7 Dec, 2022

Needless to say, disasters, such as a flood, hurricanes, or other emergency situations contaminate drinking water. And contaminated water causes different types of health disorders, such as diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis A, and dysentery to name a few, and leave people in a miserable state. Apart from causing contamination, disasters or emergency situations also disconnect water for an uncertain period.

How to verify if the water is safe to drink after a disaster?

Once a disaster or an emergency situation is over, you need to verify whether the water supplies in your home are providing safe water or not. To ensure the safety of the water, you should take care of the following aspects:

Stay updated with the latest public announcements by watching or listening to local news from the respective local authorities. Thus, you would get to know whether the available tap water is drinkable or not. You can also be sure if you can make use of your tap water in bathing, cooking, and other day-to-day activities by paying heed to the local news.

In case your local authorities declare the water unsafe to drink, you should rely only on bottled water. On the other hand, boiling and other disinfection methods can also be used in this regard. It applies to drinking and other daily activities in your life.

Until the local authorities test and verify the safety of the water, you should only leverage the power of disinfection methods or use bottled water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, washing, and all other activities concerning water.

In case the supply of water is scarce, you can choose to use hand sanitizer (alcohol-based) when it comes to washing your hands.

Some Easy Ways to Disinfect Water during Disaster Recovery

Contaminated water acts as a source of diverse health concerns. Hence, you should be well aware of some of the easy ways through which you can disinfect your water after a disaster or an emergency situation:

Boiling:

Boiling is one of the best ways to destroy hazardous microorganisms that can cause various health concerns. Hence, you can take the help of the following steps to ensure the safety of your water post-disaster:

Firstly, you need to start straining the available water via a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter into a clean container to keep any visible object or deposit at bay.

Next, it is time to boil the water effectively for a minimum of one minute.

Let the water cool for some time and you can use it afterwards. Would you like to enhance the taste of the boiled water? If yes, then a salt may be used in this regard. For each quart of boiled water, a pinch of salt can be added. 

If you don’t want to use salt, you may start pouring water continuously from one container to another a couple of times. Always use clean containers to keep the safety of water intact.

Leverage the power of Chemicals:

In case the convenience of boiling water is not available, you can strain the available water just like the above strategy and leverage the power of iodine or bleach (based on the availability) afterward.

Liquid Chlorine Bleach:

You can collect liquid chlorine bleach either from a grocery store or a home laundry.

Make use of common household bleach (unscented). Do not forget to go through the product label carefully to check the percentage of chlorine. However, you need to know the quantity of bleach to be added to the water to make it safe. 

If the available chlorine is 1 percent, then you have to add 10 drops per quart of clear water and 20 drops per quart of cloudy water. On the other hand, for 4 to 6 percent of available chlorine, 2 drops should be added per quart of clear water and 4 drops per quart of cloudy water. Lastly, if the available chlorine is 7 to 10 percent, then 1 drop needs to be added per quart of clear water and 2 drops per quart of cloudy water.

Now, you know how much bleach to add to the water to make it safe. Hence, add it accordingly and keep shaking or stirring the container properly.

Allow the water to sit for half an hour. When you start smelling a bit of odor of chlorine, consider the water safe to use. In case there is no odor, you ought to repeat the same dosage as earlier and then, let the water sit for the next 15 minutes prior to using it.

Tincture of iodine:

You can get it either from a first aid kit or a medicine box. 

Take iodine and add 5 drops of it per quart of clear water and add 10 drops per quart of cloudy water.

Let the water rest for half an hour. As a result, it should become safe to use.

Private Water Supplies:

Do you have private water supplies, such as spring, cistern, or any other source in your place? Then, you can request the respective health department to come to your place and check the sanitary quality and let you know how to maintain its safety. 

In case a water system is well-constructed and well-maintained, then the water may be safe to use under normal conditions.

On the other hand, disaster conditions or emergency situations (especially floods) may make such water sources unsafe to use. That is why you need to check the test results of private water supplies thoroughly and carefully. Otherwise, you ought to consider the water sources unsafe post-disaster or after any emergency situations. That is why disinfecting water received from all sources is a must during disasters or emergencies.

The Best & Easiest Way to disinfect Drinking Water

You already know about the importance of disinfecting water during disaster recovery and emergency situations. Also, you are now well familiar with some of the best and most effective ways of disinfecting water in this regard. 

Nonetheless, it is better if you have access to the best yet easiest way to disinfect your drinking water after disasters or emergency situations. And the solution in this regard is Aqua Salveo. Did you know Aqua Salveo can disinfect water within merely 30 to 60 minutes? 

You just need to add 3 drops of this solution per liter of water. Aqua Salveo contains zero chlorine and does not add any additional taste or odor to the water. Moreover, incredible health benefits of copper, silver, and zinc are also there in the water treated with Aqua Salveo.