# New filter



## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

So today i got curious and decided i was going to make a water filter . What i did was i got a cotton shirt and put it in this topsy turvy i had never used . Laid it out on the bottom , then added charcoal , then another shirt , then sand , then another shirt and this is my results


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## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

This is obviously before and after , the reason after still looks kinda yellow is the sun . So yeah. If anybody has anything they think could help my filter please tell me .


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

I'd consider adding one more filter. A coffee filter. It'll pick out much smaller sediment compared to a t-shirt.


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## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

ZoomZoom said:


> I'd consider adding one more filter. A coffee filter. It'll pick out much smaller sediment compared to a t-shirt.


Can do  . Thanks . I didn't even think about that . I have tons of unused coffee filters that don't fit my coffee pot lol


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

What about the non-sediment pollution? Boiling it would kill bacteria, but would it eliminate the pollution from acid rain too?


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## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

Well there are ways to filter that , such as boiling it an catching the evap. , but I'd only worry about that if we were in a big city ,


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

rjdpj said:


> Well there are ways to filter that , such as boiling it an catching the evap. , but I'd only worry about that if we were in a big city ,


Come on, this town is a dirt hole. I've seen a lot of nasty pollution around here...


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## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

You shouldn't talk about Kalyn like that !!!!! , but seriously you probably right , but I'd still just do a normal free and boiling , the iodine , cause that would do the job too


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## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

One bit of advice I remember from my military days: if radiation is possibly present, don't boil things (cans, eating utensils, etc) until you know they are not radioactive. Boiling items that have radioactivity only intensifies the radiation. Clean with soap and water extremely well beforehand if you must boil items.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

Startingout-Blair said:


> One bit of advice I remember from my military days: if radiation is possibly present, don't boil things (cans, eating utensils, etc) until you know they are not radioactive. Boiling items that have radioactivity only intensifies the radiation. Clean with soap and water extremely well beforehand if you must boil items.


Could you go into this further?

The only way I see boiling as being possibly detrimental in this situation is if the water is contaminated. Boiling could concentrate the contamination on the utensils.

Boiling does not make something more or less radioactive (neither does washing). Both can remove part or all of the contamination on something though.


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Startingout-Blair said:


> One bit of advice I remember from my military days: if radiation is possibly present, don't boil things (cans, eating utensils, etc) until you know they are not radioactive.


Radioactivity isn't the problem here as much as the less volatile pollutants; CO2 in the air (smog) and acid rain polluting the water, ideally. We live in a.... Um... "Shady" town and people tend to pour stupid things like gasoline and oil into water as well (which just reoccurred to me) and I haven't a clue how to filter that.


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## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

labotomi said:


> Could you go into this further?
> 
> The only way I see boiling as being possibly detrimental in this situation is if the water is contaminated. Boiling could concentrate the contamination on the utensils.
> 
> Boiling does not make something more or less radioactive (neither does washing). Both can remove part or all of the contamination on something though.


Honestly, I cannot go any further for two reasons: 1) this was part of extended classified training in which I participated during the Cold War as part of a "Warhead" unit and I don't know how much is unclassified at this point, and 2) that was a long time ago (late 80s/early 90s...my memory is shot! Lol!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

CO2 is not pollution, it is a greenhouse gas, it is what makes pop and beer fizz and is completely harmless to consume.
A slow sand filtration system can remove a lot of chemical pollutants through biological action, it is not the same as just running water through sand though, the sand acts as a medium for beneficial organisms. Most people forget that oil for instance is biodegradable in the right conditions and poisonous substances like ethylene glycol (antifreeze) break down rapidly in the right environment as well.
The other way is with charcoal or activated charcoal, this will actually soak up the impurities and chemicals and will have to be replaced from time to time.


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## sgtrunningfool (Dec 8, 2012)

Startingout-Blair said:


> One bit of advice I remember from my military days: if radiation is possibly present, don't boil things (cans, eating utensils, etc) until you know they are not radioactive. Boiling items that have radioactivity only intensifies the radiation. Clean with soap and water extremely well beforehand if you must boil items.


The main reason this can intensify radiation is because as you heat up the can the particles will move farther and faster creating more energy. Radiation will seep into metal and you cannot boil it out at least not to a point I would eat out of it.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

If you boil radioactive water or place a contaminated item in boiling water the radioactivity can then escape as steam where you breathe it in. Radioactivity on your skin is bad. Radioactivity in your lungs is much, much worse.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

sgtrunningfool said:


> The main reason this can intensify radiation is because as you heat up the can the particles will move farther and faster creating more energy. Radiation will seep into metal and you cannot boil it out at least not to a point I would eat out of it.


Absolutely incorrect


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

Caribou said:


> If you boil radioactive water or place a contaminated item in boiling water the radioactivity can then escape as steam where you breathe it in. Radioactivity on your skin is bad. Radioactivity in your lungs is much, much worse.


But you're simply moving the radiation, not increased or intensifying it which was why I questioned the statement.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

labotomi said:


> But you're simply moving the radiation, not increased or intensifying it which was why I questioned the statement.


The skin is a barrier that you can clean and decontaminate. You can't scrub your lungs and the particles just sit there and do their damage. The worst way to get irradiated is through inhalation followed closely by ingestion. Contact with your skin is a distant third.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

Caribou said:


> The skin is a barrier that you can clean and decontaminate. You can't scrub your lungs and the particles just sit there and do their damage. The worst way to get irradiated is through inhalation followed closely by ingestion. Contact with your skin is a distant third.


Again, you're NOT increasing the radiation by boiling. I'm not arguing that inhalation wouldn't be worst than skin contact, but that isn't what was stated and thus not what I'm contesting.

Oh, for the record... the lungs do eliminate contamination fairly well or we couldn't live in even a slightly dusty environment. The reason for the increased inhalation or ingestion hazard is due to alpha particles which do more damage than the other types due their high electrical charge, but have such a low penetration distance that the dead layer of skin will stop them.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

labotomi said:


> But you're simply moving the radiation, not increasing or intensifying it which was why I questioned the statement.


That is a correct statement. Ionized particles do not magically regenerate and multiply when heat is applied.



labotomi said:


> The reason for the increased inhalation or ingestion hazard is due to alpha particles which do more damage than the other types due their high electrical charge, but have such a low penetration distance that the dead layer of skin will stop them.


Again correct.... 
and I must also say that if you have so much radiation present in your environment (as well as numerous contaminated objects), then you have bigger problem to worry about than whether you "should boil water in this pan" or not.


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