Safe drinkable water..

[Theoooo]

Can you literally drink water from any lake/river/water source as long as its filtered with a banana and then let to boil?

I'm veery confused and want to know.

Also if there are any newbie links or threads anyone recommends on this forum to do with anything in the woods please post

 

[Barn Owl]

Can you literally drink water from any lake/river/water source as long as its filtered with a banana and then let to boil?

I'm veery confused and want to know.

Also if there are any newbie links or threads anyone recommends on this forum to do with anything in the woods please post

Forget the banana,filter with the likes of a millbank bag, boil and you'll be fine.

That is unless there's heavy chemicals from an upstream factory spilling its guts...

Unless you meant bandana?
That would do to.

 

[Theoooo]

Haha yeh sorry bandana!

And thanks

 

[Melonfish]

i dunno i fancy giving it a whack with a banana now
but yeah remove the large sediment and other large bugs and then boil to kill off the remainders.
should be fine.

 

[shaggystu]

i can see a bananana working, half unpeel it, scoop the middle out, fill it with the filtration substrate of your choice, poke a few pinholes in the bottom, and bob's your uncle, bananana flavoured safe water! i can't believe we've not thought of this before, the man's a genius.

well done theoooo

 

[Bushcraftsman]

Yes boiling should kill off most bacteria and other nasties, after boiling the enzymes in the organisms become denatured and without these enzymes the organism can't survive, using the bandana will get rid of all the other sediments that might not necessarily be dangerous but wont be very pleasant to drink? I'd just avoid stagnant or standing water...lakes a rivers are always a better idea.

Hope this helps

 

[Retired Member southey]

Yup with a milbank and boiling you can make any water safe, of course check upstream for a good distance so your satisfied there aren't any dead animals or chemicals being dumped in the imideate area which could taint the water, I have been taught to boil collected water for at least five mins but others say that just bringing it to the boil will do the job(I will still boil for five mins) I have drunk puddle water with a definite cow smell about it after treating it this way, didn't taste nice though I wouldn't concider any water untreatable. I'm not sure as weather using a bandana would be as effective as a milbank bag as the loose weave would still allow cysts through? Millbank bags are probably as cheap as a bandana, try Endicots maby.

 

[Ahjno]

This might be an interesting read for you:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28811

 

[Mesquite]

Millbank bags are probably as cheap as a bandana, try Endicots maby.

They're getting a lot scarcer now for some reason so the prices are going up. I saw one go on ebay recently for £15 :yikes:

 

[rik_uk3]

Yup with a milbank and boiling you can make any water safe, of course check upstream for a good distance so your satisfied there aren't any dead animals or chemicals being dumped in the imideate area which could taint the water, I have been taught to boil collected water for at least five mins but others say that just bringing it to the boil will do the job(I will still boil for five mins) I have drunk puddle water with a definite cow smell about it after treating it this way, didn't taste nice though I wouldn't concider any water untreatable. I'm not sure as weather using a bandana would be as effective as a milbank bag as the loose weave would still allow cysts through? Millbank bags are probably as cheap as a bandana, try Endicots maby.

You only need to get it above about 80c and the water is as clean as it will get through heat treatment alone. To be on the safe side bring water to boil then turn off the heat, any more boiling and your just wasting fuel.

 

[tomongoose]

Look out for signs of old mine workings as filtering and boiling does not remove heavy metals