By Dr. David Powers, RuggedDadLives.com
It’s a common cliché that something is often better than nothing. That’s not always true when you’re purifying water to drink on the trail or in an emergency situation.
There are a lot of common mistakes people make when purifying their water to drink. One of them is not keeping a close eye on the clean parts.
Let me explain.
I own several different types of water filters and purification devices. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a connoisseur. I review them, use them for personal use, and own different types for various trips from day-hiking and expeditions to full blown zombie apocalypses.
Each device or method of water purification is different and each one has certain parts that people often miss when cleaning their water. I’ll give you a couple of examples.
One of my favorite filters is a rechargeable battery-powered filter from Greeshow. It’s a robust 5-stage system that does an amazing job. Even so, one mistake, and you can undo everything the filter has accomplished for you.
On the device there are two hoses, the intake and the outlet. The outlet hose is what sends clean water into your container. If you’re not careful and the outlet hose dips into the water source, it’s contaminated…and so is your water!
Another good example of this common mistake deals with chemical purifiers or water purification tablets.
Often, when using these, people will fill a container from the water source by dipping it, drop the tablets in, and think they’re safe from dirty water. They never clean the drink line where their mouth touches the container. The first drops of water in their mouth comes from that contaminated drink line.
Check out your water purification methods and look for the areas where you need to watch the clean end.
