In India it(the alum) has been used for centuries to clean water and we directly consume the water we got after alum treatment. Thank you. But a nice explanation
Thanks for watching! This has been an old "River Rafters" trick that I learned from a rafter who I met while paddling the Green River. It works very well and as you probably already know, the Colorado River is indeed quite silty and using just a backpacking water filter to pump and filter water will clog up your filter with a quickness! To save some weight, just bring a small amount of dry alum powder in a film canister and make the concentrate when you get to the river. Happy Trails my friend!
We have been doing this in India for centuries, especially, during the Monsoons when river water is gunky. After an hour, just decant clear water and you can see the sludge settled at the bottom of the container. I have done this in the US for purifying well water at our farm.
Thanks for watching! You are looking at using about 1/5 of a tablespoon of the premixed solution to 1 gallon of water. I learned this information from some veteran river rafters who use this method to purify the river water so as not to lug a bunch of 1 gallon water jugs in their raft saving a bunch of weight and space. If you are looking for more detailed info on alum ratios, please check out the link in the description box of this video. YT won't let post the link in the comments.
Also, keep in mind that after you treat the water with alum, you need to filter the water with some kind of filtration method such as a backpackers filter pump. (I used a Katadyn Hiker Pro.) This will remove any virus, bacteria, or contaminants that would otherwise be unhealthy to ingest.
I think this might be the best video I’ve ever seen on UA-cam. I’m planning a SUP trip down Green River in August, and obviously on a SUP you are limited to the amount of water you can carry. I can now cover more distance with the alum trick! Thank you for this 👍
Thanks for watching and for sharing your valuable experience with us! Many people are unaware of the uses of Alum and as you mentioned, it has MANY different uses. It can also be used in the processes of "Pickling".
I just recently returned from an amazing 12day long trip adventure down the green from crystal geyser to the confluence with the Colorado. the alum worked really well for us! we did a couple more steps in the process to help eliminate the poor flavor and minimize excess sediment. like you show, we collected water in a 5 gallon bucket, added alum, stirred, and let it sit overnight. in the morning, we then siphoned the separated water into another clean bucket with a tube we picked up at the hardware store in Moab. we then put the lid on the 5 gallon bucket of siphoned water and brought it with us during the day. giving the alum more time to combine with sediment during the paddle helped the water clear a little more but more importantly it eliminated the alum flavor. when we got to camp we would siphon it back to the other 5 gallon bucket, minimizing the last little bit of sediment, and finally filter it. after many taste tests, I couldn't tell the difference between water from the river and water brought in!
That is AWESOME! I'm so glad you guys had a great time! I am heading down the Green River in the beginning of October and doing the lower half down to the confluence. Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks on how you used the alum! It really does work well and a little bit goes a long way.
Informative video. We did Labyrinth Canyon a few years ago in July (100+ degrees), and used fresh water that we carried for drinking and cooking. We had 5 gal buckets and filled them with river water, and then let them set for hours to allow the sediment to settle, and then used a Platypus gravity filter. We used that filtered water for bathing and cleaning after meals.
Very sweet! Great way to produce clean and safe drinking water straight off the river. The water collected in the gallon jug looked excellent. Great video Matt.
Hello! So cool! I'm amazed but not surprised at how many people don't read comments and ask things that have been clearly answered multiple times. I have a question for you. 10 years out, have you 'tweaked' or updated the process? I read one of the comments saying that in India they swirl a chunk of alum in the water for a bit and remove it and it does the same thing. Have you tried this? Anyway, thank you for posting this so many years ago! It is still relevant! Happy canoing!
Thanks for watching! Yes, I too am amazed at how many people skip much of the helpful info within the comment section. I hope to get a new updated video put out this year that will help answer some of the reoccurring questions. I was canoeing the Green River last year in October with a group of 7 and we treated all of our water each day using the featured method, EXCEPT, we no longer pre-dissolve the alum granules in a container. We discovered that just shaking in the alum granules directly into the 5 gallon bucket of water works just as good. Only requires a teaspoon of alum. 10 years strong with this video! A few outfitters have this video embedded into their websites as it is a trusted and safe method. Look forward to a new updated video coming out this year. Happy canoeing Brother!
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Thanks for the video and still answering questions, hoping you can answer mine. I was thinking of doing all of the steps and then adding Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tablets. However, that adds four hours before it's ready. Do you think the tablets are overkill? Is a good filter enough?
@@riverrogue2177 The portable aqua chlorine dioxide tabs should work but the 4 hour wait time is not nearly as viable as getting a good water filter like a Sawyer Squeeze or a Katadyn Hike Pro.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Thanks. I meant the use of both. After filtering (I'm using a Platypus GravityWorks), then adding the tablets. Might be overkill, but better safe than a different kind of Green River mud, lol. SYOTR!
@donaldphinney Thanks for watching! I think thats a great and valid question. We were thinking about that while we did this demonstration but we only had one bucket with us. I am going to do another video demonstration on alum using 2 buckets and some nasty Rio Grande River water which is just as silty if not more than this video shows and post the results.
Found a link to your video on the Tex's Riverways website. Using the Alum worked great on my Green River trip last week. We had some heavy rains during the trip that increased the sediment in the already silty river. The Alum cleared the water in 30 minutes. Thanks for the tip.
Good job guys. That's three of the four principles of water treatment. Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation. The fourth step would be filtration. The final step for public distribution is disinfection. I would recommend putting in some rock salt into the mix. This not only will help with disinfection by at sodium into the water to keep your electrolytes in balance. Himalayan salt work great.
Proctor & Gamble sells a similar product called PuR; the small PuR brand sachet contains powdered ferrous sulfate (a flocculant) and calcium hypochlorite (a disinfectant). Sometimes they can be found at Wallmart and other stores as emergency water treatment provisions, but unfortunately they have a stated shelf-life of only 3 years.
@@HS-fw2ps Take a small piece of alum, tie a string around it and leave an arm's length string on the other end. Now just swirl it in the water with the string. Take it out. Leave the water for half an hour. The dirt will settle down. Size of alum and time of swirling depend on the quantity of water. For one bucket use a 90-100gm piece, swirl it for 2 minutes.
You can just sprinkle alum into the river water, you don't need to mix it up first. It dissolves quickly even in cold river water. It's a lot easier to just carry a small bottle of powdered alumn to sprinkle into the water. You don't need to filter the water for dish washing if you use bleach in the river water. The flocculated water will leave a little residue on dishes, so you can use filtered culinary water for a final rinse if you wish. You can get alum via Amazon in bulk.
Wow, that's one helpful tip man, I ruined a filter several years back collecting water farther downstream in Canyonlands when it becomes the CO River. We've had alum in our cabinet for cooking for years, who knew....! Thanks much!
@hazeywolf Thanks for watching! I think I have seen that PuR brand water treatment product but I didn't know it had only a 3 year shelf life. I have seen other organic treatments that are suppose to work well like the alum but I have never tried them out or experienced how well they do. Based on what I researched, alum is suppose to have an indefinate shelf life. To me, it sounds like a good piece of kit to haul around with you until you actually need to use it... you'll be glad you had it.
my friend works with ALUM at a large scale in Arizona and recommends using chlorine to disinfect and inactivate bacteria, viruses, etc that are still in the water even after filtration.
I produce drinking water as a profession, and use alum to precipitate unwanted particulates as well. Be sure to disinfect with chlorine or some other oxidizer to kill pathogens as well. The micro filters do an excellent job of removing pathogens as well, but not completely fool proof.
@@cherokeebees5576 yea I treat water for a surface water plant and was thinking the same thing. You need some type of disinfectant. The job is not done lol
@@cherokeebees5576 Thanks, you answered the question I just posted. I plan on doing all of the steps, and then using chlorine dioxide tablets. People should know that, at least on the product I'm using, it adds four hours before the water is ready.
@Nibiru128 You're welcome my friend! I'm glad to share this water treatment trick with you guys. I'm going to do another video like this one using 2 buckets filled with Rio Grande River water. One bucket will have the alum and the other will not. I think the results will be impressive!
I don’t know the hindi or English word , but in Gujarati v say « shar « , sometimes there’s so much of shar in tap water , daal cereals r not cooked bcos of this, can v use alum for this ? , which alum to buy ? Alum sulphate, alum phosphate ?
Would you not also want to chlorinate the water to ensure that any waterborne viruses are either destroyed or inactivated. Coagulation and flocculation greatly reduces the turbidity where microorganisms live and hide but they may still be present after the coagulation and flocculation process. Chlorination is an important process in destroying or inactivating cryptosporidium, giardia and e.coli. Essentially you would want between 0.2 and 0.5mg/L of free chlorine (free chlorine is the residual amount of chlorine remaining in solution after both biological and chemical processes have consumed from the total chlorine amount). The rule of thumb for water chlorination is 2-3 drops of domestic bleach solution (non-scented, non-colored) per every 1L or 1 quart of water. Although both coagulation and flocculation do a fairly good job of removing sediment it does not remove or kill waterborne organisms which can harm or kill you. Chlorination of water is an important process which should not be disregarded. If you do not wish to use chlorine I would suggest leaving coagulated and flocculated water in an area which gets plenty of sun as UV radiation also kills waterborne microorganisms.
