Water Purifiers...Portable, Simple & EffectiveWater purifiers remove microbiological contaminants from your water supply, usually by adding some chemical disinfectant, such as chlorine or iodine. These are particularly useful when hiking or traveling in remote regions; but can also be used to treat your home water supply. There was one time where you could dip your head into a mountain stream and drinking cool, clean, refreshing water, without fear of ingesting a bunch of dangerous compounds. Now, one has to be more careful. According to a 2006 Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) study, over 50% of all American streams are polluted: 42% were said to be poor shape; 25% were documented as being in fair condition; and a measly 28% were said to be in good condition. There were research problems with the other 5%. Unless treated, drinking polluted water can lead to vomiting, diarrhea or worse. One of the most commonly used water purifiers is iodine tablets. When added to water, they are effective at removing protozoa, bacteria and viruses but ineffective against removing cryptosporidium. And very importantly, iodine purification tablets are not designed to remove toxic chemicals from your water. If you're traveling, a portable water filter is ideal for this purpose.
They come in handy should your drinking water supply run out and you need to use the water from a stream or river. It is important to follow the instructions on the bottle, such as how many tablets to use and who shouldn't consume water purified with iodine. The more cloudy the water is, the more iodine water purification tablets you need to use. If the water has particles in it, you'll need to strain it first.
After putting the iodine tablets in the water, you'll need to let it stand for a while for purification to take place. Especially if the water is cold, let the water stand longer.
An alternative to iodine water purifiers is chlorine-based water purification tablets, such as Halazone. It can be used by persons who can't consume iodine-purified water. Or you could add two drops of 5% bleach per quart of water and let it stand for 30 minutes to an hour, if you don't have the tablets. Like iodine, chlorine is not effective against cryptosporidium but can remove giardia. Another drawback is that both chlorine and iodine purified water taste terrible. You may need to add Vitamin C tablets to the treated water to improve the taste.
And lets not forget good ol' fashion "boiling," as a way to purify water of microorganisms like giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium which are often found in rivers and lakes.The drawback is that boiling water may use up your fuel, which if you are in a remote area, that fuel may be in short supply At 100°C, most pathogens within the water would be killed. If you are at high altitude, water boiling point drops, so you'll need to boil the water longer.
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For a more comprehensive removal of contaminants, check out this drinking water filter
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They are easy to carry on your trip and can be readily obtained at any good camping store. 