There’s no getting around it. Water is essential to our survival, and one of the most important nutrients that we have to put into our bodies each day. Our bodies are not only primarily made up of water, but our cells need water in order to function. When this is the case, why are so many people satisfied with relying on unfiltered tap water each day?
Sure, it’s convenient to just have to go to the tap and pour a glass. It’s a privilege to do so, even. But as the world has become more health-centric during the pandemic, taking things a step further and creating your own DIY water filter can be an easy way to gain access to purified water. Today, we’ll tell you how to go about it in 9 simple steps. If you’d rather save yourself the time and trouble, try Aquazania’s range of affordable filters as an affordable alternative.
Step 1: Buy The Right Supplies
A DIY water filter needs many layers to make sure it does its job. Remember that even after using this filter, you’re still going to need to boil it just to be extra sure it’s safe. For this particular filter, you’ll need a few important supplies, including a 2L bottle with a cap, a small craft knife, a hammer and a nail, some string, a coffee filter, a standard sized coffee cup, some activated charcoal, gravel, sand, and a small plastic container to catch the water.
Step 2: Early Preparations
Use the knife to cut two and a half centimeters from the bottom of the 2L bottle. Go slowly, to avoid an accident. Next, add a handle that allows you to hang the bottle as it filters the water. You can do so by poking two small holes on either side of the bottle. Make sure they are parallel to each other. Thread a piece of string through both and tie a tight knot to secure the filter.
Step 3: Slowing Down The Water Flow
Next, take the hammer and nail and make a hole in the bottle cap. This is meant to delay the flow of water, which makes the filter much more effective.
Step 4: Adding The Coffee Filter
Once this is done, you can put down the sharp tools. Take the coffee filter and put it gently over the mouth of the bottle. Tighten the cap over it. This is meant to help keep the activated charcoal inside, and will help to keep it secured in one place. The cap should be doing what it’s supposed to when it holds the coffee filter in the correct place.
Step 5: Steady The Ship
Once this is done, take the bottle cap and place it into the coffee cup, facing down. This should keep the bottle steady once you start to fill it. Use one of your hands to make sure that the whole system is steady when you first use it.
Step 6: Adding The Charcoal
You’re now into the home stretch. The next step is to fill roughly a third of the bottle with the charcoal. If you’re worried about making a mess, put some gloves on first. Break down any large pieces into smaller ones by crushing them. Ideally, each chunk should be about the size of the tip of an earbud.
Step 7: Bringing The Sand In
Once the charcoal is in place, the next step is to fill the middle part of the filter with sand. Once you’ve done this, the filter bottle should be halfway full. For the best results, go with a coarse or fine grained sand. The finest sand should go in first, creating more layers for the water to work its way through.
Step 8: The Gravel Layer
The remaining part of the bottle should now be filled with gravel. It’s ideal to leave about two and a half centimeters of empty space between the gravel and the bottle part you cut off. Try to leave some room for the water to set, so don’t fill the filter too much with gravel. As with earlier, try to layer the gravel, with the finest being put in first, and the chunkiest last.
Step 9: Filtering Your Dirty Water
You should now have a perfectly working homemade water filter to test out with your first batch of water. Add the water in slowly from the top, and remember to boil the water that makes it all the way through. Although it might be hard work, the added peace of mind you’ll feel when drinking this water — especially knowing that it is the product of your hard work — will make it all the more worth your while.
