Basics
No safe drinking water: how to make it safe
Boil water notice from your water utility, water cut off, or water of doubtful origin.
Do this nowTap each step when done
- 1Use first your stored or bottled water.
- 2Clarify cloudy water: let it settle and pass it through a cloth.
- 3Boil at a rolling boil for 1 minute. With a notice from your water utility: 2 minutes.
- 4Let it cool covered and store it in clean containers with lids.
- 5If you can't boil, use unscented bleach with a dropper (table below).
- 6Stir and wait 30 minutes. It should smell slightly of chlorine.
- 7If it doesn't smell, repeat the dose and wait 15 more minutes.
Don't
- Don't use scented, "splash-less," or bleach more than a year old.
- Don't drink floodwater or water that smells of fuel: boiling doesn't fix it.
Have ready
- 1 gallon of unscented bleach and a clean dropper.
- 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water per person per day.
Key factBleach drops (double if the water is cloudy, colored, or very cold):
Key factWater Bleach 6% Bleach 8.25%
Key fact1 quart or 1 liter 2 drops 2 drops
Key fact1 gallon (3.8 L) 8 drops 6 drops
Key fact2 gallons (7.6 L) 16 drops (¼ tsp) 12 drops (⅛ tsp)
More detail
Reviewed: Nov 2026 · Sources: Chapter 3 · Water
