Water Purification Tablets are a survivalist necessity, usually carried by the military in their pocket inside a canteen carrier, as a component of an individual first aid kit, or in other storage gear.
Water purification tablets can make most water bacteriologically suitable for drinking. They work by using chemicals, commonly iodine. Iodine stops and kills harmful bacteria.
Steps for 1qt CANTEEN
- Fill your canteen with the cleanest water available.
- Put two iodine tablets in the canteen of water. Double these amounts in the 2-quart canteen.
- Place cap on the canteen. Shake canteen to dissolve tablets. Wait 5 minutes.
- Loosen the cap and tip the canteen over to allow leakage around the canteen threads.
- Tighten the cap and wait an additional 25 minutes before drinking.
(P 4-11.1D FIELD HYGIENE AND SANITATION / HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY AND COMMANDANT, MARINE CORPS )