A PH level from 7 to 6 is not minimal.The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. Lye is very caustic,not something you want to be carrying in a backpack.I think sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda(not powder) would be a better alternative to adjusting PH to a more alkaline state.
I watched this years ago and did the same test from my pond, a friend was texting me today about water purification and I sent him your video Thanks for making it
Great to see this video. I went to a boarding school in Africa, and i had to do this all the time when we fetch water from the river and in a dirty well. We were very happy the water was clean and tasted good after alum, had no need to think of any PH Level. Alum, can be use for multiple purposes.. I always keep alum at home... Men, Alum can do something good to your shaving. And women, it does wonder to your "Hello Kitty" :)
Valid information with magical effects on dirty water. In my knowledge it can also be used for clean drinking water. Tiny piece of Alum in jug of water can be beneficial for your health.
Thanks for the tip. I've done the trip down the Green from the town of Green River to the confluence with the Colorado twice. We took some 5 gallon buckets with the idea that the silt would descend to the bottom overnight. In the morning the filter packed up in about the first quart. Back flushing helped but at a descending rate. We used aqua mira tabs for the rest of the trip, and joked that we were crapping little clay pots from all the silt we consumed.
@@aparnabhatia5072 : gosh, it’s been about a year since you asked your question, and I don’t see an answer. Your question is a good one, and deserves to have the time taken to give you a good answer. because you asked the question, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and assume that you have no experience with these things, so the end I have my answer will contain and idea for an inexpensive but very good quality filter that you can make for almost nothing ($4 in my case). The reply will probably have to be done in two parts. I’ll start here and maybe somebody else will take the time to flesh it out and do a more thorough job. Many filters can be cleaned and reused. If you’re using something that’s shaped like what they call the candle filter, which is essentially a cylinder with a smaller open end on it, There are a couple of ways that you can use that cylinder. Some people mount it suspended from the bottom of a bucket, and fill the top bucket, so that the inside of the cylinder receives the dirty water, and the water goes out through the pores in the carbon, or Ceramic, and will continue to do so until it’s clogged. It’s hard to clean out one of those cylinders if you’ve let the inside take the dirty water. But if you mount your cylinder In your system, such that the main part of the filter is in the top bucket, and the outside of the cylinder is in contact with the dirty water, so that the outside of the cylinder gets clogged up, but the inside stays clean, that’s a whole lot easier to deal with. With the cylinders that I use for gravity filtration, all I have to do is invert my top bucket, and I use a 50 cc syringe full of deionized or very well, filtered water, and I force water into the interior of the cylinder under pressure. That generally forces water through the pores, unclogging them. That’s a back pressure on the usual operation of that particular type of filter. Now, depending on what’s clogging your pores, there are other ideas that you can use: In my case, I’ve gotten terribly sick from my city water, so I use gravity filter at home. Because even boiling doesn’t solve the problem, when sometimes It’s not just about bacterial contamination, but sometimes about microbiological by products and maybe chemical agents. Every now, and then, i’ll fill that syringe with hydrogen peroxide and force it backwards through the cylinder. I’ll even leave the cylinder quite full of peroxide and let that work its’ magic against any possible microbiological organisms that could be getting comfortable on the outside of that filter and thinking about making its way through the inside if possible. After all, peroxide breaks down into water and hydrogen. So no biggie. Then I usually just put some deionized or spring water or something through it before I use it. If it turns out to be a mineral that is starting to plug and calcify the outside of your filter, Chances are you’re not gonna get much satisfaction with backwashing through the unit, but it’s worth a shot. If that’s not doing the job, you should check and see what your filter’s manufacturer has to say. for a ceramic filter, depending on what else is inside that filter, you can possibly soak the filter in a vinegar water solution. Vinegar generally dissolved minerals, so you can leave it there and come back later in the day to give it a good rinse under running tapwater. For that matter, some ceramic filters can be boiled. I have a couple of systems like that, and it’s really convenient to be able to do that to sterilize them. It’s important to note that with those types of systems, once you boil the filter, it has to be left in the boiling water to cool with a cover on the pot, undisturbed. The reason for that is that the seals around the filter can be disturbed while everything is still hot. So you pretty much have to leave those overnight to cool down before you can either let them dry or price them back into service. Then, again, depending on the type of filter that you have, if you have a mineral problem, and the vinegar solution hasn’t done its job, some filters are made such that you can give them a little scrape with a scrubby. The scrubby or a piece of sandpaper has to be brand new Or one that you only use for this purpose, and never used to wash dishes. Dish detergent is made with oil as an ingredient, and any oils on any dishes that you have washed, as well, as any food, contaminant with bacteria in it, can get into your filter, and either severely impaired its’ function or contaminate the unit. it’s worth noting that if you have to scrub or sand down some of the material on the filter unit, that it may not filter as small a particle out of the water after that, so you need to keep an eye on it. If you’ve got your doubts about your filter after you’ve done enough scrubbing on it, you could perhaps make that a filter that you use just prior to the final filtering. That will save your newest filter from wear and tear. Depending on the need you have, there are a whole lot of things you can do in a whole lot of price ranges that a person can dish out for a good filter. I’ve got systems that cost hundreds of dollars, for at home, and some pretty pricey runs for on the trail too. they all do an excellent job. if you’re using a life straw, it has the advantage of being very inexpensive, but the disadvantage of being very small, so you’re only going to get so many miles out of that thing. If you’re going on a trail ride or camping Our hiking trip that’s going to last you a while, you might need something that’s gonna stand up to a little more use. Part two will follow as a reply to this comment
this is part two to the answer to your question. The British army came up with a filter sock, the name of which alludes me right now. It does a really nice job of taking really turbid water and cleaning it up pretty quickly, just with gravity. And it can be rinsed up and hung from your backpack to dry. You can also improvise a filter as you go, if you’re on the trail. I’m sure you’ve seen 1 million videos about that and probably done it yourself a few times in a pinch. But if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, and you’re not far from home, or you have the space to carry something extra, especially if you’re taking your vehicle, then my favourite most inexpensive thing that’s really effective, but I like to recommend for somebody who is starting to prep for emergencies, is a plain terra-cotta flower pot. Choose one that has a brim that is the right size to sit at the top of a food, grade, plastic bucket, such as you might get from your local baker when he’s used all the icing up. The bucket would cost you between three dollars and nothing at all; And a terra-cotta pot in my neighbourhood runs about four dollars. To prepare the terra-cotta pot, have a look and see if it’s from Italy. All Italian pots are guaranteed to be food grade. So mission accomplished if that’s where you are in life. Skip the next few steps. If the pot you’re looking at is from Pakistan, put it back. They make lovely pots that are excellent for flowers, but the source of terra-cotta in that country tends to be contaminated with lead. That’s why I would put it back if it were for drinking water. Pots from just about any place else in the world are OK. The only problem is, Many manufacturers around the world, coat their pots with a sealant. In that case, just remember that sometimes the sealant is pretty much matte and invisible. if this could be the case for you and your new water-filter-to-be, it’s a simple matter of observing the safety for your eyes and breathing, and taking that pot outside to a well-ventilated area, to sanding it to remove all the sealant off the pot. Make sure you get the inside of the drainage hole and along the upper edge of the pot, inside and out. Give the pot a good rinsing up underneath the tap with running water. Then, if you have a drainage hole in the bottom of the flower pot, you can convert it to a water filter by sticking a wine cork snuggly in that hole. Let it dry naturally outside in the sun. It’s good to Store dry like that. When the time comes to use it, and many people do use those all the time, just fill your sink with water, and let it soak for a few hours. It’s pretty much ready to use once it starts to dry out a little bit, after the soak. Just seat it on the rim of your water bucket. So that was four dollars well spent. It boils when you need to boil it, it can be soaked in Vinegar solution to remove minerals, and it sands down if it needs to be sanded. always use a brand new or dedicated scrubby on it for the same reasons as I said before. With gravity filters, personally, I like to fill them up at night. That way there’s freshwater for the day, and nobody really cares how long it takes for them to do their job. They have all night. In terms of a cover, I usually just buy the bottom part of the pot. Usually it fits beautifully in the top of the pot and does a good job as a lid. just take the lid off and pour water in the terra-cotta filter and put the lid back on, and leave it be to slowly filter the water into the pot below it. if you’re feeling fancy, you can install a spigot close to the bottom of your bucket so that you don’t have to lift your pot off in order to get the water out. It’s also a little more sanitary that way because your filter gets less handling. And if you live someplace, that’s really hot, if the bucket you choose to use to receive the water is made of terra-cotta, the water stays cold if you keep it in the shade. You may just want to have it standing in a glazed dish, because the reason why a terra-cotta bucket will stay cold is that there is evaporation of water coming through the pores all the time. Not all of it may evaporate, and you may end up with a puddle on your countertop. you can get years of use from the filter like that, and depending on what it is, you’re filtering out of the water, it may be every bit as effective as the very pricey filters. if you live in an old house where mice occasionally get in, may I suggest that you have a larger bucket that you can store your water filter in when it’s not in use? Because terra cotta is nice and cool, rodents love to sit in them, and we know what rodents do wherever they go. So larger bucket with a cover on it, will do a beautiful job of protecting your filter in storage. perhaps even put a bit of padding in the bucket around it, if you’ve got youngsters, who like to make the occasional foray into your emergency supplies, and who could accidentally knock it over and break it. Personally, I live in a place that gets a lot of winter in a very little bit of summer, so I usually have two of those pots on hand, Just in case, I need to start using them, with an extra to use if the first one starts to need maintenance, as it would take quite a long time to dry in this climate, outside of summer time. this is probably more than you asked for in some respects, but I hope it gives you some information to move forward.
