7 ways to purify water naturally for drinking, cooking, and hygiene

Are you looking at ways to purify water naturally? Purifying water means different things to different people.

That makes it a more complex subject than it may otherwise appear, so let’s break it down by specifying what “water purification” and “natural filtration” are.

Water purification is simply the act of removing unwanted substances from water.

Natural water purification can mean that it’s a physical process where no chemicals are used.

Alternatively, natural water purification may also mean that you want to use natural materials to purify water.

To complicate matters further, purifying water can be defined as making it safe from microorganisms, removing sediment particles, or removing chemicals and metals, or any combination of those.

So if you want drinking water filters for home here are seven methods in two groups to consider.

How to purify tap water naturally

As tap water is already purified of most things, it’s chlorine what most people want to remove.

Chlorine is added to prevent bacteria, mould, and other microorganisms from contaminating the water.

Method 1 - The simplest natural way to purify water at home is to fill a jug with water and put it in the fridge for 24 hours, or at least overnight.

Chlorine breaks down and dissipates naturally over time, so when you pour yourself a glass of water the following day it will have no chlorine taste or odour.

Method 2 - Or if it’s disinfecting water that may contain microbial infection. If that’s the case then to purify water naturally you can boil the water for between three and six minutes. The boiling time depends on altitude – at sea level three minutes is fine, above 1000 metres (3000 ft) it’s six minutes.

You can’t get more natural than those two methods of water purification!

The main natural materials to purify water are carbon, fabric, paper, and ceramic. We talk about each one of these natural water purifying methods in the next section of this article.

Method 3 - Removing particles from water can easily be done using clean fabric such as muslin or a paper coffee filter and pouring water through it into a jug or bottle.

That will get rid of visible particles but not microscopic, chemical, or biological contaminants.

Method 4 - Another natural method of disinfection is to fill a clear bottle with water and then leave it in direct sunlight for at least six hours, preferably longer.

The ultraviolet radiation in the sun’s rays will kill any microorganisms contaminating the water.

As you’ve seen filtering water naturally at home without a dedicated water filter is not very effective when you want to have properly purified water that’s safe and hygienic. Especially if you want that purified water on demand.

How to purify water with natural materials

We’re now into the realms of natural ways to purify water at home using manufactured filtration systems that use natural materials to purify the water.

Filter housings are generally made from food grade plastic or stainless steel, and the purified water is delivered from water filter taps installed on a kitchen sink or bench.

For an in-depth understanding of water filtration see the ultimate water purification guide.

UV Water Filters

As mentioned previously, the natural ways of purifying water employ carbon, ceramic, and sunlight.

If we look at the sunlight as a water purification method; clearly, you can’t bring the sun into your house, but it’s the ultraviolet part of sunlight that does the disinfection.

Method 5 - To recreate that in the home requires a UV water filter system: a stainless-steel vessel that contains a UV lamp that shines through the water as it flows through the unit.

All it requires is electricity to power the lamp.

Carbon Based Water Filters

Carbon based filters are another method of water purification and are often described as charcoal, this is a natural material made by heating coconut husks in low oxygen ovens.

What you get is black, brittle, and easily ground up into granules that can be placed into canisters, or shaped into cylindrical blocks, known as carbon block.

You may also see that carbon filters are called “activated carbon”. This may sound unnatural, but it’s really a simple process of heating the carbon to make it have a very large surface area to volume ratio – it’s the same process as making popcorn.

Activated carbon is made by heating up coconut shells and then breaking them down into granules that are used to either fill a canister or press into a filter cartridge shape. Of course, these different styles of carbon filter material need to be contained within a manufactured vessel, either stainless steel or plastic.

That high surface area attracts chemical contaminants to “stick” to the carbon within the cartridge therefore removing them from the water. This is called adsorption and is highly effective at removing many substances such as chlorine, PAHs, THMs, pharmaceutical residues, agricultural substances, endocrine disruptors. The list goes on and on…

Method 6 – obtain a filter containing either carbon block or GAC (granular activated carbon) cartridges. Ensure the size is sufficient for the flow rate you need for counter-top, cold water tap, or whole house filtration purposes.

Some activated carbon block filters are made from bituminous material, so if you don’t want something that’s been extracted from a mine then it’s best to avoid these (although they are highly efficient filter cartridges).

Ceramic Water Filters

Ceramic filters have been around for a good couple of hundred years. This was pioneered in Staffordshire, UK, by John Doulton in the early 1800s, and developed by his son Henry. Doulton filters are still made today.

Ceramic filter cartridges are made from naturally occurring clay, and some also contain carbon so that they naturally purify water of bacteria, moulds, cysts, sediment, and chemicals such as chlorine.

The way they work is that the ceramic material has microscopic pores that allows water to pass through it, while trapping particles. The pores are so minute that in addition to fine sediment, ceramic filters can also remove bacteria and cysts.

This makes ceramic filters a very good natural method of purifying water. Some ceramic cartridges also contain activated carbon block elements within the ceramic shell so purify water naturally of chemicals AND microorganisms at the same time.

Method 7 – this method of purifying water naturally consists of installing a filter system that has ceramic candles or cartridges – Doulton still makes these in the UK!

The only drawback with these ceramic filters is that they aren’t always suitable for whole house applications due to flow rate restrictions – but you will get good, clean water for drinking and cooking with.

One of the practical benefits of installing a manufactured filter is that you can match it with something from our modern and stylish 3 way taps selection.

Best natural water purifier

If you’ve read this far you now know that there isn’t necessarily a simple answer to the question of how you purify water naturally.

However, describing those seven methods gives a good indication of what you can do simply and easily using things you already have in the kitchen to filter your water.

Plus, you now have the knowledge of what natural materials are used in the manufacture of water filters that do a lot more than the basic methods described in methods 1 to 4.

We haven’t covered reverse osmosis water filter systems in this item even though RO could be considered a natural method of purifying water. It works by having a number of filters plus a semi-permeable membrane through which water molecules pass to be stored in a reservoir ready for use. The main reason for omitting RO is that some of the filter cartridges used, including the membrane, are made of non-natural materials.

You can make an informed choice of what you want to improve about your water, and which method will work for you while also using natural materials.

Got more questions?

If you still need more information or want help choosing the right filter for you feel free to give us a call on  01352 838281 or send a message on our helpdesk.

 

Image by Jarkko Mänty

FAQ

How to clean water naturally?

Cleaning water naturally to ensure its drinkable can be done using a variety of methods ranging from standing water in the open air to remove chlorine to carbon based water filter systems to remove chlorine and other contaminants.

Can water filters remove chlorine?

Yes, water filters can remove chlorine. Water filters containing a carbon block water filter cartridge will remove chlorine. 

Which water purification system is best?

The water purification system that is best for you is the system that removes the contaminants that you don't want in your water. Knowing what you want to improve about your water is the first question you need to ask yourself. Seeking help from a water filtration expert like Fountain Filters may help.