As I wrote to you in my five-part series on water storage here, here, here, here and here, there are plenty of ways for you to store potable water. But how can you turn stored water into great tasting water?
I’ve learned that taste can be an issue if water has been sitting in a plastic container for perhaps five years. Who wants to drink water that tastes like plastic or Clorox? I don’t.
The best solution I’ve come up with is to use a water purifier. But, as one survivalist points out, storing treated water and then purifying it with a filter is like wearing a belt and suspenders, it’s redundant.
Redundancy is fine with Your Survival Guy.
When it comes to water purifiers, I like the idea of using a counter top model because I can pack it up and bring it with me if we need to go to another home, near or far.
There’s a ton of information online about counter top water purifiers. I have the Big Berkey with black purification elements. I have also received recommendations for Alexapure and AquaTru.
The Big Berkey is a purifying veteran, having been to places where local drinking water can be as dangerous as AK-47 wielding insurgents. And if your long-term water source includes untreated raw water from lakes, streams, or stagnant ponds, they all become potable water with a Big Berkey.
According to Berkey’s website: This system removes pathogenic bacteria, viruses, cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. Hopefully it keeps the “H” in H2O.
Don’t be put off by some of the negative reviews. This is an extremely competitive market as water purification has turned into a growth industry. Try your system out: prime the purification elements, make sure the seals are tight, and test it.
Care for it just like you would any other valuable commodity and you will have great tasting drinking water when you need it. Even if it’s a belt and suspenders solution—I like both.
