Using silver to purify water?

[Iskander]

If you don't already know, silver has excellent antibacterial properties and has been used in medicine since antiquity. Silver sutures were used in WWII to prevent infections. Well, I've never heard anyone talk about using silver to disinfect water, but I would think it should work under the same principles. I'm not sure how much silver is required for how much water, but would assume a pure ounce of silver could disinfect a small pot of water if left to sit for some time. This of course shouldn't be used exclusively and I would only use this method if I had no means for a fire and nothing else to disinfect the water.

[Rick]

Several water filters use impregnated silver membranes. However, There are a lot more nasties in the water than bacteria. Cryptosporidium oocysts are probably the toughest buggers out there. There isn't much that will kill them. Boiling, Reverse Osmosis and UV light does. Beyond that it requires filtering. Unless you have documentation to the contrary I doubt any amount of silver would kill the oocysts no matter how long the water sat. At nearly $18 an ounce there are more cost effective methods of treating water.

[hunter63]

Hunter63 saying Hay and Welcome.
There is a intro section at.......
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions

Might want to do a little more research on the ounce of silver to pot of water.....sound kinda pricey to me.....

[Rick]

I just happened to see this report on UV light this morning. It was like...why didn't I think of that and make a zillion dollars. Just set a pan of water out and come back later.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/germ-zap...al-infections/

[TXyakr]

I agree Rick UV from the sun should always be considered at least as a backup water purification tool. This is why I always carry at least one but usually 2 Smartwater clear bottles (labels removed, that also fit Sawyer mini filter). Here is an article that gives some basic guidelines on how to use them the key is to keep the water clear. Even if your only source is a muddy puddle or river, if you dig a hole next to it the water will slowly filter thru sand and be relatively clearer, in most cases, cover with sticks, leaves and fabric if possible.

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/health...with-sunlight/

I reiterate this is my BACKUP or last resort plan NOT how I plan to filter my primary drinking water!

[finallyME]

If I were to use silver, I would use colloidal silver. You don't use much (think particle size). But, will it crack the cysts? I don't know if much research has been done here...maybe? UV works well, as long as the water isn't too dirty. The dirt particles block the light. As long as the UV light can hit all the little buggers, then good. Another option is ozone. That stuff is pretty deadly.

Cysts are hard to kill. The outer shell makes it hard to penetrate the bacteria and kill it. But, that shell also makes it BIG with respect to other bacteria sizes. Most filters will filter out cysts. Viruses are generally too small for filters, but are easy to kill with chemical/UV means. If you want ultimate genocide of all things little in your water, a combined attack is probably the best method.

[Iskander]

I buy silver (and a little gold) as a way of prepping for financial disaster, trying to maintain financial security in this crazy fiat world that is bound not to last forever. I also carry an ounce of silver with me everywhere I go, more as a good luck charm than anything I guess. If something very unexpected were to happen to me and I was forced in a survival situation without gear, I would literally have nothing but silver to purify any found water, but I'm working on getting some real gear together!

[Rick]

ahem. Please send all that filthy fiat lucre to me. I don't want you to be troubled by it and I will properly dispose of it for you. Just PM me for where to send it. I need to go look online at some new guns now.

[kyratshooter]

You guys do understand what the term "inert" means???

Silver is an inert metal. It is non-reactive.

You drop a lump of silver in a jar of water and what you have is water with a lump of silver in it! You have to activate the silver chemically or electrically in some way for it to do anything other than just sit there. That is one reason it was used, in the past, in dental fillings and bridge work. And silver was used in surgery because it was inert and would not cause infection and could be left inside the body with no ill effects, not because it fought infection.

And the plastic jug filled with water sitting in the sun. What you have there is the ideal growth medium for water borne bacteria. If you try that method and do not get sick it is because there were no "nasties" in the water to start with!

That or you were using an old bleach bottle.

As for the one ounce silver charm buying your way through the apocalypse???

How far do you think you are going to get on $17.40???

I wonder if silver bullets work on zombies???

[hunter63]

..........................
I wonder if silver bullets work on zombies???

Well, I still have some old "silver tip"......32 Winchester Specials.......seems to work on werewolves....except when they changed back, they were some one I knew and owed me money.......

Zombies?....Gonna need airsoft for that.....saw it on the inter web.

Gotta go, got a bunch of gal jugs to empty out, with silver coins in them.......guess that ain't gonna work , Huh?.....

Bhohahahaha....Thanks for the laugh......

[Iskander]

You guys do understand what the term "inert" means???

Silver is an inert metal. It is non-reactive.

You drop a lump of silver in a jar of water and what you have is water with a lump of silver in it! You have to activate the silver chemically or electrically in some way for it to do anything other than just sit there. That is one reason it was used, in the past, in dental fillings and bridge work. And silver was used in surgery because it was inert and would not cause infection and could be left inside the body with no ill effects, not because it fought infection.

And the plastic jug filled with water sitting in the sun. What you have there is the ideal growth medium for water borne bacteria. If you try that method and do not get sick it is because there were no "nasties" in the water to start with!

That or you were using an old bleach bottle.

As for the one ounce silver charm buying your way through the apocalypse???

How far do you think you are going to get on $17.40???

I wonder if silver bullets work on zombies???