@@daphneraven6745 Omygosh!!!! Whoa!!!! this is too much information for me to digest and comprehend all at once. I first thought it was the work of an AI or something. I have never ever received such a long response to any of my prior UA-cam questions. I just wanted to know what does back-flushing mean? It would be nice if what you have just said or written would be in the form of a UA-cam video cause you have said a lot of things in detail that I am not able to visualize or make sense of???? Anyways, thanks, for taking the time to respond.
No. It doesn't kill bacteria which is why you will need to filter your water. We used a Katadyn Hiker Pro backpacking filter. The alum only draws the sediment, particles, bacteria to the bottom of the bucket. Even though the water looks clear, it's always safe to boil your water,use water treatment tablets, or run it through a water filter before drinking it.
I have a test somebody needs to do. After separating the clear water from the top. Use another container and refill the bucket with the sediment. Stir and see if the residual alum will do the separation trick again. If so. How many times will it work. It's just a thought.
@Ebiczebulanious Thanks Jim! Glad to be of help! I didn't know that Double Activated Baking Powder had alum in it so in turn you have helped me too. Yeah, there are many uses for alum and I guess it used to be more commonly used than it is today, but I don't think too many people know that it works wonders on silty, muddy river water
Alum powder has been used by societies for thousands of years to treat water, apparently. Not just several hundred, although it really did take off a few hundred years ago.
@CrazyTaileZ Thanks for your thoughtful reply - I use an alum block as a styptic (hemostaic-astringent) and as you note in the text intro, it can be used as an natural anti-bacterial anti-antiperspirant. My mom always had some in the spice rack, but I don't think we ever used it much. Your post got me curious and I found the wikipedia info on alum interesting; lots of uses for a common, inexpensive product. - Thanks for the sharing your insights, brother! Gread job on the vid.
@@aparnabhatia5072 "Hemostatic" (adjective form of hemostasis) equates to stopping the flow of blood : the arrest of the escape of blood by either natural means (clot formation or vessel spasm) or artificial means (compression or ligation). An "Astringent" (such as Alum) is an agent that causes contraction or shrinkage of body tissues, aids in the arrest discharges/secretions or constricts blood vessels and thus reduces bleeding. Astringents are usually locally after topical application. Skin preparations such as shaving lotions often contain astringents such as aluminum acetate that help to reduce oiliness and excessive perspiration & styptic pencils, made of alum, are used to stop bleeding from small cuts - especially those which may result from shaving with a razor blade. Other common forms of astringents include as "witch hazel" - used to reduce swelling of skin tissues= & also zince oxide & calamine to relieve forms of dermatitis, tannic acid in treatment for diarrhea,& boric acid and sodium borate to relieve the symptoms of inflammation of the mucous membranes of the throat or conjunctiva of the eye. These are all natural remedies with long histories of use before the implementation of modern medicine which remain in common use today.
Thank you for the suggestion! I watched the Life Saver Systems vid and that system looks to be a very safe and efficient way to deal with nasty rivear water (or ANY water source for that matter). The technology is improving for purifying water then some of the old traditional methods and/or portable drinking water devices. Over time, I imagine that the cost of purchasing one of these great systems will drop so that everyone can afford to have lifes most precious commodity; Drinking Water.
Just to confirm, use a block of alum, turn it in , let it settle for 5 hours, remove water from the top , down is all the shar and this top water i use for cooking with baking soda or no ? , Thanks for the reply
That is correct. You must sterilize the water before using it for cooking by either boiling the water for a few minutes or using a water purifying filter like a "Sawyer Mini" or a "Britta" to strain out any bacteria or virus that might be in the water.
Thanks for watching! Alum is used for drawing dirt, silt and debris from the water. It will not kill bacteria. Using something like AquaMira tablets would be safe way to kill bacteria.
Thanks for watching! I greatly appreciate it! This will also work with Beach water although it will not remove the salt from the water. This method only removes the mud and silt and particles within the water.
@@safi456 The water would have to be desalinated before it could be drinkable. I'd recommend watching this video to get an idea on how to desalinate ocean water. ua-cam.com/video/R_-wFiFdwAE/v-deo.html
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Excellent! Thanks so much. Sorry, another Q. I'm searching for alum, but I'm getting results like: 17% (iron free) or 98% (iron free)...What does that mean? And which one is best for cleaning water?
@@safi456 Try searching: "Aluminum Sulfate for sale" and you might get some better results. I have always purchased alum at 99% pure. A 5 pound bag typically costs about $18 - $20 and 5 pounds of alum is enough to treat thousands of gallons of water. Some grocery stores carry it in the spice section. Comes in a tin square"ish" shaker like a pepper container but will say Alum on it.
Thank you for the video. I've been trying to research using Alum and there is little available on the web. I'm going on a 6 day backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon and know the water from the Colorado will be quite silty. We will have a 2 gallon collapsible bucket and I will make a batch of concentrate and take some powder just in case.
@ez2curanut Mixing the powder into a container like a canteen or plastic bottle to dissolve the powder will get the best results. The alum powder takes a few minutesto dissolve but I think if you carried some in a film canister, you would have enough alum concentrate to use for a week if you were using the whole canister filled with alum and filtering silty water for 7 days. Nice to have for emergencies!
It's my understanding that the amount of alum needed depends on the initial PH of the water source?Correct me if I'm wrong(I'm not a chemist)but it seems to me even if one includes the initial PH in the equation then adding the alum will make your final water very acidic,not to mention aluminum sulphate is soluble in water so there would be aluminum left over in the final water you're drinking which isn't a good thing.
@medicjimr I imagine that alum would work quite well on tannins. I have read that some people have used it for treating ponds and lakeshore areas and I gather they are removing everything from small algaes to bacterias.
No. It's not safe to drink it until you either pour the water through a filter or a purifier (like a Sawyer Squeeze or Mini, MSR Miniworks, ) or boil the water. The Alum only removes the sediment in the water. It does not sterilize the bacteria or viruses in the water. Just filter it or boil it and it will be safe to drink.
In order to treat water using Aluminum sulfate as coagulant , we most know water characteristics very well. For example PH, Temperature, Turbidity, etc. This is important for determine an specific Alum dose through the Jar test in the lab. Alum dose varies from one kind of water to another, depending of its contamination level (Turbidity). According to the EPA, Alum is directly related with Alzheimer syndrome. That is why water engineers we most guarantee to not allow any residual of Alum once the water leaves the water treatment plant. Obviously, these people do not know what they are doing.
thanks for the info! do you know any simple diy way of eliminating alum residuals in the water? I'm using it to soften my hairwash water so I'm a bit scared
Alum power is what i use. It does not require much to treat a good amount of water. I would always start off with the least amount of alum powder. Too much alum powder will change the pH balance of the water and make it too alkaline. I would recommend using 1 teaspoon of alum power to 19 liters of water. Stir it up and then let it sit for about 2 hours. By then, the water will look clean and you should be able to see the silt, mud particles pulled down to the bottom. If it's not clear, add another 1/2 teaspoon more alum powder and lightly stir the mix and wait another 2 to 3 hours. Carefully pour off the clear water on the top (you can use up to 2/3 of the water in the bucket) and either boil it for a few minutes, or run the water through a water purifying filter. You will now have usable cooking and drinking water.
Thanks for sharing this! Since watching this, I did a little research, and one thing I found was that using too much alum will cause diarrhea. Obviously, your ratios of 1.5 oz solid to 1 qt of water and then adding 2.5 caps full to 5 gals must be safe, but do you think that is a linear ratio? In other words, could I mix 1.25 caps full (or, more likely 1 cap full) to 2.5 gallons and get the same result without any side effects (the diarrhea)? Have you treated less than 5 gallons before?
+alaskanshannon It will depend on how silty the water is that you are treating. It's always best practice to try using the smallest amount of alum possible and see what you get. It really doesn't take much alum to do the job. Since doing this video, I've discovered that just using 1/4 of a teaspoon of alum powder to 5 gal of water worked just fine. 5 gallons is the least amount of water that I've treated with thus far.
