How to make stored rainwater safe for drinking?
Roof-collected rainwater contains dust, bird droppings, pollen, and potentially bacteria. Filtration and disinfection are required before it is safe for human consumption.
- Boil and basic cloth filtration — zero-cost emergency method5
When no equipment is available, cloth filtration followed by a rolling boil is the oldest and most reliable method to make any water safe for drinking. It eliminates all biological pathogens at zero cost.
📌 free📌 traditional2/28/2026, 2:23:45 PM
🛠️ Pot, heat source, clean cloth
- Build a DIY biosand filter from a 5-gallon bucket4
A biosand filter uses layers of sand and gravel to remove 90-99% of bacteria and 100% of parasites from water. Developed for use in developing countries, it requires no power, no replacement parts, and costs under $20 to build.
📌 diy📌 low cost📌 traditional2/28/2026, 2:23:25 PM
🛠️ 5-gallon food-grade bucket, PVC elbow and pipe, silicone sealant, coarse gravel, fine gravel, clean sand
- Berkey gravity filter system for household drinking water5
The Berkey is the most widely used gravity-fed water filter for rainwater-to-drinking conversion. It removes 99.999% of bacteria, 99.999% of viruses, heavy metals, pesticides, and sediment without electricity or water pressure.
📌 commercial2/28/2026, 2:23:14 PM
🛠️ None