How to Make a Handmade Water Purifier

Water is an essential need in life. The water purification method described below will be very helpful when you are looking for a way to survive. Humans can live up to a week without food, but only two to three days without water. Clean water is difficult to find when you are in the wilderness or in an emergency situation. If you can find a source of water, you must filter out impurities that can cause disease. This article will show you how to make a water filter.

Table of Contents

Make a water filter

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Collect materials. You will need a multi-layer water filter to clean dirty water. If you want to drink water, you will have to boil it after filtering. ^{[1] X Research Resources} Here’s what you’ll need:

Plastic bottles with lids
Paper knives
Hammer and nail (optional)
Coffee filter paper
Big cup or mug (optional)
Activated carbon
Sand
Pebbles
Water containers (jars, cups, mugs, etc.)

Use a knife to cut about 2.5 cm of the bottom of the plastic bottle. Poke the tip of the knife into the edge of the plastic bottle and start cutting slowly. It might be easier for you to cut back and forth short cuts (like a wood saw).

If you are young, ask an adult to help you with this step.
Make a handle so that you can hang it when you filter the water. First poke two holes opposite each other near the cut edge on the bottle. Thread a string through the two holes and tie a knot.

Use a hammer and nail to poke a hole in the bottle cap. This hole will slow down the water flow and increase the efficiency of water filtration. If you don’t have a hammer and nail, you can use a paper cutter to make a cross on the bottle cap.

Place the coffee filter over the mouth of the bottle and tighten the top cap. The coffee filter paper will keep the activated carbon inside the bottle from falling. The bottle cap will hold the coffee filter in place.

Place the bottle cap on the mug or cup. This way the bottle will stay steady when you pour the material in. If you don’t have a cup or mug, you can rest the water bottle on the table and hold it with one hand.

Fill the bottle with activated carbon 1/3 full. If it’s big coals, you need to break it down. Smash the coals by putting them in a bag and hitting them with a hard object (such as a hammer). Do not place the coals larger than a pea.

Coal can be very dirty. You should keep your hands clean by wearing gloves.

Fill the bottle halfway with sand. You can use any type of sand, but avoid using handmade colored sand. Colored sand can cause the dye to soak into the water. Try to create a layer of sand as thick as a layer of coal. The water bottle will now be more than half full.

Try two types of sand: fine sand and coarse sand. Fine sand poured first, above the coals. Then there is coarse sand, on top of fine sand. ^{[2] X Research Source} This will create more layers for the water to seep through and the water will be cleaner.

Pour in the rest of the gravel. Leave a gap of 2.5 cm at the top. Do not fill the bottle with gravel until the rim of the bottle is full, or the water may spill out if it does not drain down in time.

Try using two types of gravel: small gravel and large gravel. Small pebbles fall first, above the sand. Next is the large gravel poured on top of the small gravel layer. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Use a water filter

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Choose a water dispenser. Make sure the jar is clean and wide enough to catch the water. If you don’t have a water bottle, you can use a bowl, cup, pot, or mug.

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Hold the water filter bottle over the water catcher. The bottle cap goes down to the bottom of the bottle. If the water catcher has a wide mouth, you can try placing the filter bottle over the top of the jar. That way you won’t have to hold a water filter bottle. If you have made the handle, now hang the water filter bottle. Place the water catcher just below.

Pour water into the filter bottle. Remember to pour slowly so that the water does not overflow. When the water starts to rise almost to the edge of the bottle, stop and wait for the water level to recede. Once the water has receded below the gravel, you can add more water.

Make other water filters

Treat cloudy water to clear by pouring through coffee filter paper. Use a round cup-shaped coffee filter and place it upside down on a cup so that it fits snugly like a lid. Tie an elastic band around the coffee filter to keep it in place. Slowly pour the cloudy water over the coffee filter paper. Boil water after filtering to drink.

If you don’t have a coffee filter, you can use a paper towel or a piece of cotton cloth. Make sure the paper is wide enough to cover the mouth of the cup. Try to find white cloth or white tissue. Colored fabrics and tissues contain dyes and can leach into water.

Use banana peels as a water filter. Fruit peels have the ability to absorb bacteria. You can peel bananas and puree them with a blender, eat them or throw them away; You don’t need to use bananas to filter water. Put the mashed banana peel into the coffee filter paper. Hold the filter paper over the cup. Pour water through coffee filter paper. Banana peels absorb bacteria and the coffee filter will help clear the water again. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Make a xylem (woody) water filter out of water bottles and pine branches. Sapwood like pine contains xylem, a substance that can absorb and filter dirt and bacteria. It can remove up to 99.9% of bacteria in water, but not viruses such as hepatitis and rotavirus. ^{[8] X Trusted Source PLOS ONE Go to Source}^{[9] X Research Source} You will have to boil filtered water to make it drinkable. Here’s how to make a xylem water purifier: ^{[10] X Research Source}

Cut a pine branch about 6 cm long.
Peel the pine branches, remembering that the pine branches need to be able to pass through the neck of the bottle. If the pine branch is too big, you need to cut it off with sandpaper or a knife.
Insert the pine branch into the neck of the bottle, about 2.5 cm deep.
Cut off the bottom of the bottle and turn it upside down.
Fill the bottle with water, allowing the water to flow through the pine branches.
Do not let the pine branches dry out. When dry, pine branches will not be very effective in filtering water. ^{[11] X Trusted Source PLOS ONE Go to Source}

Advice

Instead of using a thick layer of coal, sand, and gravel, you can try making several thin layers of coal, sand, and gravel. Keep doing this until the filter layers reach the top of the bottle.
Consider buying a water filter at a camping store. These water filters can filter out bacteria and microorganisms more effectively than field water bottles.
If you can’t find a coffee filter, you can try crumpled cotton or stuffed with a pillow or stuffed animal.
If the boiling water tastes bland, try adding a pinch of salt. You can also pour water back and forth between two clean water containers multiple times. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Warning

Filtration cannot guarantee safe drinkable water. Always clean water used for drinking, washing and cooking.
Always boil filtered water before using it for drinking, brushing teeth, cooking, making drinks (like making tea or coffee) and washing dishes. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Steps

Make a water filter

Use a water filter

Make other water filters

Advice

Warning

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