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Boiling Untreated Water To Make It Safe To Drink

350 Comments | March 4th 09'

How Long Do you Really Need to Boil Water For?

How long do you really need to boil water to kill all the dangerous micro-organisms it contains? This has been a highly debated topic in the survival community for a long time. Some say the water is not safe to drink until it has reached a rolling boil other say 5, 10 or even 20 minutes of boiling. This article will put the issue to rest and give you the exact amount of time it takes to purify your water.

So why exactly is this a big issue you ask? Why not just boil the water for half an hour to be safe? Well, if you only have access to a limited source of water you don't want it evaporating, when it comes to survival you need to manage your resources sparingly. If your only source of fire is a fuel burner any extra time spent boiling will waist your precious fuel!

The Reason You Should Boil Untreated Water

Why bother to boil the water at all you ask? Well if you are out in the wilderness and stumble upon a stream of water you would actually be taking a risk by drinking from it without sterilizing first. Naturally water is a host to many dangerous pathogens; bacteria and parasites found in unclean water can cause you serious illness or even death!

Boiling your water is the best way to ensure it is suitable to drink, filtering devices and chemical purification products are not as effective. Boiling your water will kill all kinds of micro-organisms such as bacteria, parasites and viruses.

The fact of the matter is by the time your water has reached boiling point (212°F / 100°C) all pathogens have already been killed! As a precautionary measure you may wish to boil for a full minute just to be safe. The time it takes for your water to reach a boil and then cool down is more than enough time to kill all harmful organisms that could make you sick.

To be safe you may wish to follow the advice of the US Environmental Protection Agency which recommends boiling for 1 full minute, or 3 minutes if you are 2000 meters above ground level:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

This issue can finally be put to rest! To kill all harmful pathogens and purify a natural untreated source of drinking water it should be boiled for 1 full minute unless you are conserving fuel or at high altitudes.

You may also be interested in: Learning about Water Purification
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