Water boil "how long to be safe"

filter + steripen + boil at rolling for 1 min?

thats what i usually do sometimes i even skip the filter.

havent been sick before so i guess i'm just lucky and the water here is fairly clean. although i've only collected from fast moving streams or creeks.

this is a very interesting thread though. could adding a little bit of vodka or whiskey to the water help sterilize it for safe consumption? :D

cheers

JC
 
I have not used it yet, but I bought a Sawyer water filter that I can adapt to my camelbak found here: http://www.rangerjoes.com/water-filter-inline-p-3344.html. I did the math, and I might be wrong lol but if I drank 3 qrts of water a day, since the filter is good for 500 gallons, I reckon I can have clean water for around six months. The thing is, I would have to put the nasty water in my 3 qrt camelbak (scoooped up with a foldable cup and filtered with a shirt or handkerchief to take out debris)... considering the fact this filter does NOT/canNOT kill/filter viruses (or take out possible inlaid chemicals for that matter), which are even more deadly than cysts and bacteria, I guess I will have to suck out the water and spit it in a pan to boil. This process should not take very long, and I would have VERY clean water to enjoy and be thankful for to drink, brush my teeth or wipe my... well, you get the picture.

I will have a couple of hand towels to clean the "dirty parts" of my body and will have an additional couple to wash and clean the higher extremities. Also, I will have a Micro fleece towel, found here: http://www.uspatriotstore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=8943 to dry myself off which should last me a life time.

Also, just for giggles, I bought a pair of knee high waterproof, and snake bite proof boots from Chippewa, but check these babies out: http://www.uspatriotstore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=S2V-103

Anything with Vibram soles has me drolling. LOL
 
If you are going to go by a movie star's supposed regimen for avoiding germs (i.e. Errol and Vodka), then PLEASE, watch all the Ahnold and Jet Li movies to learn tactics.

Not.
 
Brian,

I like Arnold's interrogation tactics though.

"Who is your daddy and what does he do?"

I won't say I've used this line before...all that often.
 
There are some things that you just can't kill with ordinary measures. See extremophiles and hyperthermophiles, in particular. That said, what are the chances that you will come across anything like that? I have friends that worked for an outfitter that has done hundreds of trips with thousands of people to every corner of the globe, and they use Potable Aqua exclusively. It is not very effective according to the military tests, but they have never had a single case of anyone with the stomach nasties.

I'll take my chances with a filter + Steripen or Micropur instead of spending six hours with 20 different treatments. ;)
 
When I collect water from streams, fonts and stuff like that up in the mountains I sometimes use Micropur Forte. Usually I just purify it during summer time, when there is much less flow... During winter and spring we are better off adding some sort of electrolites. When we melt snow/ice in winter during long outings we just add electrolites unless we intend to cook with that water.

If I was going to be drinking water somewhere else I would bring a filter and still use Micropur Forte.

Mikel
 
It's worth noting that, depending on your elevation, the water can boil at a significantly lower temperature, which would necessitate a longer boil to get the same level of safety.
 
Seriously, once the water is boiling, it doesn't take much more fuel to keep it going. I often just use twists of grass or twigs to keep things rolling along. Also, a lid helps efficiency a bunch!

Does it have to be ten minutes? Nope- not usually. But it is no real problem to be SURE.
 
I've bought a Life Straw for my wife and I.... they are cheap for what they claim to do. Third world countries are using them... and you can even make a donation to provide clean drinking water for somebody in need.

One life straw purifies a year's supply of drinking water @ 2litres a day!

it is not very effective for giardia, though.





Rick
 
I've heard that some people use "double boiling" to kill all the critters. The method basically is to boil for 10 mins, let it cool to "room temp.", then repeat the process.
I don't understand why this method is allegedly more effective than just plain 'ol boiling is.:confused:
Anybody heard anything about this?
- Thanks
 
Another thing to worry about is the fact that boiling away the water actually concentrates any chemical contaminants... That's why you should always use fresh water in your kettles at home, too. Which is why I throw a little charcoal in .... every little bit helps.

Great thread, guys! This brings alot of info to the foreground.

Rick
 
I find this discussion fascinating first, because there is so much conflicting information out there and secondly, because I used to work in a sterile tissue culture laboratory (on a mushroom farm) so I have some hands-on experience in what's involved in creating sterile conditions to grow mushroom mycelium rather than another undesirable organism. I don't think anyone will ever find a hard and fast rule about how long to boil for reasons already mentioned. But one thing to remember is that, unlike a food substrate such as a bag of rye grain which is easily contaminated by undesirable organisms, you are not defenseless. In other words, you will usually be ok drinking something other than completely and totally pure H20. Most infections by opportunistic organisms require a certain loading threshold - and your immune system is always fighting to make sure that threshold isn't reached. But if you drink water loaded with giardia and overload your immune system's defenses - well, you'll be having that unique experience of having stuff come out of both ends simultaneously. :barf:

Usually, bringing water to a boil is sufficient - if it makes you feel better, let it boil for a few minutes. However, what isn't necessary is multiple purifications - treating with chemicals and/or mechanical filtering and then also boiling. If you didn't have an immune system or if it were severely compromised, then yes, you should only drink totally pure, distilled water - and you should also live in a bubble.

This is basically the reason why people in developing countries drink some pretty bad water and they're ok - but if you visit them and drink their water, you're going to get mighty sick. Their immune system is tough and prepared for the loads applied to it - and yours isn't. So besides boiling water, keep your immune system in shape. Eat vegetables, exercise, get regular sleep - and don't stress about nasties in that sparkling mountain stream. Just bring it to a boil and you'll be fine.

EDIT: Just thought of something - this is a good reason to carry electrolytes in your PSK or FAK. If you do get severe diarrhea, you'll be better able to survive it if you can easily replenish your electrolytes.
 
You don't need to hold it at a fast rolling boil, once it starts to boil the water won't get any hotter. I good simmer for an extended period is much better than a rolling boil for a short period. I have this idea that a strong dose of chlorine bleach followed by a good boil would be incredibly effective at killing microscoic critters. Boiling will evaporate the chlorine so you don't have to drink it.
I got myself an MSR Miniworks filter about 10 years ago but I find I use it less and less. It is kind of slow if you try to supply more than one or two people with it.
 
One of the biggest factors is also this: how you handle the water and containers after boiling or using a filter. Many people get sick because they accidentally recontaminate the water. So, what methods do you all use to prevent this?
 
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