How to tell if water is pure?

vwrapped around the pyramid of sticks. They will have lost whatever else was in them

the garbage bag is laid under to speed up the heating process

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As a child I was taught to get water rushing over rocks in the creek or get it from a deep pool out into the water source. Also rain water will do. We had a rain barrel, which have become popular again, with a tight fitting lid. Water purifier tablets can be used. Also during the dreaded impending doom of the coming of the year 2000, people recommended adding a tiny amount of bleach to your stored water. Yes, there would be no water on January 1, 2000!!!

There are portable water purifiers you can buy.

I find glass is the best storage container. I use the gallon jars I bought apple juice in. You can really clean them between fillings and you can also see if there is something in the jar.

And yes, silver is supposed to kill bacteria.

see site: http://www.thefreeresource.com/how-to-purify-water...

There is also a water bottle that is supposed to filter as you drink from it.

Boiling will kill bacteria and parasites. It will not purify the water. For example, it could still be loaded with arsenic.However, if you are living far enough from civilization, the chances are pretty good that the water is safe to drink. If you are planning to do this long-term, it might pay to have a sample tested at a laboratory.

No you cannot tell if water is drinkable or pure by tasting it. Water can be boiled to make it safe to drink, but to make pure water you would have to distill it. Most good sporting good stores sell water purification kits that you can use to make water safe to drink. Pure water such as distilled water can be keep pure by storing it in almost any kind of air tight container. Hope this helps. I have no idea if the Silver dollar method works or not, I have never heard of it.

A system now being used in remote parts of African is to take water and filter out the big stuff. This can be done by running it through cloth. That the water is put in clear plastic bottles and left in the sun for a day. The UV rays kill all the little bacteria and viruses.

If it taste nasty it probably is.

On the website I mentioned below you can read all about the Silver Dollar method and how NASA says it is natures way of purifying water.

u can use a garbage bag, some clear plastic like saran wrap, and sticks. let the water evaporate and condensate on the saran wrap wrapped around the pyramid of sticks. They will have lost whatever else was in them

the garbage bag is laid under to speed up the heating process

The only way is to boil it. None of the other methods or gimmicks are fool-proof. Boiling is the only true and tried safe method of having uncontaminated water.

take a filter with you. they make portable filters for this reason so you wont have to drink dirty water