@RebLin51 I imagine that this trick will be very useful to people who have run into the problem of silty water clogging up their favorite water filters. I didn't know about this trick really until 2 years ago and I'm definately going to be adding some alum to my kit!
@RebLin51 Your math looks to be right on and I will post this formula in the description box with full credit to you! This is very much appreciated! Thank you for figuring out a more sutible amount for backpacking! 1 qt amounts is a much more logical choice to use on a backpacking trip and even using a black plastic yard bag will do the trick for containing your water from the source. Thumbs Up!
Al₂(SO₄)₃ is non toxic. H₂O is non toxic. Both can be hazardous to your health in large quantities if ingested! 😝 Alum is used and has been used for hundreds of years to clean muddy and silty water. It's used in today's municipal city water treatment systems. The method you see in this video is for temporary water treatments when dealing with silty river water for short periods of time. Not intended to be used for long term or everyday use.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Understood for short term it should not make a difference. BTW what do you think of KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O is a better version of Alum I hear it doesn't sting when applied to the skin
Thanks for watching. I don't know exactly how long the alum concentrate is good for. Based on my personal experience, I have mixed up the concentrate and kept it in a container that does not allow sunlight to get in (like a stainless steel bottle or canteen) and at least 6 months after I made the mix, it still works. Keep in mind that simply adding the alum granules to the water that you want to treat seems to work just as well. Aquamira will work to sterilize the water from water borne pathogens (giardia, cryptosprudium, virus's etc...) but YOU MUST ALWAYS FILTER THE TREATED WATER WITH A WATER FILTER OF SOME KIND! DO NOT JUST DRINK THE TREATED WATER! Ingesting the water with the alum mix could/would be toxic and harmful to your health. Using a water filter will remove the coagulated alum from the water. Treating the water with alum and Aquimira tabs is a good combination but it still needs to be filtered to remove the coagulated alum from the water. I would recommend using a "Sawyer Squeeze" or Sawyer Mini" as your water filter. I have used the "Katadyn Hiker Pro" water filter with great success but it takes a while to pump 5 gallons. A Sawyer filter can be used as a gravity filter eliminating the need to physically pump the water.
+Nature Inspired Snips n Snaps Thank you for watching! Spice Alum is the stuff for dealing with really silty river water. I've used this method for a 12 day trip along the Green River in Utah and it worked out perfectly! Always sterilize (boil) or filter your water with a water filter like a Sawyer or Katadyn Hiker Pro to get rid of the bad pathogens that might be in the water.
@ridebks Thank you! I might try to find a way to make a ratio that works for backpacking. (if one were to backpack in areas with muddy, silty water). Since it has an indefinate shelf life, it would be a handy piece of kit to have for many situations.
The alum is mostly drawn down to the bottom of the bucket. Pour off the water in the bucket and leave about 2 inches of water in the bucket. The water that you poured off needed to be filtered with a backpacking filter or a gravity filter to remove any alum in the poured off water. The remaining 2 inches of water in the bucket can be dumped out as it will not be usable.
@touchnova Thanks man! I'm bringing it with me next time I go on another canoing trip fo sure! I'm getting ready to edit and post my Canyonlands video and it will show the area you mentioned (The Confluence) where the Green River meets the Colorado River. That was our meet up location for the outfitter to shuttle us back to Moab via a jetboat! :-D Sure is a beautiful place to spend a few weeks at! Now that alum in the cabinet will finally get some more use! Thanks Brother!
Can you please tell me if i take 1liter water then how much alum powder i should add in water. Do i need to boil the water before adding alum.Waiting for reply. Thanks
@ez2curanut You are absolutely correct Jim! I misunderstood your 1st question and thank you for clarifing. Yes, bringing the dry mix along with you makes complete sense and just as you described, when it comes time to use it, you can then mix it up on the spot so you're not lugging extra weight around. You're right on it my friend! Now, I've only tried this with river water on a 6 day canoe trip but I'd like to put this to the test on a backpacking trip. Mabey the Rio Puerco! LOL
@monzanoman Thanks Shoops! This would work well with the Rio Grande water for sure. I think it would ever work well with an oversized mud puddle after a flash flood rain storm... those puddles that last for days after. You could scoop up enough mud puddle water to fill a 5 gal. bucket and add the alum to that... 30 mins later, you would have clear, filterable water. I'll turn you on to some the next time I see ya.
@intenseangler Thanks Brother! I owe this little water treatment trick to a guy I met 2 years ago on the upper have of the Green River and he had mentioned "Alum". It's a great item to have if you're going to be on a long, multiday paddle river trip. Other people camping on the river were asking us how we got our water so clean. :-] I'd like to figure out how to make a small amount for backpacking. Perhaps a 1 or 2 gallon mixture in one of those plastic, collapable water jugs?
I did a PH level test prior to doing this video as I was aware that treating water with alum could change the PH balance of the water. The results were minimal. The river water that I used while testing was reading a PH level of 7 and after the alum treatment, the PH level was reading 6. One could carry a small container of Lye to add to the water and balance out the PH if needed.
Alum's primary uses today are for industrial water purification and garden soil but decades ago i used it to gel jelly, is a common food ingredient in very small amounts! Very careful to keep it away from children! Toxic in large amounts! Kept it out of secondary filter with careful dipping, don't pour. Dump sediment into river not on desert land. Filters are expensive especially "lifesaver", AS use saves filter life. AS use is a lost skill along with common sense.
(USA) Alum can be found at your local grocery store in the spice isle (typically used for pickling) and it's cheap to buy. You can also purchase alum on the internet.
@ez2curanut Thats the bad thing! Stupid shipping costs! I looked all around locally to see if I could find alum and "Matt's Westside Pools & Spa's" was the only place locally I could find it... smallest amount they had was 15 lb bags. :( I did, however, go on a 4 way split with 4 other people, and only had to pay 25% of it and we all have enough alum now to last for the rest of our lives! LOL. A small amount of alum goes a long ways.
In India it(the alum) has been used for centuries to clean water and we directly consume the water we got after alum treatment. Thank you.
But a nice explanation
Thanks for watching! This has been an old "River Rafters" trick that I learned from a rafter who I met while paddling the Green River. It works very well and as you probably already know, the Colorado River is indeed quite silty and using just a backpacking water filter to pump and filter water will clog up your filter with a quickness! To save some weight, just bring a small amount of dry alum powder in a film canister and make the concentrate when you get to the river. Happy Trails my friend!
Dude, what a killer trick!! This will so come in handy for long river trips especially! Thanks Bro!
We have been doing this in India for centuries, especially, during the Monsoons when river water is gunky. After an hour, just decant clear water and you can see the sludge settled at the bottom of the container.
I have done this in the US for purifying well water at our farm.
Where can we get this?
Thanks for watching! You are looking at using about 1/5 of a tablespoon of the premixed solution to 1 gallon of water. I learned this information from some veteran river rafters who use this method to purify the river water so as not to lug a bunch of 1 gallon water jugs in their raft saving a bunch of weight and space.
If you are looking for more detailed info on alum ratios, please check out the link in the description box of this video. YT won't let post the link in the comments.
Also, keep in mind that after you treat the water with alum, you need to filter the water with some kind of filtration method such as a backpackers filter pump. (I used a Katadyn Hiker Pro.) This will remove any virus, bacteria, or contaminants that would otherwise be unhealthy to ingest.
I think this might be the best video I’ve ever seen on UA-cam. I’m planning a SUP trip down Green River in August, and obviously on a SUP you are limited to the amount of water you can carry. I can now cover more distance with the alum trick! Thank you for this 👍
What is SUP stand for?
@@aparnabhatia5072 Stand-up paddleboard.
Thanks for watching and for sharing your valuable experience with us!
Many people are unaware of the uses of Alum and as you mentioned, it has MANY different uses. It can also be used in the processes of "Pickling".
I just recently returned from an amazing 12day long trip adventure down the green from crystal geyser to the confluence with the Colorado. the alum worked really well for us! we did a couple more steps in the process to help eliminate the poor flavor and minimize excess sediment. like you show, we collected water in a 5 gallon bucket, added alum, stirred, and let it sit overnight. in the morning, we then siphoned the separated water into another clean bucket with a tube we picked up at the hardware store in Moab. we then put the lid on the 5 gallon bucket of siphoned water and brought it with us during the day. giving the alum more time to combine with sediment during the paddle helped the water clear a little more but more importantly it eliminated the alum flavor. when we got to camp we would siphon it back to the other 5 gallon bucket, minimizing the last little bit of sediment, and finally filter it. after many taste tests, I couldn't tell the difference between water from the river and water brought in!
That is AWESOME! I'm so glad you guys had a great time! I am heading down the Green River in the beginning of October and doing the lower half down to the confluence.
Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks on how you used the alum! It really does work well and a little bit goes a long way.
Informative video. We did Labyrinth Canyon a few years ago in July (100+ degrees), and used fresh water that we carried for drinking and cooking. We had 5 gal buckets and filled them with river water, and then let them set for hours to allow the sediment to settle, and then used a Platypus gravity filter. We used that filtered water for bathing and cleaning after meals.
