Boiling For Water Sterilization
Boiling can be used as a method of water disinfection but is only advocated as an emergency water treatment method, or as a method of portable water purification in rural or wilderness settings without access to a potable water infrastructure. Bringing water to the boil is effective in killing or inactivating most bacteria, viruses and pathogens. Boiling is the most certain way of killing nearly all microorganisms. According to the Wilderness Medical Society, water temperatures above 160°F (70°C) kill all pathogens within 30 minutes and above 185°F (85°C) within a few minutes. So in the time it takes for the water to reach the boiling point (212°F or 100°C) from 160°F (70°C), all pathogens will be killed, even at high altitude. To be extra safe, let the water boil rapidly for one minute, especially at higher altitudes since water boils at a lower temperature.
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Famous quotes containing the words boiling and/or water:
“‘Twas like a Maelstrom, with a notch,
That nearer, every Day,
Kept narrowing its boiling Wheel”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“The Indian navigator naturally distinguishes by a name those parts of a stream where he has encountered quick water and forks, and again, the lakes and smooth water where he can rest his weary arms, since those are the most interesting and more arable parts to him.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)