When purchasing a water filter for AT-HOME and ON-THE-GO use, you will want to look for a filter that will do these 3 things! Not all water filters are created equal. This becomes extremely important if you are filtering contaminated water. Before you purchase your next water filter, or begin using the ones you already have, make sure they can filter out the 3 main disease-causing pathogens: viruses, bacteria, and parasites! These filters will not only clean up your everyday drinking water, but will take care of you in the event of an emergency.

Viruses: There is a long list of viruses that can be found in untreated water. Some of the ones you may have heard about are viruses like Adenovirus, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, etc.

Bacteria: Just like with viruses, there is a long list of bacteria that can be found in water. For example: Salmonella & E coli.

Parasites: An organism that is getting its food from a host. We’re talking me, you, our family members, friends, or even our animals. No thank you! Examples of parasites are: Protozoa, Giardia, Ectoparasites, and Schistosomiasis. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites can be found everywhere. But especially in water. Water can become contaminated through the fecal waste of infected animals or humans. Among other things. Your every day drinking water has been treated and is safe to drink. (Although, I still filter that water. Have you ever looked at report on your city’s water? There can still be a lot of gunk in there!) However, if your water supply goes down or you roughing it up in the mountains, you’ll want to filter that water by using a good quality filter.

Here are some of our favorites that filter out those 3 disease causing pathogens.

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FOR AT-HOME USE:

Berkey – We can’t say enough good things about this filter. We LOVE it!! The difference in how our water tastes is incredible. Drinking un-purified or filtered water (again, from a good quality filter) is really hard to do once you have had Berkey water!

Grayl– This water filter is so great! It’s our favorite ON-THE-GO filter. It will remove all those nasty waterborne pathogens and will also remove many chemicals, heavy metals & pesticides. Just stick it in your backpack or 96-hour kits and you’ll be good to go. The additional filters are also easy to carry with you. Aquamira Water Basics Redline Water Bottle: This is another good one! We actually the guy who helped design this water filter which was super cool!

Either of these AT-HOME or ON-THE-GO options work well for your everyday or adventure use, but would also be incredibly important to have in the event of an emergency. If you haven’t had a chance to look at our Water Guide, you’ll want to get that! It walks you step-by-step through water preparedness and how to use your water in the event of an emergency. Tip: Be sure to store extra of the internal filters for each water filter you choose to purchase.

This post will give you some great ideas on other items that will help you build up your water storage.