - the more cold the water, the longer the contact time required. Most chemicals come in both a liquid and tablet form. The tablet forms are widely popular, finding use within the US Military, disaster relief agencies, and those who work outdoors.
A final option for assuring safe water outdoors is filtration. Confusion abounds in relation to how useful filters truly are in effectively disinfecting water. Some filters only remove the "big stuff", such as bacteria, while others also remove the "small stuff", such the most common viruses. Filters come in many forms: pumps, bottles with a filter matrix, and gravity-fed. "Filters" only remove larger organisms while "purifiers" remove both the larger organisms and the finer organisms, potentially making them more useful in outdoor situations.
When outdoors, it may not be practical to carry a countertop water filter to obtain pristine water purification, so you might have to resort to some of the other methods in this article to assure safe drinking water.
A major concern with water outdoors that is not treated, either with a handheld or countertop water filter, is that organisms living within the water will be brought into the body and will then make you ill. In an effort to be as safe as possible, water should be disinfected, or "the removal or destruction of harmful microorganisms." In order to achieve this, water must be appropriately treated using one of a couple different available methods which effectively "disinfect" the water. Disinfection should not be confused with "purification" as they are very different. Pristine water purification, especially in an outdoor situation, may not remove or kill enough of the pathogens in the water to ensure it is safe to drink. To be sure that the water you will be ingesting is free from illness causing pathogens, it must be treated by boiling it, treating it with chemicals, or filtering.
Boiling water is quite different than using a countertop water filter because boiling water kills any and all living microorganisms when done properly. Although it is commonly believed, water does not have to be boiled for ten minutes (plus an additional minute for every thousand feet above sea level) to be safe for drinking. If water is allowed to come to a rolling boil, this kills most water-borne pathogens, such as Giardia and Cruptosporidium. And since the boiling point of water decreases with increases in elevation, the temperature at which water boils at any given elevation is enough to kill any organisms which might otherwise make you sick without boiling for additional time. But, with this method, one is completely dependent upon having necessary fuel, a metal container to boil the water and enough time to bring the water to a full boil.
Utilizing chemicals is also very different from using a countertop water filter because time and water temperature become very significant. The effectiveness of halogens, such as iodine and chlorine, is directly linked to how much is used, contact time for the chemicals within the water and the temperature of the water - the more cold the water, the longer the contact time required. Most chemicals come in both a liquid and tablet form. The tablet forms are widely popular, finding use within the US Military, disaster relief agencies, and those who work outdoors.
A final option for assuring safe water outdoors is filtration. Confusion abounds in relation to how useful filters truly are in effectively disinfecting water. Some filters only remove the "big stuff", such as bacteria, while others also remove the "small stuff", such the most common viruses. Filters come in many forms: pumps, bottles with a filter matrix, and gravity-fed. "Filters" only remove larger organisms while "purifiers" remove both the larger organisms and the finer organisms, potentially making them more useful in outdoor situations.
When outdoors, it may not be practical to carry a countertop water filter to obtain pristine water purification, so you might have to resort to some of the other methods in this article to assure safe drinking water.
About the Author:
Want to learn more about an countertop water filter, then go to Esme Spence's page to learn more about this and pristine water purification.