How to Purify Muddy Water to Drink

Muddy water can be turned into safe drinking water with minimal equipment. If you ever get stranded in the wilderness without enough drinking water, the plumbing fails in your town or you visit a place without reliable drinking water, this knowledge could save your life -- or at least stop you from getting very ill.

Things You'll Need

• Two large empty plastic soda bottles
• Pebbles
• Sand
• Pan
• Piece of fabric or washcloth
• Scissors

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Instructions

• 1

  Cut the bottom off one plastic bottle. Cut the top off another bottle. Turn the first bottle upside down and support it in the second.

• 2

  Position a piece of fabric, such as a dish cloth, a denim square or even a coffee filter, into the neck of the first bottle.

• 3

  Place three inches of small pebbles or gravel over the fabric. Follow with several inches of sand. This is a basic water filter.

• 4

  Pour your water through the filter to remove the suspended sediment and some of the other impurities.

• 5

  Boil the apparently clean water for at least five minutes to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. This is an essential step. Removing the mud by filtration makes the water less gritty, but boiling makes it safe. Allow to cool before drinking.