Very sweet! Great way to produce clean and safe drinking water straight off the river. The water collected in the gallon jug looked excellent. Great video Matt.
Hello! So cool! I'm amazed but not surprised at how many people don't read comments and ask things that have been clearly answered multiple times. I have a question for you. 10 years out, have you 'tweaked' or updated the process? I read one of the comments saying that in India they swirl a chunk of alum in the water for a bit and remove it and it does the same thing. Have you tried this? Anyway, thank you for posting this so many years ago! It is still relevant! Happy canoing!
Thanks for watching! Yes, I too am amazed at how many people skip much of the helpful info within the comment section. I hope to get a new updated video put out this year that will help answer some of the reoccurring questions. I was canoeing the Green River last year in October with a group of 7 and we treated all of our water each day using the featured method, EXCEPT, we no longer pre-dissolve the alum granules in a container. We discovered that just shaking in the alum granules directly into the 5 gallon bucket of water works just as good. Only requires a teaspoon of alum. 10 years strong with this video! A few outfitters have this video embedded into their websites as it is a trusted and safe method. Look forward to a new updated video coming out this year. Happy canoeing Brother!
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Thanks for the video and still answering questions, hoping you can answer mine. I was thinking of doing all of the steps and then adding Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tablets. However, that adds four hours before it's ready. Do you think the tablets are overkill? Is a good filter enough?
@@riverrogue2177 The portable aqua chlorine dioxide tabs should work but the 4 hour wait time is not nearly as viable as getting a good water filter like a Sawyer Squeeze or a Katadyn Hike Pro.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Thanks. I meant the use of both. After filtering (I'm using a Platypus GravityWorks), then adding the tablets. Might be overkill, but better safe than a different kind of Green River mud, lol. SYOTR!
Wow wonderful, what kind of filter can be used?
Thanks for watching! Any outdoor water filter will work but I'd recommend using a Sawyer Squeeze/Mini or a Katadyn Hiker Pro.
@donaldphinney Thanks for watching! I think thats a great and valid question. We were thinking about that while we did this demonstration but we only had one bucket with us. I am going to do another video demonstration on alum using 2 buckets and some nasty Rio Grande River water which is just as silty if not more than this video shows and post the results.
Found a link to your video on the Tex's Riverways website. Using the Alum worked great on my Green River trip last week. We had some heavy rains during the trip that increased the sediment in the already silty river. The Alum cleared the water in 30 minutes. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for watching and giving it a try! I'll be headed back to the Green River in 3 weeks and I'll be using this when I'm out there.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker we are doing Labrynth in 3 weeks. Just my wife and I going. Trip last week was 6 humans and a bunch of work.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker BTW: are you also responsible for the SW Paddler site?
@@nateadams1443 No association with SW Paddler.
Good job guys. That's three of the four principles of water treatment. Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation. The fourth step would be filtration. The final step for public distribution is disinfection. I would recommend putting in some rock salt into the mix. This not only will help with disinfection by at sodium into the water to keep your electrolytes in balance. Himalayan salt work great.
Proctor & Gamble sells a similar product called PuR; the small PuR brand sachet contains powdered ferrous sulfate (a flocculant) and calcium hypochlorite (a disinfectant). Sometimes they can be found at Wallmart and other stores as emergency water treatment provisions, but unfortunately they have a stated shelf-life of only 3 years.
In India it(the alum) has been used for centuries to clean water and we directly consume the water we got after alum treatment. Thank you.
Pls can you tell the procedure how to do it
@@HS-fw2ps Take a small piece of alum, tie a string around it and leave an arm's length string on the other end. Now just swirl it in the water with the string. Take it out. Leave the water for half an hour. The dirt will settle down.
Size of alum and time of swirling depend on the quantity of water.
For one bucket use a 90-100gm piece, swirl it for 2 minutes.
@@HS-fw2ps Alternatively make alum powder and blend it in the water just make sure the powder is finely crushed leaving no chunks for best results
You can just sprinkle alum into the river water, you don't need to mix it up first. It dissolves quickly even in cold river water. It's a lot easier to just carry a small bottle of powdered alumn to sprinkle into the water. You don't need to filter the water for dish washing if you use bleach in the river water. The flocculated water will leave a little residue on dishes, so you can use filtered culinary water for a final rinse if you wish. You can get alum via Amazon in bulk.
Wow, that's one helpful tip man, I ruined a filter several years back collecting water farther downstream in Canyonlands when it becomes the CO River. We've had alum in our cabinet for cooking for years, who knew....! Thanks much!
Very interesting. Does the aluminum sulfate stay suspended in the water? Or does it all sink down to the bottom with the silt?
@hazeywolf Thanks for watching! I think I have seen that PuR brand water treatment product but I didn't know it had only a 3 year shelf life. I have seen other organic treatments that are suppose to work well like the alum but I have never tried them out or experienced how well they do.
Based on what I researched, alum is suppose to have an indefinate shelf life. To me, it sounds like a good piece of kit to haul around with you until you actually need to use it... you'll be glad you had it.
my friend works with ALUM at a large scale in Arizona and recommends using chlorine to disinfect and inactivate bacteria, viruses, etc that are still in the water even after filtration.
Can aquarium bacteria do that?
I produce drinking water as a profession, and use alum to precipitate unwanted particulates as well. Be sure to disinfect with chlorine or some other oxidizer to kill pathogens as well. The micro filters do an excellent job of removing pathogens as well, but not completely fool proof.
@@cherokeebees5576 yea I treat water for a surface water plant and was thinking the same thing. You need some type of disinfectant. The job is not done lol
@@cherokeebees5576 Thanks, you answered the question I just posted. I plan on doing all of the steps, and then using chlorine dioxide tablets. People should know that, at least on the product I'm using, it adds four hours before the water is ready.
@KGB240 Thanks for watching. The alum coagulates and sinks down to the bottom with the silt and mud particles.
@Nibiru128 You're welcome my friend! I'm glad to share this water treatment trick with you guys. I'm going to do another video like this one using 2 buckets filled with Rio Grande River water. One bucket will have the alum and the other will not. I think the results will be impressive!
I don’t know the hindi or English word , but in Gujarati v say « shar « , sometimes there’s so much of shar in tap water , daal cereals r not cooked bcos of this, can v use alum for this ? , which alum to buy ? Alum sulphate, alum phosphate ?
Absolutely! Choose Aluminum Sulphate for this.
It maybe algae what ur talking abt..
Hi, aren’t aluminium salts classed as heavy metal and therefore harmful for ingestion?
Would you not also want to chlorinate the water to ensure that any waterborne viruses are either destroyed or inactivated. Coagulation and flocculation greatly reduces the turbidity where microorganisms live and hide but they may still be present after the coagulation and flocculation process. Chlorination is an important process in destroying or inactivating cryptosporidium, giardia and e.coli. Essentially you would want between 0.2 and 0.5mg/L of free chlorine (free chlorine is the residual amount of chlorine remaining in solution after both biological and chemical processes have consumed from the total chlorine amount). The rule of thumb for water chlorination is 2-3 drops of domestic bleach solution (non-scented, non-colored) per every 1L or 1 quart of water. Although both coagulation and flocculation do a fairly good job of removing sediment it does not remove or kill waterborne organisms which can harm or kill you. Chlorination of water is an important process which should not be disregarded. If you do not wish to use chlorine I would suggest leaving coagulated and flocculated water in an area which gets plenty of sun as UV radiation also kills waterborne microorganisms.
+Marcus Lewis boiling will not remove permanent hardness, and pathogenic bacteria
How about using Food Grade H2o2 ( though obviously not when in emergency situation but can carry a few ounces in backpack)
A PH level from 7 to 6 is not minimal.The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value.
Lye is very caustic,not something you want to be carrying in a backpack.I think sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda(not powder) would be a better alternative to adjusting PH to a more alkaline state.
What is a good ph level for water?
An interesting comparison would be two buckets one with alum and one just left to settle
Thanks for watching! I'll be going back in October 2025. I'lm planning on remaking this video with that comparison.
I watched this years ago and did the same test from my pond, a friend was texting me today about water purification and I sent him your video
Thanks for making it
Great to see this video. I went to a boarding school in Africa, and i had to do this all the time when we fetch water from the river and in a dirty well. We were very happy the water was clean and tasted good after alum, had no need to think of any PH Level.
Alum, can be use for multiple purposes.. I always keep alum at home... Men, Alum can do something good to your shaving. And women, it does wonder to your "Hello Kitty" :)
In India we have been using it for centuries.
Hello kitty 😺????? What does that mean?
Valid information with magical effects on dirty water. In my knowledge it can also be used for clean drinking water. Tiny piece of Alum in jug of water can be beneficial for your health.
Thanks for the tip. I've done the trip down the Green from the town of Green River to the confluence with the Colorado twice. We took some 5 gallon buckets with the idea that the silt would descend to the bottom overnight. In the morning the filter packed up in about the first quart. Back flushing helped but at a descending rate. We used aqua mira tabs for the rest of the trip, and joked that we were crapping little clay pots from all the silt we consumed.
