Question about Brita water filters

[Biker]

I've been reading about the need to filter water and since I live with several streams nearby and I plan on doing a spot of bushcrafting/camping soon. I thought about making a water filter using a section of plastic wastepipe and one of those Brita water filters in it. However, before I embark on creating this contraption I thought I'd better seek out some advice first.

My question is: Would this filter actually take out the potential nasties or just the bothersome calcium etc that scales up a kettle?

I realise it'd filter out larger stuff like grit, fish and beavers etc but it's those nasty little germs and contaminants that get into waterways that I don't want getting into my system.

Any advice would be most appreciated. Ta muchly.

Biker

 

[g4ghb]

it won't kill the nasties but as you say it will filter out sand etc and a boiling will kill the nasties

please don't rely on it to make it safe - to do that you need at least a .45micron filter if not smaller

 

[rik_uk3]

To clean water using a filter only you need a filter size of .2 microns IIRC.

Biker, have you tried a Milbank bag and then heating the water to 80c to kill off the jimmy jerms?

 

[Biker]

To clean water using a filter only you need a filter size of .2 microns IIRC.

Biker, have you tried a Milbank bag and then heating the water to 80c to kill off the jimmy jerms?

Thanks for the replies folks. Nope haven't tried the milbank bag Rik. I bid on one on ebay recently it went for silly money in the end. Ho hum.

Anyway you've answered my question. I think I might make it anyway but do as g4ghb suggested and boil the little buggers to death after it's filtered. Still early days yet.

 

[MrEd]

Biker, have you tried a Milbank bag and then heating the water to 80c to kill off the jimmy jerms?

preffered method here, and packs really small

 

[QDanT]

Thanks for the replies folks. Nope haven't tried the milbank bag Rik. I bid on one on ebay recently it went for silly money in the end. Ho hum.

Anyway you've answered my question. I think I might make it anyway but do as g4ghb suggested and boil the little buggers to death after it's filtered. Still early days yet.

http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1360

mine arrived next day and looked brand new
cheers Danny

 

[wentworth]

Some filters have a 3 mircon rating, which is small enough to catch cysts like giardia and crypto, but not bacteria.
0.3 micron or smaller is generally recommended.

The brita filters from memory contain activated carbon, which takes bad tastes and some of the chemicals out of tap water. Would probably improve the taste of stream water but yes, you'd have to treat it afterwards. Boil or UV it.

 

[lub0]

i reccomend a british berkefeld water filter and berkey filter candles to go with it. www.kernowrat.com is a great place to get it from.

 

[durulz]

Also, keep in mind where the streams are located.
Do they run near farm land? If so, you're best off avoiding altogether. The chemicals put in crop spray and in animal feed (which gets pooed onto the ground and then absorbed into the soil and then washed into the stream when it rains) won't get filtered out.
You may be able to filter out the dirt, and boil off the germs, but you won't be able to eradicate the chemicals.

 

[Biker]

Also, keep in mind where the streams are located.
Do they run near farm land? If so, you're best off avoiding altogether. The chemicals put in crop spray and in animal feed (which gets pooed onto the ground and then absorbed into the soil and then washed into the stream when it rains) won't get filtered out.
You may be able to filter out the dirt, and boil off the germs, but you won't be able to eradicate the chemicals.

Thanks for the replies. Where I intended going is to some local woods with a stream running downhill out of the wood, most of the livstock are well away from this area. Now I am speaking purely as a newbie here but French famrers seem to have a bit more regard for natural treatment of their lands, granted they put weedkillers and pesticides down but I think it's a minmum rather than overkill like you read what's going on in the UK.

The Millbank filter bag souonds good, I've read very good things about them and that website linked above by QDanT looks promising. Thanks for that matey.

I think I'll take a flask of water with just to be safe and try out some methods of filtering just for the practice, at least for now.

 

[Bodge]

Thanks for the replies. Where I intended going is to some local woods with a stream running downhill out of the wood, most of the livstock are well away from this area. Now I am speaking purely as a newbie here but French famrers seem to have a bit more regard for natural treatment of their lands, granted they put weedkillers and pesticides down but I think it's a minmum rather than overkill like you read what's going on in the UK.

The Millbank filter bag souonds good, I've read very good things about them and that website linked above by QDanT looks promising. Thanks for that matey.

I think I'll take a flask of water with just to be safe and try out some methods of filtering just for the practice, at least for now.

Slightly off topic but relevant I feel. We spent a week in a holiday cottage last year near Shrewsbury in the middle of the country, beautiful setting surrounded by woodland and fields. Got talking to the owner, a nice lady but who was suffering with her health, poor breathing etc. I commented on what a nice setting her place was in. She then told me of how the local farmers constantly spray the surrounding fields throughout the growing season and how she is confined to the house with all the windows shut as the constant spraying affects her condition severly. It makes you wonder what we all breathe in when the fields are being sprayed, but the farmers need to yield the maximum crop etc.

 

[apj1974]

Britta on their site have the following FAQ

What should I do with my water filter if my water supplier has notified me that there is a problem with the tap water?

Our advice to BRITA users is to follow the recommendations of the water company involved. If their instruction is to boil all water before drinking, our recommendation is to filter the water first and then boil as instructed.Once the water problems are resolved and customers can use their water without boiling, we recommend that BRITA users discard their cartridge as a precautionary measure.

They are of course talking about the filter used in a domestic setting, but I think it gives a good indication.

 

[wentworth]

I would think boiling first and then filtering would be the better solution, that way when the boil warning is off, you don't have a contaminated cartridge.

 

[drago]

I know they are a little pricier, but you could try something like katadyns filters (http://tamarackgroup.co.uk/acatalog/Water_Treatment.html) , pricy but small enough to stash in your pack...... I have been using these for a while whilst in africa and am yet to get a case of the "oh, that was a little wet"