This instructable shows how to purify water. This shows the basic three ways in which you would clean water to a point where it is acceptable to drink. An average adult needs 1 gallon ( 4.5 L ) of water a day for drinking and cooking. Without water you can not survive. You can go weeks without food, but without water you won't last more than three days. Water is one of the first rules of survival. I make this instructable with the hope that it will help save someone's life someday. Don't risk drinking any water you find. Much of it carries harmful bacteria that can cause more damage than good. If you don't believe me then check this out. http://survivalcache.com/water-purification-survival-water-filtration-2/

Step 1: Water Filters

The most basic way to clean water is with a filter. There are many different ones. There are pumps, bottles, straws, etc. One brand that makes them for many humanitarian organizations and the military can be found here-http://store.seychelle.com/ they are fairly cheap. They are a good idea to keep in any survival kit.

Step 2: Chemicals and Tablets

A portable method of purifying water is with the use of Tincture of Iodine, chlorine bleach, or water purification tablets. You can also boil it of course. When getting water drinking safe the first thing you want to do is strain it as much as possible. Use a tightly woven cloth for this to get the biggest stuff out. A bandana works and is a great thing to carry because of the millions of uses for it. Once you strain it if you are just going to boil it make sure it is boiling all the way for at least 10 minutes. When using chemicals to purify let it sit for at least half an hour. After this much time it should taste a bit like bleach. If it doesn't have this taste repeat the dosage and let sit for another 15 minutes. Here is the dosage for chlorine bleach ( Clorox ) if the water is clear:

for 1 liter or 1 quart add 1 drop of chlorine bleach 3 drops if cloudy
for 4.5 liters or 1 gallon add 4 drops of chlorine bleach 12 drops if cloudy

Here is the dosage for tincture of iodine:

for 1 liter or 1 quart add 3 drops, 10 if cloudy
for 4.5 liters or 1 gallon add 12 drops, 40 if cloudy

Here is the dosage for water purification tablets, a great thing to carry in any survival pack or on camping/hiking trips.

1 liter or 1 quart add 2 tablets, 4 if cloudy
for 4.5 liters or 1 gallon add 8 tablets, 16 if cloudy

I personally would boil it and add a chemical or tablet if it was possible. Better safe than sorry.

Step 3: A Solar Water Evaporator

You can make this many ways. All you need is a can or some sort of water collector, a piece of water resilient-ish material, the ground, and some dirty water. To start making one you need a big container or hole, something that can hold water. Now this is assuming you already have some water, but you just want to purify it.

First you put your water collection container in the center of your bigger container or hole. Dump the water around the container not in it. After this place your material over it so the center sags over your collector. You will want to put a pebble or some sand in the center to keep it weighed down.

This is what happens. The water around your collector evaporates taking with it only pure water, leaving the contaminants behind. It then condenses on the material above it ( like a pot lid ) and runs down to the sagging center where you placed some weight on top. Once there it drips nice and clean into your collector. And you have fresh water.

This is one of the most time consuming ways of purifying water, but it works.