Here in Mumbai, especially during rainfalls, the municipal water coming out of the taps becomes quite turbid or muddy. For making it clear, most people make use of alum. They put the water first into a container, move a piece of alum along the water surface in circles, a few times and then let the water remain standing in the container for a few hours to make the bad stuff settle at the bottom. Then the clean water can be poured into another container.
Due to the high turbidity of water, at times while using alum, I had to use alum for a longer time to make the bad stuff settle down. The water became crystal clear in a few hours, but it was difficult to drink - It had a sour taste. So, I searched for other methods for treating turbid water. There were a list of substitutes to alum for treatment of turbid water, on wikipedia but none easily available.
Then I came to know the simplest method for this. It's the one which everyone can use, without anything technical involved. It's called boiling.
After boiling the turbid water, leave it for two to three hours. You'd leave it naturally for cooling down. In this time, the bad stuff settles down. Once this happens, slowly pour the clear water into another container. You may also want to use a cloth for a filter. I found that a silk cloth works best. A Cotton cloth works but has two disadvantages - one, it gives a taste to the water and second, it is not a tight weave so it is unable to filter some stuff out. Silk is a very tight weave and can filter quite well. Get some natural silk, not the artificial / colored one. Natural silk is golden in color.
Boiling also kills all bacteria / virii that may be in the water and makes the water 100% safe to drink. There are other cheaper options to boiling but they aren't as effective and may or may not be able to kill all the bacteria. Sites like WHO (World Health Organization) and others tell you to boil the water for 5 - 10 minutes but this is not at all required. Once a rolling boil has been reached, you can turn off the gas / fuel. No need to waste the fuel anymore. If the water has reached a rolling boil, it means that all the bacteria / virii have been killed, much before reaching the boiling point! And the water is safe to drink.
Drinking boiled water (after it is cooled) can be different in taste but if you put it in a bottle and shake it for some time, the water regains its taste. You can also pour it back-and-forth between containers. I am myself drinking boiled water since a few months and now if I try to drink water out of the tap, I don't like it. I have become used to boiled water.
Due to the high turbidity of water, at times while using alum, I had to use alum for a longer time to make the bad stuff settle down. The water became crystal clear in a few hours, but it was difficult to drink - It had a sour taste. So, I searched for other methods for treating turbid water. There were a list of substitutes to alum for treatment of turbid water, on wikipedia but none easily available.
Then I came to know the simplest method for this. It's the one which everyone can use, without anything technical involved. It's called boiling.
After boiling the turbid water, leave it for two to three hours. You'd leave it naturally for cooling down. In this time, the bad stuff settles down. Once this happens, slowly pour the clear water into another container. You may also want to use a cloth for a filter. I found that a silk cloth works best. A Cotton cloth works but has two disadvantages - one, it gives a taste to the water and second, it is not a tight weave so it is unable to filter some stuff out. Silk is a very tight weave and can filter quite well. Get some natural silk, not the artificial / colored one. Natural silk is golden in color.
Boiling also kills all bacteria / virii that may be in the water and makes the water 100% safe to drink. There are other cheaper options to boiling but they aren't as effective and may or may not be able to kill all the bacteria. Sites like WHO (World Health Organization) and others tell you to boil the water for 5 - 10 minutes but this is not at all required. Once a rolling boil has been reached, you can turn off the gas / fuel. No need to waste the fuel anymore. If the water has reached a rolling boil, it means that all the bacteria / virii have been killed, much before reaching the boiling point! And the water is safe to drink.
Drinking boiled water (after it is cooled) can be different in taste but if you put it in a bottle and shake it for some time, the water regains its taste. You can also pour it back-and-forth between containers. I am myself drinking boiled water since a few months and now if I try to drink water out of the tap, I don't like it. I have become used to boiled water.
Sad to hear the busiest city in India does not have the basic facilities. I'm very concerned about water and it's purity. It's very hard to digest what you have written. Hope things will improve soon there in Mumbai!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is difficult to digest but it's true. The case may be different in the town-side but here in the suburbs, this is very true.
ReplyDeleteEvery individual should be concerned about purity of water since everyone's health depends a lot on it. There are other factors affecting health but pure water is important.
I have found some very cheap ways to filter and purify water which even the poorest man in India can afford. I'll try to post about it soon when possible. If people start using such methods, at least some diseases can be bypassed to a great extent.