What do mean by back flushing?
@@aparnabhatia5072 ua-cam.com/video/fHQvY2qmkyI/v-deo.html
@@aparnabhatia5072 : gosh, it’s been about a year since you asked your question, and I don’t see an answer.
Your question is a good one, and deserves to have the time taken to give you a good answer. because you asked the question, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and assume that you have no experience with these things, so the end I have my answer will contain and idea for an inexpensive but very good quality filter that you can make for almost nothing ($4 in my case). The reply will probably have to be done in two parts. I’ll start here and maybe somebody else will take the time to flesh it out and do a more thorough job.
Many filters can be cleaned and reused.
If you’re using something that’s shaped like what they call the candle filter, which is essentially a cylinder with a smaller open end on it, There are a couple of ways that you can use that cylinder. Some people mount it suspended from the bottom of a bucket, and fill the top bucket, so that the inside of the cylinder receives the dirty water, and the water goes out through the pores in the carbon, or Ceramic, and will continue to do so until it’s clogged.
It’s hard to clean out one of those cylinders if you’ve let the inside take the dirty water.
But if you mount your cylinder In your system, such that the main part of the filter is in the top bucket, and the outside of the cylinder is in contact with the dirty water, so that the outside of the cylinder gets clogged up, but the inside stays clean, that’s a whole lot easier to deal with.
With the cylinders that I use for gravity filtration, all I have to do is invert my top bucket, and I use a 50 cc syringe full of deionized or very well, filtered water, and I force water into the interior of the cylinder under pressure. That generally forces water through the pores, unclogging them. That’s a back pressure on the usual operation of that particular type of filter.
Now, depending on what’s clogging your pores, there are other ideas that you can use:
In my case, I’ve gotten terribly sick from my city water, so I use gravity filter at home. Because even boiling doesn’t solve the problem, when sometimes It’s not just about bacterial contamination, but sometimes about microbiological by products and maybe chemical agents.
Every now, and then, i’ll fill that syringe with hydrogen peroxide and force it backwards through the cylinder. I’ll even leave the cylinder quite full of peroxide and let that work its’ magic against any possible microbiological organisms that could be getting comfortable on the outside of that filter and thinking about making its way through the inside if possible. After all, peroxide breaks down into water and hydrogen. So no biggie.
Then I usually just put some deionized or spring water or something through it before I use it.
If it turns out to be a mineral that is starting to plug and calcify the outside of your filter, Chances are you’re not gonna get much satisfaction with backwashing through the unit, but it’s worth a shot. If that’s not doing the job, you should check and see what your filter’s manufacturer has to say.
for a ceramic filter, depending on what else is inside that filter, you can possibly soak the filter in a vinegar water solution. Vinegar generally dissolved minerals, so you can leave it there and come back later in the day to give it a good rinse under running tapwater.
For that matter, some ceramic filters can be boiled. I have a couple of systems like that, and it’s really convenient to be able to do that to sterilize them. It’s important to note that with those types of systems, once you boil the filter, it has to be left in the boiling water to cool with a cover on the pot, undisturbed. The reason for that is that the seals around the filter can be disturbed while everything is still hot. So you pretty much have to leave those overnight to cool down before you can either let them dry or price them back into service.
Then, again, depending on the type of filter that you have, if you have a mineral problem, and the vinegar solution hasn’t done its job, some filters are made such that you can give them a little scrape with a scrubby.
The scrubby or a piece of sandpaper has to be brand new Or one that you only use for this purpose, and never used to wash dishes. Dish detergent is made with oil as an ingredient, and any oils on any dishes that you have washed, as well, as any food, contaminant with bacteria in it, can get into your filter, and either severely impaired its’ function or contaminate the unit.
it’s worth noting that if you have to scrub or sand down some of the material on the filter unit, that it may not filter as small a particle out of the water after that, so you need to keep an eye on it.
If you’ve got your doubts about your filter after you’ve done enough scrubbing on it, you could perhaps make that a filter that you use just prior to the final filtering. That will save your newest filter from wear and tear.
Depending on the need you have, there are a whole lot of things you can do in a whole lot of price ranges that a person can dish out for a good filter.
I’ve got systems that cost hundreds of dollars, for at home, and some pretty pricey runs for on the trail too. they all do an excellent job.
if you’re using a life straw, it has the advantage of being very inexpensive, but the disadvantage of being very small, so you’re only going to get so many miles out of that thing. If you’re going on a trail ride or camping Our hiking trip that’s going to last you a while, you might need something that’s gonna stand up to a little more use.
Part two will follow as a reply to this comment
this is part two to the answer to your question.
The British army came up with a filter sock, the name of which alludes me right now. It does a really nice job of taking really turbid water and cleaning it up pretty quickly, just with gravity.
And it can be rinsed up and hung from your backpack to dry.
You can also improvise a filter as you go, if you’re on the trail. I’m sure you’ve seen 1 million videos about that and probably done it yourself a few times in a pinch.
But if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, and you’re not far from home, or you have the space to carry something extra, especially if you’re taking your vehicle, then my favourite most inexpensive thing that’s really effective, but I like to recommend for somebody who is starting to prep for emergencies, is a plain terra-cotta flower pot. Choose one that has a brim that is the right size to sit at the top of a food, grade, plastic bucket, such as you might get from your local baker when he’s used all the icing up.
The bucket would cost you between three dollars and nothing at all; And a terra-cotta pot in my neighbourhood runs about four dollars.
To prepare the terra-cotta pot, have a look and see if it’s from Italy. All Italian pots are guaranteed to be food grade. So mission accomplished if that’s where you are in life. Skip the next few steps.
If the pot you’re looking at is from Pakistan, put it back. They make lovely pots that are excellent for flowers, but the source of terra-cotta in that country tends to be contaminated with lead. That’s why I would put it back if it were for drinking water.
Pots from just about any place else in the world are OK. The only problem is, Many manufacturers around the world, coat their pots with a sealant.
In that case, just remember that sometimes the sealant is pretty much matte and invisible.
if this could be the case for you and your new water-filter-to-be, it’s a simple matter of observing the safety for your eyes and breathing, and taking that pot outside to a well-ventilated area, to sanding it to remove all the sealant off the pot. Make sure you get the inside of the drainage hole and along the upper edge of the pot, inside and out.
Give the pot a good rinsing up underneath the tap with running water.
Then, if you have a drainage hole in the bottom of the flower pot, you can convert it to a water filter by sticking a wine cork snuggly in that hole.
Let it dry naturally outside in the sun.
It’s good to Store dry like that.
When the time comes to use it, and many people do use those all the time, just fill your sink with water, and let it soak for a few hours.
It’s pretty much ready to use once it starts to dry out a little bit, after the soak.
Just seat it on the rim of your water bucket.
So that was four dollars well spent. It boils when you need to boil it, it can be soaked in Vinegar solution to remove minerals, and it sands down if it needs to be sanded. always use a brand new or dedicated scrubby on it for the same reasons as I said before.
With gravity filters, personally, I like to fill them up at night. That way there’s freshwater for the day, and nobody really cares how long it takes for them to do their job. They have all night.
In terms of a cover, I usually just buy the bottom part of the pot. Usually it fits beautifully in the top of the pot and does a good job as a lid. just take the lid off and pour water in the terra-cotta filter and put the lid back on, and leave it be to slowly filter the water into the pot below it.
if you’re feeling fancy, you can install a spigot close to the bottom of your bucket so that you don’t have to lift your pot off in order to get the water out. It’s also a little more sanitary that way because your filter gets less handling.
And if you live someplace, that’s really hot, if the bucket you choose to use to receive the water is made of terra-cotta, the water stays cold if you keep it in the shade. You may just want to have it standing in a glazed dish, because the reason why a terra-cotta bucket will stay cold is that there is evaporation of water coming through the pores all the time.
Not all of it may evaporate, and you may end up with a puddle on your countertop.
you can get years of use from the filter like that, and depending on what it is, you’re filtering out of the water, it may be every bit as effective as the very pricey filters.
if you live in an old house where mice occasionally get in, may I suggest that you have a larger bucket that you can store your water filter in when it’s not in use? Because terra cotta is nice and cool, rodents love to sit in them, and we know what rodents do wherever they go. So larger bucket with a cover on it, will do a beautiful job of protecting your filter in storage. perhaps even put a bit of padding in the bucket around it, if you’ve got youngsters, who like to make the occasional foray into your emergency supplies, and who could accidentally knock it over and break it.
Personally, I live in a place that gets a lot of winter in a very little bit of summer, so I usually have two of those pots on hand, Just in case, I need to start using them, with an extra to use if the first one starts to need maintenance, as it would take quite a long time to dry in this climate, outside of summer time.
this is probably more than you asked for in some respects, but I hope it gives you some information to move forward.
