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United Kingdom · GBP
How to Purify Water in the Wild — The "TCP Before Vomit" Bushcraft Method
How to Purify Water in the Wild — The "TCP Before Vomit" Bushcraft Method
A simple field-tested system for making water safe to drink outdoors — covering filtration, chemical treatment, and boiling.
Back in the day, if you fell off your bike or skinned your knee, you'd probably be plonked on the kitchen counter and have a healthy dollop of TCP slapped on the affected area — cue the screaming as the magic ointment worked its wonders and stung to high heavens. That's how you know it's working! Maybe I was just emotionally scarred as a youth, but the potency of TCP has stuck with me and now plays a large role in my teachings around water purification.
The Mantra
"TCP Before Vomit!"
This identifies all the contaminants we need to consider while making water safe to drink.
The Contaminants
T Turbidity
The floaty bits. In fact, the majority of contaminants in water are attached to these, so if we can remove any floating matter, we significantly reduce contamination. This is where filtration systems such as our Millbank Bag come in — to remove these particles.
C Chemical
More prevalent nowadays with the spread of human activity and industry. The only way to deal with chemical contamination that I'm aware of is activated charcoal filters. Activated charcoal is produced under controlled laboratory conditions at higher temperatures, which create larger pores than those in standard charcoal.
If you had nothing else, adding some crushed charcoal from your campfire to your filtered water, mixing it in, and then filtering it through a Millbank bag will help absorb these chemicals.
P Parasites & Protozoa
As living organisms, they are susceptible to heat — exposure to high temperatures for a prolonged period will kill them and render them harmless. Some Hollow Fibre Membrane Filters can also remove these contaminants, such as Sawyer or LifeStraw.
B Bacteria
Another living organism, so heat will effectively kill them, as will some chemical treatments such as iodine or chlorine.
V Virus
Cholera, dysentery, norovirus, and typhoid can all cause serious illness if left unchecked in your drinking water. Viruses exposed to temperatures of 65°C become inactivated after 3 minutes, but since this can be difficult to monitor accurately in the field, we use a foolproof system.
The Foolproof Method
Remember
BIG BUBBLES, NO TROUBLES!
Once we heat water to a rolling boil, it has travelled through temperature ranges from 65°C up to 100°C (altitude dependent). By the time it cools enough to be drinkable, it has travelled back down that temperature range, ensuring that any harmful contaminants won't make us regret our relaxing brew in the woods.
At higher altitudes (above 2,000 metres / 6,562 feet), where water boils at a lower temperature, extending the boil time to three minutes helps ensure full purification.
If fuel is limited, heating water to 65°C for at least six minutes can still neutralise most pathogens, though bringing it to a boil always remains the safest and simplest method.
Have a great week.
Cheers,
Chris & the FF Team
