Water Purification Treatments

Method

Recommendation

What it does

(1 Litre of water)

Boiling
The only completely
reliable way to treat
water.

Bring water to a rolling boil and

allow to cool.
Increase boiling time by 1 minute
for every 300m above sea level.

Kills all pathogens.

What it
does NOT do

Does not remove

turbidity/cloudiness.

Bacteria; Boiling any length of time kills all

bacteria.
Spores (e.g. Clostridium); Need 100
degree Celsius to kill.
Giardia/Amoeba/Cryptosporidium
(protozoal cysts);All die at 55-60c.
Helminth (worms); Eggs and larvae die at
same temperature.

Iodine
Not recommended for;
pregnant women,
people with thyroid
problems or for more
than 3-6 months
continuous use.
Wait for cloudy water to
settle.

25C (77F) Minimum contact for

30 minutes; increase contact time
for colder water.

Effective against bacteria, viruses,

protozoal cysts, bacterial spores, parasitic
larvae/ova.

Dosage:
Tincture of iodine 2% solution
use 5 drops (twice the
concentration of betadine).
Betadine, (Povidine/Iodine 10%
Solution equivalent to 1% iodine)
use 8 drops.

Contamination/cleanliness plus
temperature of water affects reliability of
treatment.

Not effective against

Cryptosporidium and cyclospora.

Adding Vitamin C AFTER iodine

treatment helps improve taste
and colour of water.
A carbon filter
can be used to remove
excess iodine after
treatment.

Steri Pen
SteriPEN products use
ultraviolet (UV) light
technology to purify
water.

Steri Pen purifies 1 litre in 90

seconds.

Not a lot of research available on actual

effectiveness. New technology.

Use the treated water within 24

hours and do not store in any
way.
Effectiveness of UV falls
dramatically if water is dirty or
coloured.

Miropur (Katadyn)
Active Sodium silver chloride
complex.

LifeStraw
Water Purifier and water
bottle.
The pipe is composed of two
textile filters, followed by a
chamber with beads
impregnated with iodine

Filters

Dosage; 1 tablet treats 1

litre of clear water.
Storage; Store in dry
place under 25 dgree
celcius.
Shelf life; 5 years in
original packaging.

Effect; Eliminates bacteria & viruses in

30 minutes and Giardia in 120 minutes.
Strong oxidizing power of chlorine
eliminates bacteria, viruses and most
protozoa and funghi.
Conserves drinking water for up to 6
months.

Micropur Forte is for use in clear water.

Suspended matter in cloudy water can
weaken the effect of chlorine and silver
ions.

A personal lifestraw can

provide about 1000 litres
(1.5 years for an adult).

Filters Viruses, Bacteria and dirt from

fresh water.

Trace amounts of iodine may pass through

the filter system into the drinking water
At this stage it is uncertain whether this
poses any significant risk to pregnant
women or those with thyroid problems for
long term daily use.

Simply suck through the straw.

It then needs to be
disposed of.

Recommend; Iodine resin

cartridge unit with a
ceramic prefilter and
carbon post.

For maintenance, simply blow back

through the lifestraw to wash out.

Ceramic - an effective, high-quality

earthen medium capable of repeated
cleanings before requiring replacement.
Ceramic lasts a long time but can be
fragile.

Or;
Pre-treat with an iodine
or chlorine product to kill
everything and then filter
to remove debris and the
chemical taste.

Ceramic with carbon core - just like

ceramic but the water passes over
carbon after being filtered. This removes
taste and odor from chlorine and iodine
and some organic herbicides, pesticides
and chemicals.
Glass fiber - very effective, less
expensive than ceramic, but with a much
shorter lifespan. These cartridges are
usually pleated to increase surface area.
Once they are clogged, they are
replaced.
Structured matrix - a dense, porous
block of material that captures crud as
the water is forced through the matrix
and out the other side.
Iodine resin - a layer of chemical
integrated into the filtering medium to
destroy viruses. It does not actually
remove them, but kills them.

Not effective against

Cryptosporidium and cyclospora.

The difference between a water purifier

and a water filter is that a purifier removes
viruses as well as the bacteria and protozoa
that filters cant remove.
Viruses are just too tiny to be removed
with a filter so purifiers use either
chemicals like iodine to kill viruses or an
electro-static charge to capture them.