Water Filters and Bacteria
Water Filters and Bacteria
There was a time when water purification wasn’t really the first priority of every camper. Many people would simply drink the flowing water from streams or rivers. Then a little parasite called Giardia became an issue that many a camper had to reckon with and people became a little more concerned about the purity of the water. This has led many a camper to be sure to take the necessary steps to ensure that they do not contract this little parasite. Additionally, there are several other parasites and bacteria that can be found in water and they all have similar symptoms such as explosive diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Other side effects include cramping and bloating. Because of this, you will want to take every step possible to avoid contracting these horrible little parasites and disease causing bacteria. This is especially true if you are camping in Third World countries and areas that have humans living upstream, as the parasites are transmitted via water that is polluted with feces. Because you can’t just look at the water and see if it is bacteria free, you will want to ensure that you purify every drop of water you intend to drink.
One way to kill these little pests is to simply boil your water. The typical time to boil is somewhere between three to five minutes. The longer the better to ensure that you are going to drink safe water, but many campers may not be able to do this due to lack of fuel. This method also demands a lot of time and patience, as you are not going to want to drink hot water and you will want to cool it first. Another typical method is to use water purification tablets. These tablets contain a type of iodine, tetraglycine hydroperiodine, that purifies the water by killing bacteria and viruses, but research has shown that this method does not effectively kill Giardia, nor does it kill another nasty parasite called Cryptosporidium.
Because the above methods may be inconsistent or impossible, it’s best to be prepared ahead of time with a water filter. A quality water filter will weigh less than a pint of water. You may have to drink two or three quarts of water to stay hydrated on a long hike or in the summer heat. If you need to carry water with you, you will want to start out with about three quarts of water, unless you are going to be near a stream or lake during your entire trip. A good quality water filter will feature a micro porous filter that has a pore size less than one micron. This filter will screen out all bacteria and organisms, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium. These water purifiers do not filter out viruses. This is because viruses are not typically a concern in the wilderness, but it is something you should be concerned about if people are living upstream or you are hiking outside the U.S.A or Canada. Some sort of chemical is necessary to kill viruses. Eventually, a good water filters will clog. This simply means that they are doing their job. If you are concerned about how clean your water is getting, you may choose to pass the water through it multiple times. You will be able to clean the filter a few times while you are in the field, but afterwards you will need to replace the filter cartridge. On a very long trip, you may want to carry spare filter cartridges with you. Some filters will also come with a pre-filter that you will also want to use and you will also want to bring a spare pre-filter cartridge with you.
With a water filter and even some purification tablets, you should be able to efficiently and quickly purify your water and protect yourself from all of the nasty bacteria, parasites and viruses that may be floating around in the water you want to drink.
If you found this page useful, consider linking to it.
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
It will look like this: Water Filters and Bacteria
No comments yet