What Copper and Zinc Really Do to Your Drinking Water (And What They Can't Do in a Blackout)
Finn Stone
88 views
#copper #survivalskills #waterpurification
A viral video says copper wire and a zinc strip, twisted together and dropped in dirty water, will purify any water overnight. No filter, no electricity, five dollars. I’m Finn, The DIY Guy, and I went through the patents, the NASA records, the EPA registrations and the university studies, one claim at a time.
Some of it is real. Copper-zinc KDF media does remove chlorine, and copper pots killed six kinds of disease bacteria in a lab study. But EPA-funded researchers found these metals can’t be the only step in making water safe. NASA’s Apollo purifier used silver ions and electricity, not copper and zinc. And the EPA copper registration covers door handles, not drinking water.
Then I rank what actually works when the power goes out or a boil-water notice hits:
Stored water
The 40 gallons already sitting in your water heater, and the one step you must take before you drain it
Boiling
The CDC and EPA bleach dose that treats about 7,000 gallons for $10
How to read NSF filter certifications
There’s also a full shopping list with real prices.
I’m not a doctor or a water scientist, and I didn’t lab-test any water. Everything here comes from public sources you can check yourself (listed below). Always follow your local health department’s instructions.
SOURCES
CDC: Emergency water storage, boiling and disinfection guidance
EPA: Emergency disinfection of drinking water; copper in drinking water
NASA Spinoff: Apollo water purifier
Sobsey & Singer, University of North Carolina: EPA-funded copper/zinc disinfection research
Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (2012): Copper pot water storage study
U.S. Patent (1987), Heskett: KDF copper-zinc process
Copper Development Association: EPA antimicrobial copper alloy registration (2008)
Michigan State University Extension: Water heater as an emergency water source
copper zinc water purification, galvanic water filter myth, does copper purify water, KDF water filter, emergency water purification, bleach water purification ratio, how to purify water without power, water heater emergency water, boil water notice, power outage water, well pump power outage, NSF 53 water filter, emergency water storage, survival water purification, off grid water
#waterpurification #emergencyprep #survivalskills #copper #offgrid #TheDIYGuy
What Copper and Zinc Really Do to Your Drinking Water (And What They Can't Do in a Blackout)
Finn Stone
88 views
#copper #survivalskills #waterpurification
A viral video says copper wire and a zinc strip, twisted together and dropped in dirty water, will purify any water overnight. No filter, no electricity, five dollars. I’m Finn, The DIY Guy, and I went through the patents, the NASA records, the EPA registrations and the university studies, one claim at a time.
Some of it is real. Copper-zinc KDF media does remove chlorine, and copper pots killed six kinds of disease bacteria in a lab study. But EPA-funded researchers found these metals can’t be the only step in making water safe. NASA’s Apollo purifier used silver ions and electricity, not copper and zinc. And the EPA copper registration covers door handles, not drinking water.
Then I rank what actually works when the power goes out or a boil-water notice hits:
Stored water
The 40 gallons already sitting in your water heater, and the one step you must take before you drain it
Boiling
The CDC and EPA bleach dose that treats about 7,000 gallons for $10
How to read NSF filter certifications
There’s also a full shopping list with real prices.
I’m not a doctor or a water scientist, and I didn’t lab-test any water. Everything here comes from public sources you can check yourself (listed below). Always follow your local health department’s instructions.
SOURCES
CDC: Emergency water storage, boiling and disinfection guidance
EPA: Emergency disinfection of drinking water; copper in drinking water
NASA Spinoff: Apollo water purifier
Sobsey & Singer, University of North Carolina: EPA-funded copper/zinc disinfection research
Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (2012): Copper pot water storage study
U.S. Patent (1987), Heskett: KDF copper-zinc process
Copper Development Association: EPA antimicrobial copper alloy registration (2008)
Michigan State University Extension: Water heater as an emergency water source
copper zinc water purification, galvanic water filter myth, does copper purify water, KDF water filter, emergency water purification, bleach water purification ratio, how to purify water without power, water heater emergency water, boil water notice, power outage water, well pump power outage, NSF 53 water filter, emergency water storage, survival water purification, off grid water
#waterpurification #emergencyprep #survivalskills #copper #offgrid #TheDIYGuy