Clean water is essential for your health and wellbeing.

Being privileged to be part of a community within a developed country where fresh tap water is considered a normality is truly a blessing.

However, if things go out of hand and SHTF, it’s extremely likely that tap water will turn from a commodity into a rare resource.

Chances are you’ll be forced to scavenge for water on a daily basis. Even more if you reside in an arid region of the country.

You’re going to have a lot of competitors that will try their best to grab the water you have collected by employing heinous means.

So, to not risk your neck for a drop of water, you’ll probably end up drinking from all kinds of sources you will come across.

You’ll literally end up in a situation very similar to people living in underdeveloped countries today.

The difference, however, is that you’ll be almost entirely unprepared, will have no knowledge of how dangerous contaminated water is, nor how to identify pollutants.

To grasp at how dangerous drinking contaminated water is, have a look at this study performed by the World Health Organization.

Almost 2 million people die annually due to lack of clean water, and that’s only in underdeveloped countries, not counting water crisis like the recent one in Flint, Michigan.

If SHTF, not even the water from streams and rivers will be safe due to pollutants being dejected upstream, plus all the residue glued to the riverbed.

Your best bet will be to drink the rainwater you collect, although that can also contain harmful pollutants.

As a last resort, you’ll start drinking from puddles, marshes, and mud holes. These are all filled with bacteria and mud.

If you don’t have a barrel to collect water, nor a water filter to reduce the harm, you’ll find yourself naked in the face of contamination.

And trust me that you don’t want to get any water-borne diseases. You don’t want to die of dehydration either, so you’ll be stepping on a double-edged sword.

So, is there really a good solution in case all this mess occurs? The answer is affirmative and is simpler than you would have ever thought.

In 2012, while trying to mitigate the harmful effects of contaminated water in affected countries, Professor Joshua Pearce of Michigan Technological University succeeded in purifying contaminated water using only the properties of the Sun.

Yes, you heard that right! Putting water into transparent plastic bottles and exposing them to the Sun for about six hours has proven to purify the water.

This effect is due to the heat and ultraviolet radiation which decomposes most pathogens responsible for causing diarrhea, a disease claiming the lives of more than 4,000 African children each day.

On its own, the cleansing technique dubbed SODIS cannot effectively remove mud from the water, unless you’re using a special mineral.

In the developing world, many people don’t have access to clear water, and it’s very hard to get rid of the suspended clay particles. But if you don’t, SODIS doesn’t work. The mechanisms hide under the clay and avoid the UV,” said Professor Joshua Pearce.

He then revealed the solution – sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt.

You can find this mineral basically everywhere, and it’s an ingenious way to clean muddy water.

The only requirement is to let the mud particles settle before adding the table salt. The water then becomes fit for human consumption.

I’ve drunk this water myself. If I were somewhere with no clean water and had kids with diarrhea, and this could save their lives, I’d use this, no question,” the professor added.

This trick can save your health or life, depending on the situation. You can use it as a last resort trick that can benefit you and your family during a SHTF scenario.

I know it sounds too good to be true, that’s why I have added a link to the scientific article written about this subject.

Hope the information will prove useful to you.