Portable Water Purifiers – Everything You Need To Know!

With all the advancements in portable water purifiers over the last few years, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of products that you have available to you on the market today. Luckily, the selection of portable water filters can be separated into two main types: micron filter purifiers, and UV light purifiers.

Here’s what you need to know about both!

1. Micron Filters: these purify water by straining it through a series of filters to remove any bacteria and contaminants from the water. The efficiency of these filters is measured by how small in microns a particle would have to be to get through the filter.

A micron is one millionth of a meter, or about one 25,400th of an inch.

So a 3-micron filter would stop any particle larger than 3 microns, but anything smaller than 3 microns would slip through.

What you need to know about micron filters: look for a purifier that filters to under 1 micron.

Most bacteria are between 0.1-10 microns in size, but many purifiers will filter as small as 0.2 microns.

2. UV Light Filters: these purifiers are truly amazing! These devices kill harmful viruses, bacteria, and protozoa by using ultraviolet light to “fry” their DNA.

The process with these devices is usually to take a small wand of light and stick it into a receptacle of water for a certain amount of time (usually 15 seconds to a minute) in order to give the device time to kill the harmful contents of the water with UV rays.

What you need to know about UV purifiers: pay attention to how powerful the UV light from the device is.

The more powerful the UV emitter, the less time it will take to purify a glass of water. Each device should state how long it takes to purify a specified amount of water.

And finally, as with all water purifiers, make sure that the device you choose meets the E.P.A. standards for microbiological water purifiers. This information should always be on the product’s website.

Be safe! And enjoy knowing that you are drinking safer, healthier water cheaper!