Monsoon is the time where you have water at your disposal in abundance, however, it is also the time where the quality of existing water used for daily chores degrades as compared to dryer months. Monsoon also makes us very vulnerable to epidemics and health problems. Apart from the risk of getting drenched and spoiling your immunity, there are other life threatening diseases like typhoid, malaria, diarrhoea and dengue which double their chances on us. Avoiding street food, sanitising your hands from time to time, taking adequate care of skin surely are a few important things to be kept in mind. What is most crucial to our survival is the quality of water we consume which is adversely affected by monsoon. Therefore, we must take adequate steps in order to purify the water that we consume. Not all conditions let you make use of the techniques; but, depending upon the limitations of our situation, we choose which methods to use for water purification. We list here a few basic and advanced ways for you to choose from.
Sedimentation through fitkari or alum:
The easiest way to get rid of impurities in water is by making use of fitkari or alum. This doesn’t need any electricity or gas connection. Very often you would notice that during monsoon the water looks turbid and translucent. The scientific process used for this is known as sedimentation, through which suspended particles in the water gradually settle down. Alum or fitkari quickens the process of sedimentation and can be procured from any grocery store. If a small piece of alum is added to water and the water is left untouched for the next couple of hours the impurities get collected at bottom of the container. You can get purified water by transferring it carefully into another container without disturbing the collected sediments.
Boiling:
One of the oldest and most effective methods of water purification is boiling. It is also a chemical-free method very useful for domestic setups. If water is boiled for at least 2-3 minutes, it can successfully eliminate most of the active microorganisms like protozoan, pathogens, bacteria and other viruses.
Bleach:
Putting 6-8 drops or 1/8 teaspoon of unscented, normal, liquid household bleach (i.e. mainly used for washing clothes) in five-six litres of water and stirring well for nearly half an hour can partially eliminate most impurities from water. It is just an emergency method to be used when no other possible method remains. We must note that not all types of organisms can be destroyed using bleach.
Chlorine:
Whether in powder form or in tablets, chlorine is the most effective way to purify hard impurities in water. Chlorine is abundantly available in the market in different forms for treating water. If chlorine is stirred for some time in water, the water is treated in the next four to five hours which makes it clean enough to be utilized for drinking. Approximately twenty-thirty milligrams of chlorine can sufficiently treat five litres of untreated water.
The goal is to purify water in such a way that we can use it for specific purposes. Once the water is purified, it reduces and eliminates our chances of falling ill. Therefore, we can make abundant use of above mentioned techniques to purify the rainwater before using it for other purposes.
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