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How to make a homemade drinking water filter

Although we are in the 21st century, there are currently still regions of the world where there is no public access network for sanitized water. That is why it is often necessary to develop ways to make homemade water filters that can be used in these areas of the planet or simply because in your house, the water comes out with small impurities.

In the following AgroCorrn article we are going to talk about how to make a homemade water filter to drink so that you can make clean water in your own home.

What is a homemade water filter for?

Homemade water filters can simulate what happens in nature , where water is filtered naturally by materials such as sand and gravel, and flows cleanly through springs.

For this reason, this type of filters use the mechanical action of these materials to eliminate impurities in the water and together with carbon and benign microorganisms, it is also possible to eliminate pathogens harmful to our health , such as Vibrio cholerae , bacteria that cause cholera. When going through these materials, if it is done correctly, the water gets rid of its impurities, leaving at the end clean and suitable for consumption.

We recommend these other AgroCorrn articles to better understand the great importance of a water filter system to obtain drinking water: Diseases caused by contaminated water and Causes and consequences of water pollution .

What is needed to make a homemade water filter – materials

You don’t need many materials to make a water filter , all you need is the following:

  • Large plastic container, bottle type, approximately one meter high.
  • Gravel.
  • Fine sand.
  • Small and medium-sized stones, pebble type.
  • Activated carbon.
  • Natural cotton or polyfill (padding for cushions).

How to make a homemade sand, charcoal and stone water filter – steps

Take note of the steps to make a homemade water filter easily:

  1. The first step for the manufacture of our homemade water filter or homemade water purifier is to prepare the material that we are going to use, properly cleaning all the material . The plastic container will be cleaned with water and soaps with antibacterial action, while the stones and sand will also be cleaned with water and stirred to remove impurities, without adding soap. The water container must be properly closed to be able to fill it with water and extract it, using an upper and lower stopcock, through which the water comes out free of impurities.
  2. Once the material is properly disinfected and cleaned, we will begin with the manufacture of the filter itself. This filter manufacturing process consists of alternating the layers of the different materials correctly arranged so that they fulfill their function. You can see the proper order in the next section.
  3. A transparent tube of the same height as the system can also be incorporated into its outlet from the bottom, so that we know the volume of water that is filtered in the system and if the volume of water is the same in tube than in the filter, this would indicate that the manufacture of the filter is not adequate, while if the level is a little lower it is well manufactured. On the other hand, if the resulting water level is very low, it would indicate that the system is plugged. Although this tube is not necessary, it is okay to use it to see how the filter works .

Order of the layers of materials to make a water purifier

Starting from the lower layers and working your way up to the upper ones, the order in which you must add the layers of material to make a water purifier is as follows:

  1. Cotton or polyfill layer between 3 and 6 cm.
  2. Layer of medium-sized stones with a height of approximately 25 cm.
  3. Layer of small-sized stones with a height of approximately 12 cm.
  4. Gravel layer with a height of approximately 3 cm.
  5. Activated carbon layer with a height of approximately 3 cm. This layer greatly increases the filtering properties of the system.
  6. Gravel layer with a height of approximately 2 cm.
  7. Layer of fine sand with a height of approximately 6 cm.
  8. Gravel layer with a height of approximately 6 cm.
  9. Layer of small stones, pebble type, with a height of approximately 12 cm.

If you want to make it simpler, take note of this other way of making a homemade filter , keeping in mind that the cotton must always be placed at the base, where the water will come out.

  1. Cotton.
  2. Activated carbon.
  3. Fine sand.
  4. Gross sand.
  5. Gravel or stones of medium or small size.

If you don’t have many materials, the minimums to use are cotton and activated carbon or, instead of the latter, sand and gravel. When you have it ready, place the water at the top and let it fall through the filter, the materials collect the particles that we want to filter and finally the clean water comes out through the bottom tap.

Home Water Filter Operation and Maintenance

The operation of the home water purifier is based on the entry of water with impurities through the upper part, which passes through the various layers of the system, reaching the lower part of the system clean and free of impurities. With this filter it is possible to greatly clean the impurities of the water that enters, but if it is manufactured to be used by a whole family, it should also have another container that allows to store this water free of impurities.

Regarding filter maintenance, approximately every 6 months , it is convenient to disassemble the filter to clean the sand, stones, gravel again and replace the activated carbon, because over time, it loses its filtering properties. Also, if its use is intensive, we should do it before.

The necessary size of our filter can vary according to our needs, from a larger one if it is for a family to a smaller and simple one if it is for a specific moment, or it can even be complemented with a rainwater collection system.

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Hello, I am a blogger specialized in environmental, health and scientific dissemination issues in general. The best way to define myself as a blogger is by reading my texts, so I encourage you to do so. Above all, if you are interested in staying up to date and reflecting on these issues, both on a practical and informative level.

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