@@daphneraven6745 Omygosh!!!! Whoa!!!! this is too much information for me to digest and comprehend all at once. I first thought it was the work of an AI or something. I have never ever received such a long response to any of my prior UA-cam questions. I just wanted to know what does back-flushing mean? It would be nice if what you have just said or written would be in the form of a UA-cam video cause you have said a lot of things in detail that I am not able to visualize or make sense of???? Anyways, thanks, for taking the time to respond.
Does is kill all bacteria?
No. It doesn't kill bacteria which is why you will need to filter your water. We used a Katadyn Hiker Pro backpacking filter. The alum only draws the sediment, particles, bacteria to the bottom of the bucket. Even though the water looks clear, it's always safe to boil your water,use water treatment tablets, or run it through a water filter before drinking it.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker thanks
I have a test somebody needs to do. After separating the clear water from the top. Use another container and refill the bucket with the sediment. Stir and see if the residual alum will do the separation trick again. If so. How many times will it work. It's just a thought.
@Ebiczebulanious Thanks Jim!
Glad to be of help! I didn't know that Double Activated Baking Powder had alum in it so in turn you have helped me too. Yeah, there are many uses for alum and I guess it used to be more commonly used than it is today, but I don't think too many people know that it works wonders on silty, muddy river water
Bro 9 years and you still see comment wow noice
Alum powder has been used by societies for thousands of years to treat water, apparently. Not just several hundred, although it really did take off a few hundred years ago.
@CrazyTaileZ Thanks for your thoughtful reply - I use an alum block as a styptic (hemostaic-astringent) and as you note in the text intro, it can be used as an natural anti-bacterial anti-antiperspirant. My mom always had some in the spice rack, but I don't think we ever used it much. Your post got me curious and I found the wikipedia info on alum interesting; lots of uses for a common, inexpensive product. - Thanks for the sharing your insights, brother! Gread job on the vid.
What is a hemostaic astringent?
@@aparnabhatia5072
"Hemostatic" (adjective form of hemostasis) equates to stopping the flow of blood : the arrest of the escape of blood by either natural means (clot formation or vessel spasm) or artificial means (compression or ligation).
An "Astringent" (such as Alum) is an agent that causes contraction or shrinkage of body tissues, aids in the arrest discharges/secretions or constricts blood vessels and thus reduces bleeding. Astringents are usually locally after topical application.
Skin preparations such as shaving lotions often contain astringents such as aluminum acetate that help to reduce oiliness and excessive perspiration & styptic pencils, made of alum, are used to stop bleeding from small cuts - especially those which may result from shaving with a razor blade.
Other common forms of astringents include as "witch hazel" - used to reduce swelling of skin tissues= & also zince oxide & calamine to relieve forms of dermatitis, tannic acid in treatment for diarrhea,& boric acid and sodium borate to relieve the symptoms of inflammation of the mucous membranes of the throat or conjunctiva of the eye. These are all natural remedies with long histories of use before the implementation of modern medicine which remain in common use today.
Thank you for the suggestion! I watched the Life Saver Systems vid and that system looks to be a very safe and efficient way to deal with nasty rivear water (or ANY water source for that matter). The technology is improving for purifying water then some of the old traditional methods and/or portable drinking water devices. Over time, I imagine that the cost of purchasing one of these great systems will drop so that everyone can afford to have lifes most precious commodity; Drinking Water.
You could have replied to the comment which suggested you.
Just a query
would we have to evaporate the sea water to obtain the salt after using this technique ??
Just to confirm, use a block of alum, turn it in , let it settle for 5 hours, remove water from the top , down is all the shar and this top water i use for cooking with baking soda or no ? ,
Thanks for the reply
That is correct. You must sterilize the water before using it for cooking by either boiling the water for a few minutes or using a water purifying filter like a "Sawyer Mini" or a "Britta" to strain out any bacteria or virus that might be in the water.
actually my mother once used when water had particles and it worked great. dont remember the time but a small amout of alum made the water drinkable
Does Alum kill bacteria and other mucrobes as well
Thanks for watching! Alum is used for drawing dirt, silt and debris from the water. It will not kill bacteria. Using something like AquaMira tablets would be safe way to kill bacteria.
So useful to know, God bless you. Please can you tell me if this would work with beach water?
Thanks for watching! I greatly appreciate it! This will also work with Beach water although it will not remove the salt from the water. This method only removes the mud and silt and particles within the water.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker oh I see. How would you make it palatable to drink in that case?
@@safi456 The water would have to be desalinated before it could be drinkable. I'd recommend watching this video to get an idea on how to desalinate ocean water. ua-cam.com/video/R_-wFiFdwAE/v-deo.html
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Excellent! Thanks so much.
Sorry, another Q. I'm searching for alum, but I'm getting results like: 17% (iron free) or 98% (iron free)...What does that mean? And which one is best for cleaning water?
@@safi456 Try searching: "Aluminum Sulfate for sale" and you might get some better results. I have always purchased alum at 99% pure. A 5 pound bag typically costs about $18 - $20 and 5 pounds of alum is enough to treat thousands of gallons of water. Some grocery stores carry it in the spice section. Comes in a tin square"ish" shaker like a pepper container but will say Alum on it.
Thank you for the video. I've been trying to research using Alum and there is little available on the web. I'm going on a 6 day backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon and know the water from the Colorado will be quite silty. We will have a 2 gallon collapsible bucket and I will make a batch of concentrate and take some powder just in case.
Now that is cool, I wonder if it would work with water high in tannin's I have had that clog up a new filter in dolly sods
@ez2curanut Mixing the powder into a container like a canteen or plastic bottle to dissolve the powder will get the best results. The alum powder takes a few minutesto dissolve but I think if you carried some in a film canister, you would have enough alum concentrate to use for a week if you were using the whole canister filled with alum and filtering silty water for 7 days. Nice to have for emergencies!
It's my understanding that the amount of alum needed depends on the initial PH of the water source?Correct me if I'm wrong(I'm not a chemist)but it seems to me even if one includes the initial PH in the equation then adding the alum will make your final water very acidic,not to mention aluminum sulphate is soluble in water so there would be aluminum left over in the final water you're drinking which isn't a good thing.
but can we use it to bath safely
Can we drink this water without any side effects?or we can use it after boil?
The water needs to be boiled or filtered before it is safe to drink.
Dude! This is awesome!
@medicjimr I imagine that alum would work quite well on tannins. I have read that some people have used it for treating ponds and lakeshore areas and I gather they are removing everything from small algaes to bacterias.
What does tannis mean? Tanning leather? Can we use baking powder along with alum to purify the silty water?
That guy just drank river water without boiling it ?
After doing this can we drink directly or doing something else.
No. It's not safe to drink it until you either pour the water through a filter or a purifier (like a Sawyer Squeeze or Mini, MSR Miniworks, ) or boil the water. The Alum only removes the sediment in the water. It does not sterilize the bacteria or viruses in the water. Just filter it or boil it and it will be safe to drink.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker when I boil the water approx. 30 min then it's totally safe or I have to. Do something else or anything else in that water.
@@delhiwalaghumakkadrider.ch1615 Yes, just make sure the water cools down before you drink it. 😁 Drinking hot, boiling water can be dangerous.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker okay 👍 thanks for the suggestion.
What quantity of Alum do i need to add in a 3000 liters tank of water
In order to treat water using Aluminum sulfate as coagulant , we most know water characteristics very well. For example PH, Temperature, Turbidity, etc. This is important for determine an specific Alum dose through the Jar test in the lab. Alum dose varies from one kind of water to another, depending of its contamination level (Turbidity). According to the EPA, Alum is directly related with Alzheimer syndrome. That is why water engineers we most guarantee to not allow any residual of Alum once the water leaves the water treatment plant. Obviously, these people do not know what they are doing.
thanks for the info! do you know any simple diy way of eliminating alum residuals in the water? I'm using it to soften my hairwash water so I'm a bit scared
Incase v have powder of alum how much to add in how many litres
Alum power is what i use. It does not require much to treat a good amount of water. I would always start off with the least amount of alum powder. Too much alum powder will change the pH balance of the water and make it too alkaline. I would recommend using 1 teaspoon of alum power to 19 liters of water. Stir it up and then let it sit for about 2 hours. By then, the water will look clean and you should be able to see the silt, mud particles pulled down to the bottom. If it's not clear, add another 1/2 teaspoon more alum powder and lightly stir the mix and wait another 2 to 3 hours. Carefully pour off the clear water on the top (you can use up to 2/3 of the water in the bucket) and either boil it for a few minutes, or run the water through a water purifying filter. You will now have usable cooking and drinking water.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker How much Alum do I need for 4000 litres of water stored in a Polytank?
Does Alum reduce the salt content?
Alum works well at removing mud/silt, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Alum does not work for removing or reducing salt.
Thanks for sharing this! Since watching this, I did a little research, and one thing I found was that using too much alum will cause diarrhea. Obviously, your ratios of 1.5 oz solid to 1 qt of water and then adding 2.5 caps full to 5 gals must be safe, but do you think that is a linear ratio? In other words, could I mix 1.25 caps full (or, more likely 1 cap full) to 2.5 gallons and get the same result without any side effects (the diarrhea)? Have you treated less than 5 gallons before?
