Can I Continue to Boil Water After It Boils

I used to drink right from the creek whenever hiking, and a long time passed before I actually stopped and considered if it was really that safe

Sure, I knew that if I had the misfortune of filling my bottle downwards from a carcass laying in the water I would probably catch a germ or two, but what were the odds?

I turned to Google and read up tiny germs and bugs, bacteria such as salmonella, protozoa such as giardia and the feared virus Hepatitis – turns out; me not getting sick from drinking untreated water was luck, not skill in picking ideal water sources…

Now, this is not a story of me actually getting sick from drinking water from the creek, but rather the wakeup call I got when actually encountering a dead animal quite close to my drinking source – something that really made me stop and think

Was I just plain lazy for never filtering my water before drinking it?
So I contemplated the worst-case scenario of being contaminated myself, or even worse; serving my ten-year-old son contaminated water if he was to come along for a hike…

…And soon found myself with a Sawyer Mini

The Sawyer Mini turned out to be a bit of a hassle, as it provided clean water – but the tedious process of gathering water in a bag, screwing the filter on -pressing-rinsing and repeating just killed it for me

Then one day, the liner ensuring that contaminated water does not flow from the bag and into my clean water supply somehow got lost in the process, and I just about had it for a while with water filters

So I started skipping the filter for a while until I read up on the MSR Trail shot, and it changed everything when compared to the Sawyer mini

Sure, I had to pump for a couple of minutes to get clean drinking water, but it worked phenomenally and still does

However, there are still issues here that I cannot really blame on the filter itself because it "only" removes bacteria up to a level of 99.9999 percent, and protozoa to a level of 99.9%

Now, please note that this goes for all water filters out there, such as pump filters, gravity filters, UV filters, bottle filters, squeeze filters, straw filters and u-name it filters

Also, during the winter season, it would kill the filter if I used it and then went along on my hike because the fibers would freeze and render the device useless

But I went along with it for a long while and somehow managed to store the filter inside my jacket after use, preventing it from freezing

Hmmm…

I concluded that no matter how good a filter I came across, nothing could beat a good old rolling boil – and realized that for the last few trips into the woods I had brought the filter in my backpack without using it

Now, I (instinctively ?) had started collecting water and then rinsing it with my shemagh to remove particles before boiling the water

No more hassle worrying about the filter and no worries at all about any remaining bacteria – because in a rolling boil… No bacteria survive -and I was at no risk for any sort of biological contamination

Again, steel, wood and fire ensured my safety, but one danger remained:

A rolling boil does not rule out chemicals and heavy metals

As proof there is a God, and part of the inherent curse of seeking and gaining wisdom, my reading up on the subject soon revealed clear as day that to be 100% safe I had to revert to some kind of filter

Why?

Well, many believe that we do not encounter heavy metals out in the woods, but they can actually end up in the water through a completely natural erosion process

And as for chemicals…Is it really that unlikely that some ***hole didn't abandon his leaking diesel tank upstream?

So now we are talking about chemicals and heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, copper and lead… Great!

But unlike many other pages on hiking, bush crafting and what not; I will not continue this post with bragging about some insanely expensive water filter that also removes heavy metals and chemicals -because as stated by MSR themselves (one of the largest producers of water filters):

… Unfortunately, not even activated carbon will remove everything. But in most wilderness regions, a high-quality filter or purifier can get you out and back …

However, I will save you from dishing out money on a filter that you do not really need; because at least in my case; I've settled with boiling water when hiking

I usually do this when I make camp for the night in conjunction with making food -letting a warm water bottle with water keep me warm at night and providing me with a clean and safe drinking supply the next day

And if I do occasionally run out of water whilst hiking, I whip out my MSR Trail shot and "risk" it -because the chances of being poisoned by chemicals or heavy metals in natural springs are so slim that it would pass any Risk Assessment

Of course, be my guest and spend hours on hours researching the matter from reputable sources , but I am confident you'll conclude along the same lines as I did

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Source: https://titaniumstove.com/is-water-safe-to-drink-after-boiling-it/

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