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Post by pathwinder14 on Jun 21, 2012 4:37:47 GMT -7
I see a lot of confusion people have between filtering first or boiling first. The answer, is both....
1. If you have a commercial filter (hand pump style) you want to boil first, then filter. Why?
Boiling kills the microorganisms leaving your filter to filter out just the chemical pollutants. If you filter first you are clogging up your filter with microorganisms. In a survival scenario you want to preserve your man-made filter for as long as possible.
2. If you are making a survival filter (with pebbles, sand, and charcoal) you want to filter first, then boil. Why?
The very materials you are filtering through may have microorganisms on them. If you boil first then filter you will just pick up more microorganisms from the filter defeating the purpose. Filter the water first to screen out chemical hazzards, then boil it. Since it is a survival filter it does not have the man-made screens/mesh with really small membranes (on the order of microns). It is also easily replaceable.
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Post by lonewufcry on Jun 21, 2012 7:47:33 GMT -7
never thought of it that way. I have always filtered first then boil
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Post by Redneckidokie on Jun 21, 2012 7:57:57 GMT -7
What about well water, does anyone boil or filter it before use?
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Post by Pennsylvania Mike on Jun 21, 2012 8:27:55 GMT -7
I filter my water here at the campground in Virginia, they have well water in the park but at times the water has gotten contaminated due to sewer run off, especially during rainy season, so I filter it all the time. I also distilled some for my coffee pot to remove the minerals in the water and prevent the coffee pot from getting clogged up over time. Sometimes the water tastes salty even when filtered, so that is when I use distilled water for drinking and cooking until the water gets back to normal. Back at home in PA I have well good well water, good for drinking but I still distill the water that I use in the coffee pot, also good for batteries.
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Post by geron on Jun 21, 2012 8:33:39 GMT -7
What about well water, does anyone boil or filter it before use? We have a filter system on our well. Stains the commodes if not filtered. Not necessary for drinking though. Was tested and had no bacteria in it at all. |
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Post by pathwinder14 on Jun 21, 2012 8:36:10 GMT -7
Get your well water tested regularly. I would still filter/boil. A well is fed by an aquifer (which is a large natural filter) or by natural spring which is usually running and clean. That being said, if it is an open well, I would filter/boil as you never know what is falling into it (animal droppings, chemicals, airborne pathogens, etc.). If it is a closed well I would still filter/boil because modern waste water and run off have chemical compunds (possibly even radiation) that the aquifer or spring may not clean out. water.epa.gov/ may have more info. |
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Post by offtrail on Jun 21, 2012 8:40:40 GMT -7
You should filter your water first with a bandanna or coffee filter then boil, after that I see no reason to filter it. I don't think you can filter out chemicals and boiling will kill the microorganisms but the little bodies are still in the water so I don't think it will help prolong the life of your filter. Someone let me know if I am wrong  |
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Post by pathwinder14 on Jun 21, 2012 9:01:10 GMT -7
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Post by offtrail on Jun 21, 2012 9:23:25 GMT -7
So far I like what your saying |
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Post by missj on Jun 23, 2012 21:08:04 GMT -7
wow! great topic I would have never thought of that.
I just bought a berkey filter today. We're on well water (deep well, closed) we never filter or do anything. Drink it straight out of the tap and it's the best dang water around!!
Anways the Berkey is just as a back up since we do have a creek that runs very close by (like I can hear the creek from my front porch)
Before this thread I would have assumed I could just grab a bucket of creek water, run it through the berkey and then drink it.
you are saying, no. I must boil it first? Now, is this just a means of preserving the life of my filter? If we were in a pinch (say no means of boiling) we could safely run creek water through the berkey, right? It just might wear out the filter more quickly?
Hope I am understanding this correctly...
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Post by pathwinder14 on Jun 25, 2012 4:39:56 GMT -7
... Now, is this just a means of preserving the life of my filter? If we were in a pinch (say no means of boiling) we could safely run creek water through the berkey, right? It just might wear out the filter more quickly? Exactly. In a survival situation you want to preserve the life of your filter. However, there is more. When people make survival filters (with pebbles, sand, and charcoal) they think they can boil then filter the water through their filter, but the materials they are using to make the filter from (sand and pebbles) naturally have microorganisms on them. In this case you want to filter first, then boil. |
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Post by Dennis on Jun 25, 2012 5:51:19 GMT -7
Thanks pathwinder14 you got a good point. I've always filtered mine with a bandana and boiled like offtrail when hiking.
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Post by missasip on Jun 25, 2012 6:03:22 GMT -7
Guess I'm the desenter on this one. Have owned 3 wells over past 35 years, including up to 3 months ago. All basically in the same aquafir. Had them tested numerous times. Nearly perfect.
Around here all community water comes from wells. What few times there have been boil notices, it's not the water that is the problem. It's the water handling equipment that is the problem. So yes if you are on a community water system, by all means check it and maybe filter it.
I home well if given a gallon of bleach down the jet pipe once a year or so will insure that the water handling equipment stays in good shape.
Jimmy
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Post by pathwinder14 on Jun 25, 2012 6:40:09 GMT -7
Guess I'm the desenter on this one. Have owned 3 wells over past 35 years, including up to 3 months ago. All basically in the same aquafir. Had them tested numerous times. Nearly perfect... Agreed. That's why I stressed getting wells tested regularly. |
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Post by laremnant on Sept 27, 2012 2:42:44 GMT -7
I don't know. Personally, if I had the time, I would filter, before I filtered, then boil. I would use a bandana first then filter with my Katadyn Pocket, then boil. I'm not really too sure if the Pocket filters out chemicals.... Boiling the water first doesn't keep your filter cleaner during its lifespan IMHO. The filter will still catch all the microorganisms, dead or alive so regular cleaning will still be needed. Boiling the water after filtering will kill viruses which can pass through the filter. |
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