+alaskanshannon It will depend on how silty the water is that you are treating. It's always best practice to try using the smallest amount of alum possible and see what you get. It really doesn't take much alum to do the job. Since doing this video, I've discovered that just using 1/4 of a teaspoon of alum powder to 5 gal of water worked just fine. 5 gallons is the least amount of water that I've treated with thus far.
Did you stir the 1/4 tsp of alum powder direclty into the water being treated OR does it need to be predisolved in clean water? Thank you :)
@RebLin51 I imagine that this trick will be very useful to people who have run into the problem of silty water clogging up their favorite water filters. I didn't know about this trick really until 2 years ago and I'm definately going to be adding some alum to my kit!
Hi there, about how much alum would I need for about of gallon of water and where did you get your info about the history of alum usage? Thank you!
Hi Cesca he posted a comment in a reply to yours check
@CrazyTaileZ I will have to grab some if I am in that situation again. Great video Matt
Every Pakistani house has alum to clean drinking water
Is this good for ground water...
Use a Berkey filter after then drink it.
@RebLin51 Your math looks to be right on and I will post this formula in the description box with full credit to you! This is very much appreciated! Thank you for figuring out a more sutible amount for backpacking! 1 qt amounts is a much more logical choice to use on a backpacking trip and even using a black plastic yard bag will do the trick for containing your water from the source.
Thumbs Up!
But isnt aluminium toxic? Will this build up aluminium in the body?
Al₂(SO₄)₃ is non toxic. H₂O is non toxic. Both can be hazardous to your health in large quantities if ingested! 😝 Alum is used and has been used for hundreds of years to clean muddy and silty water. It's used in today's municipal city water treatment systems.
The method you see in this video is for temporary water treatments when dealing with silty river water for short periods of time. Not intended to be used for long term or everyday use.
@@TheSouthwestBackpacker Understood for short term it should not make a difference. BTW what do you think of KAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O is a better version of Alum I hear it doesn't sting when applied to the skin
Hi Guys! A few questions- how long is the alum concentrate good for? Also, would it be safe to use this with Aquamira?
Thanks!
Thanks for watching. I don't know exactly how long the alum concentrate is good for. Based on my personal experience, I have mixed up the concentrate and kept it in a container that does not allow sunlight to get in (like a stainless steel bottle or canteen) and at least 6 months after I made the mix, it still works. Keep in mind that simply adding the alum granules to the water that you want to treat seems to work just as well.
Aquamira will work to sterilize the water from water borne pathogens (giardia, cryptosprudium, virus's etc...) but YOU MUST ALWAYS FILTER THE TREATED WATER WITH A WATER FILTER OF SOME KIND! DO NOT JUST DRINK THE TREATED WATER! Ingesting the water with the alum mix could/would be toxic and harmful to your health. Using a water filter will remove the coagulated alum from the water. Treating the water with alum and Aquimira tabs is a good combination but it still needs to be filtered to remove the coagulated alum from the water. I would recommend using a "Sawyer Squeeze" or Sawyer Mini" as your water filter. I have used the "Katadyn Hiker Pro" water filter with great success but it takes a while to pump 5 gallons. A Sawyer filter can be used as a gravity filter eliminating the need to physically pump the water.
I did not know the spice alum could be used this way, awesome info, worked so well, with filtering, etc, its great clip, thanks.
+Nature Inspired Snips n Snaps Thank you for watching! Spice Alum is the stuff for dealing with really silty river water. I've used this method for a 12 day trip along the Green River in Utah and it worked out perfectly! Always sterilize (boil) or filter your water with a water filter like a Sawyer or Katadyn Hiker Pro to get rid of the bad pathogens that might be in the water.
How to avoid hair fall from hard water in home and outside pl give me solutions pl
@ridebks Thank you! I might try to find a way to make a ratio that works for backpacking. (if one were to backpack in areas with muddy, silty water). Since it has an indefinate shelf life, it would be a handy piece of kit to have for many situations.
How long it will take?
Usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes.
Does it reduced the hardness of water? like does it convert hard into soft?
Have you tested the PH level of the water?
is that safe to use in a pond full of koi fish we just had 6 inches of rain in my water is filthy I think I had run off dump in there
I do not believe it would be safe for the fish and would not recommend it.
On internet v can buy either powder or block
Can i use this to make hard water soft and wash hair and bathing
Thats awesome man. Thanks for the info. Take care.
But how to remove alumn from water then?
The alum is mostly drawn down to the bottom of the bucket. Pour off the water in the bucket and leave about 2 inches of water in the bucket. The water that you poured off needed to be filtered with a backpacking filter or a gravity filter to remove any alum in the poured off water. The remaining 2 inches of water in the bucket can be dumped out as it will not be usable.
Does it have side effects on hairs and eyes when bathing with alum mixed water per day???
Ganje ho jaoge.........looley langdey ........ Chamdi par kodh nikal jayegi
Thanks for the info, appreciate it!
@touchnova Thanks man! I'm bringing it with me next time I go on another canoing trip fo sure!
I'm getting ready to edit and post my Canyonlands video and it will show the area you mentioned (The Confluence) where the Green River meets the Colorado River. That was our meet up location for the outfitter to shuttle us back to Moab via a jetboat! :-D Sure is a beautiful place to spend a few weeks at!
Now that alum in the cabinet will finally get some more use!
Thanks Brother!
Is the green river in Utah? Grand canyon is in Arizona, right?
@@aparnabhatia5072 That is correct! 🙂👍
Can you please tell me if i take 1liter water then how much alum powder i should add in water. Do i need to boil the water before adding alum.Waiting for reply. Thanks
Bori bharkar...........10000000 quintiles.........Tonnes. thodi fitkari to paani khud pee jayega......Pani ko fitkari ka taste bahut pasand hai
how to did you removed the dusty cloud that r scattered in water
where is your control
Is it save to use this for bath?
Will alum harm live fish?
Hi I wanna know, after extracting the clean water can i use it for hair wash???
Yes, you can use it for washing your own hair.
@ez2curanut You are absolutely correct Jim! I misunderstood your 1st question and thank you for clarifing. Yes, bringing the dry mix along with you makes complete sense and just as you described, when it comes time to use it, you can then mix it up on the spot so you're not lugging extra weight around. You're right on it my friend! Now, I've only tried this with river water on a 6 day canoe trip but I'd like to put this to the test on a backpacking trip. Mabey the Rio Puerco! LOL
@monzanoman Thanks Shoops! This would work well with the Rio Grande water for sure. I think it would ever work well with an oversized mud puddle after a flash flood rain storm... those puddles that last for days after. You could scoop up enough mud puddle water to fill a 5 gal. bucket and add the alum to that... 30 mins later, you would have clear, filterable water. I'll turn you on to some the next time I see ya.
Thank you so much for the quick reply.Its going to be helpful to me , to cook daal and all
@intenseangler Thanks Brother! I owe this little water treatment trick to a guy I met 2 years ago on the upper have of the Green River and he had mentioned "Alum". It's a great item to have if you're going to be on a long, multiday paddle river trip. Other people camping on the river were asking us how we got our water so clean. :-] I'd like to figure out how to make a small amount for backpacking. Perhaps a 1 or 2 gallon mixture in one of those plastic, collapable water jugs?
I did a PH level test prior to doing this video as I was aware that treating water with alum could change the PH balance of the water. The results were minimal. The river water that I used while testing was reading a PH level of 7 and after the alum treatment, the PH level was reading 6. One could carry a small container of Lye to add to the water and balance out the PH if needed.
What is a PH level? How alkaline or acidic the water is? 💧
Thank you sir .
Alum's primary uses today are for industrial water purification and garden soil but decades ago i used it to gel jelly, is a common food ingredient in very small amounts! Very careful to keep it away from children! Toxic in large amounts! Kept it out of secondary filter with careful dipping, don't pour. Dump sediment into river not on desert land. Filters are expensive especially "lifesaver", AS use saves filter life. AS use is a lost skill along with common sense.
@CrazyTaileZ Heck yeah I would like some Alum, thank you. I would like to clean up some local Rio Grande River water. This Alum is very cool.
hi where to buy alum powder
(USA) Alum can be found at your local grocery store in the spice isle (typically used for pickling) and it's cheap to buy. You can also purchase alum on the internet.
hi where to alum power
Hing the asfoetida ...... go to any grocery store and ask Fitkari.
this is called flocculation, n alum is called flocculant..
Coagulant
Nice
Probiotic treatment
@ez2curanut Thats the bad thing! Stupid shipping costs! I looked all around locally to see if I could find alum and "Matt's Westside Pools & Spa's" was the only place locally I could find it... smallest amount they had was 15 lb bags. :(
I did, however, go on a 4 way split with 4 other people, and only had to pay 25% of it and we all have enough alum now to last for the rest of our lives! LOL. A small amount of alum goes a long ways.