Today, more than ever, the need to purify water grows direr every time. This follows the fact that human activities release many contaminants and impurities into the water bodies, which are the primary source of the water we drink. Even the rainwater falling from the sky has dissolved salts gathered from the reaction between water and gaseous components released into the atmosphere by industries.
If drinking water is not purified, we predispose ourselves to many health detriments. The bacteria, protozoa, and other microorganisms in the drinking water can cause typhoid and other related water-borne diseases.
Hard water can be a source of teeth discoloring, which leaves people feeling worthless and having low self-esteem. Besides, the salts can accumulate in the kidney, causing kidney stones and kidney failures. Thankfully, there are various methods you can apply to purify your drinking water and evade these health detriments. This article discusses five major ways.
Boiling water
Boiling water is one of the oldest methods of purifying drinking water. Interestingly, even as time advances and technology introduces newer water purification methods, boiling water as a method of water purification still remains insurmountable. This owes to the fact that boiling is such an effective way of ensuring your water is purified. Most illness-causing pathogens found in water cannot survive at 100?, the temperature at which water boils. Therefore, if you boil water well and let it attain that boiling point, all the pathogens in the water are removed. After boiling the water, it is necessary to let it cool off for at least thirty minutes before transferring it to a container. This should be done gently so that any residues settle at the bottom and do not find their way into the drinking water.
Reverse osmosis
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Reverse Osmosis System is one of the most effective means of purifying water. This water treatment technique uses high water pressure build-up to force water through a semi-permeable membrane. As the water passes through the partially permeable surface, all particles with a size equal to or greater than a hundred micrometers are captured.
These include all dust particles, particulate matter, lead, and other materials of the same size. Reverse osmosis is an economical way of purifying drinking water. It doesn’t need any electricity, but it depends on water pressure.
Filtration
Filtration is yet another method of purifying drinking water. The traditional method of water filtration involved the use of special clothes that are semi-permeable to filter water. Today, there are special filter papers designed to filter drinking water. If you don’t like paper or cloth filters, you can use the ceramic water filters available in the markets today. Another method of water filtration involves the use of a homemade water filter. A good example of a homemade water filtration system is the up-flow bio-sand filtration system that removes a wide array of contaminants from the drinking water.
Distillation
Another efficient way of purifying your drinking water is by using the distillation method. Although many people would think of it as a water purification method for the industrial scope, distillation can still serve to purify your drinking water at home. The methods involve heating water until it attains 100?, the boiling point. At this constant temperature, the water vaporizes, and the vapor is channeled to a system that traps it. The vapor is then subjected to cooling, at which it condenses back to liquid. The distilled water is pure and free from any contaminants, microorganisms, and trace elements. The success of distillation as a method of water purification lies in the water’s boiling point. Because only water boils and vaporizes at 100?, only pure water vapor is collected.
Chemical purification
Another way of purifying your drinking water at home is the chemical purification method. This technique is commonly known as chlorination and involves sodium hypochlorite to target the disease-causing microorganisms in the drinking water. The chlorination method uses chlorine in liquid form or chlorine tablets. This method is cheap and quite effective at clearing germs and parasites from the tap or groundwater. If you opt for the chlorine tablets, use them on heated water as the tablets dissolve best when the temperatures are 21? or above. For those suffering from thyroid complications, liquid chlorine for water purification should only be done after consulting a doctor.
Conclusion
Because the water we drink is likely contaminated, it is critical to purify it to evade taxing health consequences. Many methods can be used to purify drinking water at home. This article discussed the five ways for purifying water at home, including boiling, distillation, filtration, reverse osmosis, and chlorination.