This reply is ignorant on more than one level. First of all, you are simply wrong about silver not containing antibacterial properties and just being "inert" and having to be "activated" to do anything. They made silver-lined socks to ward off bad foot odor. How this worked is because it fought off the bacteria that created the odor. And, like I said, the reason they used it for sutures in WWII was to prevent infections with its naturally occurring antibacterial properties, not for any other reason. Look it up. If not for that reason they could have chose something much cheaper.

This is from Wikipedia, "The silver ion (Ag+
) is bioactive and in sufficient concentration readily kills bacteria in vitro. Silver exhibits low toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to clinical exposure by inhalation, ingestion, dermal application.[6] Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare and domestic applications.[7]" Do some research before making a fool of yourself. You're trying to appear educated in a subject you clearly know nothing about.

Secondly, I never stated that I only have one ounce of silver OR that the reason I carry one ounce of silver with me is to ward off financial disaster. Last but not least, what makes you think the current spot price will be permanent, especially in the case of a financial collapse? Just a few years ago the spot price of silver was more than double what it is now. It is constantly fluctuating. In the scenario of fiat-failure, it would most certainly be WORTH much more than it is worth now, but more to the point, it would not be "worth" any $ amount because the dollar will no longer have any worth. That's what fiat-failure means, financial collapse of the dollar. If that happens (as it has happened throughout history with every single form of fiat currency ever used) I obviously wouldn't be measuring the worth of my silver or gold in dollars.

But thanks for the laugh

[hunter63]

Yeah well, I still sticking with filtering and boiling........

I have to believe that if an ounce of silver, (at whatever price) did indeed "disinfect" contaminated water.....every tactical, survival, prepper supplier would be selling the "Magic silver bullet" for much more than a $18 bucks.

Most all references seem to be of a preventive nature, rather than an active disinfectant.

Might want to tone it down some......you are not scoring many points.....and closes minds.

[Iskander]

I was merely responding to the way that he was trying to belittle me with his uneducated reply. I didn't come here to make enemies, but I don't appreciate people trying to make me look bad and/or stupid, and I will defend myself from someone doing that, especially if they don't really know what they're talking about. My tone was in response to his. I apologize if I got a little too heated in my response. Rick already answered my question so it was all unnecessary anyway.

[kyratshooter]

Rice University's biochemistry department disagrees with the simple application of silver. It must be ionized (That means activation forced at the atomic level), and if the dosage is not exact it will cause immunity of the bacteria and strengthen what you are trying to kill.

http://news.rice.edu/2012/07/11/ions...to-bacteria-3/

I trust Rice University's research and website over Wiki any day of the week.

It's been a forty years since I was in a chemistry classroom but I still remember a little bit of that equation balancing misery.

[edr730]

Oligodynamic Effect

[edr730]

Metallic silver is inert in the presence of human tissues but ionizes in the presence of moisture, body fluids, and secretions to release the biologically active Ag+ (i.e., ionic silver)”.
-- Alan B.G. Lansdown, A Pharmacological and Toxicological Profile of Silver as an Antimicrobial Agent in Medical Devices, Advances in Pharmacological Sciences, Vol. 2010, Article ID 910686
This is an old arguement in some corners. Rice has shown, as others before them have shown, that it is the ionic part of the silver that acts as an antimicrobial. Part of what Rice was doing was getting the amounts and type of silver correct since silver is expensive. Like antibacterial soap, too little could give the bacteria time to become resistant and too much would make a product more expensive or possibly toxic.
So, silver will ionize and kill microbes with moisture, body fluids etc How effective, how toxic and how much do you need to use are good questions to have answered.

[kyratshooter]

And is that not a good question to have answered before one depends on a method or device to insure their well being.

I can purify water with a few drops of bleach, with a $20 Lifeastraw, with a Kataden pump, or by boiling, and meet the normal standards for purity.

At this point in time there is no device or method, using only silver, approved by the FDA for use by campers and backpackers to purify water.

Although I did see one test that guaranteed that dropping a silver coin into a pot of boiling water would work every time!

I think it was a joke.

[hunter63]

So may be cashing in a ounce of silver, and picking up an a filter, or a pot to boil the water might be a better approach?

BTW where does one sell silver in a SHTF?.......

Reminds me of my emergency fund in the truck.....had $100 bill ticked in a "special place".
Ran off the road, got a tow truck......didn't take credit cards, didn't take checks, no cell service......

So he says, "That will be $50 bucks".......I said, "All I got is a hundred"......Then he said, "I don't make change......That will do"

Carry a larger selection of cash these days.

That chunk of lucky silver is gonna be good to use once,.... maybe, if some one wants it....and they will not make change.

OP mentioned getting some real gear....that would be a good idea....IMHO

[Rick]

Although I did see one test that guaranteed that dropping a silver coin into a pot of boiling water would work every time!

Most excellent. I love it!

[Iskander]

Okay, so we were both wrong and right. The activation of ionic silver in the presence of moisture accounts for its usefulness in socks, surgical dressings and sutures. Since it's moisture that activates the anti microbial effects, I guess my original question wasn't all that dumb after all.

Trusting something on Wikipedia is not just "trusting Wikipedia" it is trusting the citations (if any). You don't have to trust it if it says "citation needed" but I would never use a quote without a citation to back an argument. In the example I used, this is one of the citations. It covers many of the same things you presented....it won't let me post it, being a new member. But it's out there to be found, if you want to read it.

Speaking of which, there is a MUCH more interesting survival related use of silver that I think you would all be very interested in reading about, but I can't post it until the new wears off of this account. How many posts is that, 20?