Cheap Simple Water Purification – SODIS

SODIS is a term to describe “Solar water Disinfection”

While doing some research on water purification I came across information on solar methods. Many of them were quite expensive and others of dubious effectiveness. I found some information on a method used in many developing countries. The problem was the device had to be cheap in order to be made widely available and it had to work very well in an uncomplicated manner.

So What is it?

This method was developed by the Swiss ewag aquatic research It involves using a clear plastic bottle, made of PET plastic, the kind used for bottled water. This plastic has been tested to be safe for use long term. A bottle is filled with water and laid on it’s side for maximum exposure to the sun. 6 hours are needed to do the job, more if partly cloudy sky during the day.This method works to kill the organisms that cause: Cholera, Typhus, Dysentery, Diarrhea, Polio, and Hepatitis. It also takes care of parasites such as, Giardia, Cryposporidium, and Amoeba when process is done as shown. See this link for Microbiology details.

How does SODIS work?
According to research the UV-A rays from the sun react with the oxygen in the water to damage cells in such a way that they are not able to recover. So how’s that for green technology?

Using the SODIS method for your own Survival or Preparedness
Don’t throw out all the Clear soda bottles or water bottles. You can clean and fill these with clean water for emergency use, when a bottle is emptied during an emergency, just refill it according to the instructions provided. Each day you may easily purify many gallons of water for your family.

One of the advantages to this system is conservation of fuel for cooking, etc. Also the water tastes good, versus the flat taste of boiled water or the chemical taste from other methods. There is not a limit either to how much water you can purify like there is with filter cartridges.

For full details click the following:
Our video showing how to use SODIS
Full documentation and poster showing the simple steps

Doing our best “Simplifying Survival”

Until next time – Perry Peacock