Making water safe to drink.

1. 1

   Boiling

   
   • A rolling boil for one full minute kills germs
   • Three minutes above 6,500 feet
   • Does not remove chemicals or salt
2. 2

   Unscented bleach

   
   • 8 drops per gallon of clear water with 6% bleach
   • Stir, wait 30 minutes, slight chlorine smell is right
   • Plain bleach only, no scents or additives
3. 3

   Cloth or coffee filter

   
   • Removes sand, leaves, bugs
   • Removes nothing you cannot see
   • Always a first step, never the last
4. 4

   Settling

   
   • Let cloudy water sit until the sediment drops
   • Pour off the clear top slowly
   • Then filter or disinfect
5. 5

   Sand and gravel layers

   
   • Clears the water further than cloth
   • Still does not kill germs
   • Good prep before boiling or bleach
6. 6

   Activated charcoal

   
   • Improves taste and smell
   • Reduces some chemicals, not all
   • Does not make water safe on its own
7. 7

   Pump and squeeze filters

   
   • Good ones remove bacteria and parasites
   • Most do not remove viruses
   • Check the rating on the box, not the marketing
8. 8

   UV light purifiers

   
   • Kills germs in clear water
   • Useless in cloudy water, filter first
   • Needs batteries that work
9. 9

   Sunlight in a clear bottle

   
   • Clear plastic bottle, full sun, six hours
   • Two days if it is cloudy
   • Works on germs, not chemicals
10. 10

    Purification tablets

    
    • Follow the wait time on the package exactly
    • Longer for cold or cloudy water
    • Light and cheap, keep some in every kit
11. 11

    Distillation

    
    • The only home method that removes salt and most chemicals
    • Slow and fuel hungry
    • A pot, a lid and a cup can do it in a pinch
12. 12

    The order that works

    
    • Settle, then filter, then boil or bleach
    • Clearer water means the kill step works
    • Boiling is the one method that always works

Clear it, then kill it. Boiling is the one method that always works.