Page 84 - The Lost Ways

0.05% concentration, add one part of chlorine solution to each 100 parts of water (1 pint
of the chlorine solution to every 12.5 gallons of water).

The history of using bleach dates back to the 1800s when a British scientist found out that
cholera had spread because of a contaminated water pipe. Upon his discovery, John Snow
applied chlorine to water, which was as effective as the people hoped it would be. This
discovery led to the first government public regulation to install municipal water filters
like chlorine. This is the process that you will have to apply if your municipality water does
not add chlorine to the water supply:

❖ Add two drops of non-scented chlorine bleach to every two liters of water. Make
sure that it is a non-additive.
❖ Before drinking or using the water, let it stand for 30 minutes.
❖ If you still smell the chlorine in the water, let it stand for another 15 minutes.

! Do not use scented bleaches, color-safe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners as

prescribed by FEMA, as this will contaminate you water.

! Do not use pool chlorine as it is much stronger than laundry or household bleach.

Aside from household or laundry bleach, you can also use chlorine dioxide tablets and
water drops. Potable Aqua tablets have been proven effective against bacteria, Giardia,
Lamblia, Cryptosporidium, and viruses. AquaMira water treatment drops are EPA-

registered, and a single one-ounce bottle of drops can treat 30 gallons of water.

Treating your water with iodine can also ensure clean drinking water. Simply add 12 drops
of 2% tincture of iodine per gallon of water. The only important thing to remember is that
family and friends that are pregnant or nursing cannot drink water treated with this
process.

Distilling is another way to disinfect water. Basically, you heat up the water to the point
when it becomes vapor, cool that vapor, and catch the purified water. It will give you the
clean water you need with the only disadvantage being that it is a time-consuming
process.

If you don’t have that much time and money to spend on all the options above, there are

ways to filter your water without making use of electricity and technology. This is based
on the sand filters that our ancestors used to sanitize the water in the early 1600s and the
first water filters in the 1700s that were made of wool, coal, and charcoal.

83