19 Aug, 2022

Imagine yourself in the wild. You have been travelling for quite some time and now want to rest and set up camp. You see a nearby stream of water and think it is the perfect place to spend the night and rehydrate for the following day. But can you trust the crystal-clear water of that stream enough to drink it?
The answer is no.

People say that water is the elixir of life. Unfortunately, that's not the case everywhere. Travelling and camping are activities that often lead to less populated areas with minimal or no human intervention with nature. This creates a perfect atmosphere for the proliferation of organisms like microbes, worms, and other waterborne health risks.
 

Overview

You can, however, prevent this by having natural water treated using one of the many water treatment solutions available. In today’s post, we’ll learn

• The various methods to purify water
• What will happen after the consumption of impure water?
• An innovative water purification method

Let’s dive into the details.
 

Ways to Effectively Purify Water

There are several methods to treat and purify water, but not all of the treatment methods are equally effective. Following are the water purification approaches that have been found to be the most effective and commonly used.
 

Boiling

It is the oldest natural water treatment and purification solution, making the water fit for drinking. Boiling the water is one of the most effective techniques for killing microorganisms and dangerous disease-causing microbes.

If you’re camping at places close to sea level, boiling water for a couple of minutes is enough. However, if you’ve gone on a trek and set up camp at a higher altitude, like more than 6500 feet above sea level, boiling water for more than 5 minutes is advisable.

Boiling the water does not alter the taste of water as it happens with other water treatment methods. Depending on the water source, you can use this in combination with other methods to remove the lingering taste of impurities.
 

Chemical Treatment
 

This is another quick alternative for treating impure water. Chemical tablets made of chlorine dioxide and iodine are primarily used to kill off harmful viruses and bacteria present in the water.

This method can be used anywhere and is especially helpful in emergencies. It is important to note that water purified through this method will be safe for drinking at least 30 minutes after the tablets are put.
 

Portable Water Filters

Lightweight water filters are great when you are on the trail and need regular hydration. Water filters have a specifically designed filtration system that can eliminate parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium, which can become the root of severe health issues.

Depending on the size of the travel group, various types of water filters can be used, such as a squeeze water filter, pump water filter or gravity water filter.
 

Distillation
 

This method is advantageous in removing a majority of contaminants from the water and desalinating it in the process. It involves heating the water first to evaporate it and then collecting it in another container, leaving the impurities behind in the first container. Distillation can help get rid of dangerous pathogens like E. coli using a sealed apparatus.
 

UV Treatment
 

Purifiers working on the principle of ultraviolet (UV) light are a great choice if you are on the go. These purifiers can remove or neutralise protozoa, bacteria and viruses. All you need to do is fill your bottle with impure water and stir it with the UV purifier for a couple of minutes.
One significant downside is that these devices run on batteries, so you must keep them charged or carry spare batteries. You may also need to pre-filter your water to remove any sediments.
 

Traditional Methods
 

Apart from the above-mentioned modern techniques (apart from boiling), some traditional ways are still used in some areas of the world to purify water. However, these may not be completely effective. Here are a few of them:

1. Cloth – Water is passed through a cloth to remove dust, insects and debris.
2. Winnowing sieve – Impurities are filtered through a winnowing sieve to eliminate things like dry leaves, coarse mud particles, etc.
3. Clay vessels – Highly turbid water is filtered using clay vessels.
4. Plant parts – Impure water with suspended particles is purified using nuts of specific plants that remove the colloidal impurities.
 

What Will Happen after the Consumption of Impure Water?

If you don’t take proper precautions and simply drink the water from the stream you saw flowing by your trek route, you can land yourself in serious trouble. Some of the frightening health risks of drinking impure water are:
• Ingestion of heavy metals in contaminated water like lead and mercury can lead to brain damage and organ failure.
• Drinking water with parasites, bacteria, and viruses can cause dysentery, intestinal infections, diarrhoea, and many other health issues.
• In communities that lack basic sanitation facilities, diseases caused due to drinking impure water can lead to salmonella outbreaks.

Such incidents can lead to families losing their members, something that taking a few precautions and adopting water treatment and purification techniques can prevent.
 

Is There a Better Option?

The water treatment methods mentioned above may not always be available or be as per your preference while camping or travelling. For example, boiling the water needs a container and something to start a fire. A water purifier may be cumbersome to carry, whereas chemical tablets will change the taste of water. In addition, finding distillation apparatus will be even more challenging to find in remote areas.

Fortunately, there is an innovative solution that trumps all the above methods and also counters their negative points – Aqua Salveo.

Aqua Salveo is a liquid water disinfectant and a non-toxic water treatment solution made up of natural ingredients. It is even more effective than chlorine-based treatment methods, providing safe treated water for homes, commercial complexes, hospitals, schools, and many other places.

In Conclusion

At the rate diseases are proliferating like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes a necessity for people to take all the care they can when it comes to health. Since air and water are the two most common sources of pathogen-based diseases, you must take special care to avoid being disease-stricken due to a minor slip-up in preventive measures.
If you are going outdoors for trekking, camping, or simply traveling places, ensure that you have Aqua Salveo as your protective shield from water-borne ailments.