Water Filter Bottle

Lore & Background

Evidence suggests that Egypt was among the earliest civilizations to employ alum for suspended solid removal. Before 1100 BCE, the Minoans used sand filters, settlement cisterns, and ceramic filters to remove sediment from water supplies. Early Sanskrit texts such as the Sushruta Samhita described techniques including boiling, solar exposure, and filtration through sand and gravel. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates advocated the use of clean water and devised a cloth filter known as the Hippocratic sleeve. In China, boiling water became a common practice to improve water safety. Around 2,000 years ago, the Maya civilization used filtration systems containing quartz and zeolite minerals. Later, the Persian engineer Al-Karaji described water filtration methods in his work The Extraction of Hidden Waters. Until the invention of the microscope, the existence of microscopic life was undiscovered. More than 200 years passed before the microscope was invented and the relationship between microorganisms and disease became clear. In the mid-19th century, cholera was proven to be transmitted by contaminated water. In the late 19th century, Louis Pasteur's theory of the particulate pathogen finally established a causal relationship between microorganisms and disease. Filtration as a method of water purification was established in the 18th century, and the first municipal water treatment plant was built in Scotland in 1832. During the 19th and 20th centuries, water filters for domestic water production were generally divided into slow sand filters and rapid sand filters. Paisley, Scotland is generally acknowledged as the first city to receive filtered water for an entire town. The Paisley filter began operation in 1804 and was an early type of slow sand filter.

In Their Own Story

Rain hammered against the rotting roof of the abandoned cabin, pooling on the floorboards. Elias watched the grey water collect near the door, his throat parched and burning. He pulled out the plastic cylinder from his pack, its surface scratched from months of use. With shaking hands, he scooped the muddy sludge into a cup, then poured it through the filter attached to his bottle. The liquid dripped clear below. He took a sip, cold and pure, while outside the zombies groaned in the storm.

Reader's Guide

The Water Filter Bottle is a portable water filter, usually small, portable and lightweight (1–2 lb (0.45–0.91 kg) or less). These filters usually filter water by working a mechanical hand pump, although some use a siphon drip system to force water through, while others are built into water bottles. Dirty water is pumped via a screen-filtered flexible silicon tube through a specialized filter, ending up in a container. These filters work to remove bacteria, protozoa and microbial cysts that can cause disease. Filters may have fine meshes that must be replaced or cleaned, and ceramic water filters must have its outside abraded when they have become clogged with impurities. These water filters should not be confused with devices or tablets that disinfect water, which remove or kill viruses such as hepatitis A and rotavirus.

Did You Know?

• Unlike a sieve or screen, a filter can potentially remove particles much smaller than the holes through which its water passes, such as nitrates or germs like Cryptosporidium.
• The first municipal water treatment plant was built in Scotland in 1832.
• Paisley, Scotland is generally acknowledged as the first city to receive filtered water for an entire town, with its filter beginning operation in 1804.
• Ceramic filters represent low-cost solutions to water filtration and are widely used despite being one of the oldest methods of filtration.
• The most comprehensive history of water filtration was published by Moses N. Baker in 1948 and reprinted in 1981.