Water is one of the few substances that we consume daily. Meanwhile, the so-called “purified” water can be one of the greatest threats to our health.
Even “purified” drinking water may contain a certain small amount of lead, arsenic, mercury, radioactive particles, and other toxic substances. All these compounds accumulate in body tissues, which can lead to illness and even death overtime.
The quality of tap water is far from any sanitary and human standards. Chlorination relieves it of infectious agents, but it does not save from such additives as pesticides, nitrates, salts of heavy metals.
Cleaning options
There are a lot of homemade ways to purify water from harmful or undesirable impurities, but each of them fights with one group of substances or organisms.
Water purification at home is possible through several methods. It is essential to understand the physics of each process since it is quite challenging to separate the liquid into drinking and technical.
1. Purification of water by sedimentation
This method allows you not only to separate the heavy precipitate, but it also gives the water time to cleanse itself from the volatile compounds of ammonia and chlorine. To make the process as useful as possible, water is defended in a container with a full top and without a lid for at least 8 hours. Then you can pour it into a clean container, trying not to mix the layers and pour the bottom quarter altogether.
2. Silver and copper cleaning
Our ancestors knew how to purify water and make it safe. It’s the oldest gag that will help you to deal with the problem. The disinfecting effect of pure Argentum is well known. This water should be stored in a silver bowl for approximately 24 hours. If there is no such container, you can put a silver object in a regular box.
Copper kitchen utensils have a similar effect, but it is not recommended to keep water in it for more than 4 hours. Otherwise, instead of disinfected liquid, you will receive a solution of toxic compounds that have passed from copper.
3. Water filters
At one time, there was a boom in various filtration systems, the manufacturers of filters promised trouble-free softening of water at home, and almost 100% of the cleaning result. Gradually, the less effective ones were eliminated, and the most reliable methods continue to be used in everyday life:
Capacitive filter jugs are quite versatile since you can install cartridges with different degrees of water purification in them. The main thing is not to forget to change them regularly.
If you’d like to make your water safe for drinking you can use ge smartwater filter that provides different methods of water purification at the same time, freeing it not only from garbage but also from chlorine, suspended rust, some types of bacteria and viruses.
4. Purification with acid
Add five grams of ascorbic acid to five liters of boiled water and leave for 60 minutes. Instead of ascorbic acid, you can use natural fruit juices of red, dark red, and burgundy colors. If you’ve done everything smoothly, the water acquires a pinkish tint.
5. Boiling
Well, it’s an old technique and useful not only for the destruction of pathogens. The calcium salts are removed from the water during boiling. And believe it or not, they do not disappear at all but settle on the inner surface of the kettle. Other dissolved substances cannot be neutralized with that method.
The water should boil for at least 10-15 minutes since most pathogens do not die immediately. A higher result of the destruction of pathogens by 98-99% requires even more time for about half an hour. So an electric kettle with an automatic shutdown is definitely not suitable for these purposes.
But boiling has a downside. Most urban water treatment plants, in the old-fashioned manner, resort to chlorination, and after boiling, the remaining chlorine turns into dangerous carcinogen chloroform. In addition, a natural decrease in the volume of water increases the percentage of other impurities in it.
6. Distillation
The approach resembled the boiling scenario. You will need a homemade water purifier based on the principle of a distillation apparatus. The design may be the simplest:
- closed container for boiling;
- steam exhaust pipe;
- cooling coil;
- container for collecting distilled water.
In this case, all harmful substances will remain in the evaporator tank, and pure water will collect in the condensing coil. Of course, this water is unpalatable, and it is not worth using it regularly. Moreover, the distilled liquid will dissolve the beneficial salts in the cells and wash out the substances necessary for normal functioning.
7. Freezing
It’s an effective way to get rid of pathogenic bacteria partially and remove dissolved salts from the liquid. In this case, no complicated device for water purification is required, unless a sufficiently spacious freezer.
8. Ozonation
Safe cleaning methods explicitly aimed at disinfecting water are used in modern ozonation systems. Even twenty minutes of such a procedure will destroy the most harmful microbes. This effect lasts for a while, so it is beneficial to wash food products with ozonated water to make them safe for humans.
9. Usage of minerals
The method is very similar to the upholding of tap water in a separate container, but with the addition of minerals. It has a disinfecting effect and even benefits the body. Besides, silicon water has a rejuvenating and immunostimulating effect, strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
10. Folk methods
Many common plants in our areas also have cleansing properties. For example, with the usage of mountain ash branches, it is even possible to clean the water of odor thoroughly. You need to put fresh sprigs in it for a couple of hours. Willow bark, juniper, and bird cherry leaves give the same bactericidal effect after 12 hours.
If you want to get rid of harmful impurities quickly, use activated carbon at the rate of 1 tablet per glass. After a quarter of an hour, the water can be filtered and subjected to a disinfection treatment. Alternatively, use a homemade charcoal filter, paving several layers of gauze with crushed powder. Or wrap the tablets in a clean section of the bandage as an option and leave them in a container of water overnight.
The most effective approach is to use several filtering methods at the same time. This is the only way guaranteeing that you and your family will consume clean and safe water. The selection of methods for each individual home, office, or production facility depends on many factors.
You shouldn’t drink water from the tap, and it will protect your body from various harmful chemical impurities and mechanical elements. Tap water can cause liver disease, hair loss, and other troubles.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
