Lifestraw: A $5 Water Filter Provides Clean Water For a Year
by Derek Markham in Drinking Water, Purification
The Lifestraw is a simple looking device, merely a plastic tube at first glance, but inside is a powerful water filter, capable of killing disease-causing bacteria and viruses, and filtering particles down to the size of 15 microns. Distributing the Lifestraw to people without access to clean water can make the difference between life and death to them, and the cost to us is only about $5.
Lifestraw is the invention of Vestergaard-Frandsen, a Swiss firm that produces textiles for insect and disease control, and has been distributed through donations to people in the developing world. The device filters out 99.99% of bacteria, and contains an iodine element to kill viruses and parasites.
Medgadget has this description of the filtration process:
What first meets the water when sucked up is a pre-filter of PE filter textile with a mesh opening of 100 micron, shortly followed by a second textile filter in polyester with a mesh opening of 15 micron. In this way all big articles are filtered out, even clusters of bacteria are removed. Then the water is led into a chamber of iodine impregnated beads, where bacteria, viruses and parasites are killed. The second chamber is a void space, where the iodine being washed off the beads can maintain their killing effect. The last chamber consists of granulated active carbon, which role is to take the main part of the bad smell of iodine, and to take the parasites that have not been taken by the pre-filter or killed by the iodine. The biggest parasites will be taken by the pre-filter, the weakest will be killed by the iodine, and the medium range parasites will be picked up by the active carbon.
The Lifestraw Family version can handle a much larger volume of water, and as you can see in this video, it can turn water contaminated with some of the nastiest stuff you can imagine into potable water.
The personal Lifestraw comes with a string to keep the device handy around the user’s neck, and can filter about 700 liters (185 gallons) of water, which works out to about a year’s worth of drinking water. It’s important that water can be filtered at the point of use, so a personal filter is a key element in safeguarding people, and if they always have one with them, the risk of drinking contaminated water is greatly reduced.
For those of us in the western world, with filtered and treated tap water freely available, the fact that a significant percentage of the population does not have access to potable water is not readily apparent. We have a hard time imagining what that would be like. However, for those who live in areas where everyday is a struggle to get clean water, and diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses are a common occurrence, this simple little device, the Lifestraw, really could be a lifesaver.
If you are so moved, please make a donation to Lifestraw and help out a fellow human today.
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Posted on Apr 13, 2009
bacteria, Diarrhea, lifestraw, Vestergaard-Frandsen, viruses, water filter, waterborne disease
About the Author
Derek Markham
Derek Markham is husband, father, and writer based in Colorado, with a passion for all things sustainable. For the last ten years, he's worked in the natural foods industry, most recently running a small co-operative grocery store. Derek enjoys sharing tips, lessons learned, and resources for going green, simple living, and natural parenting. In his personal time, he loves to ride his bike (an 80s Trek singlespeed), go bouldering and slacklining, and he can usually be found in the middle of about ten different books. You can also find him on other sites including Twitter, Twilight Earth, Natural Papa, and Green Options.13 Responses to “Lifestraw: A $5 Water Filter Provides Clean Water For a Year”
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Dave
Twitter: @Twitter Name (optional)
Apr 13, 2009
Plastic, eh? What about Bisphenol A?
water treatment system
Twitter: @Twitter Name (optional)
Apr 13, 2009
lol. I wouldn’t put cow dung to prove that the water is safe if I were him :-)
This seems like an excellent solution for people who lack supply of clean water. Definitely one of the best tools around.
Zerp64
Twitter: @Twitter Name (optional)
Apr 14, 2009
The music’s by a band called ‘Brad Sucks’, by the way. They(he) distributes music for free at Jamendo.com. Good stuff.
TurboFool
Twitter: @TurboFool
May 30, 2009
Ah, yes, Dave, let’s focus on a chemical with claims of harm that are already dubious given the minute amounts contained in the plastics you’re referring to instead of the life-saving properties. Absurdly small long-term risks of very vaguely-stated potential harms is a MUCH bigger concern than providing these people with immediate access to clean water that could save their lives TODAY and improve their quality of life. Let’s totally throw this out over a drastically-overstated and minor buzzword concern and skip the saving of likely thousands of lives.
dragon644
Twitter: @Twitter Name (optional)
Jun 03, 2009
or you could dig a hole next to a river or beach and get instant purified water! or boil dirty water and drink the condensed steam. or dig a hole, cover it and put a container at the bottom to catch the condensed water made from the sun evaporating the moisture in the ground.
Zerp64
Twitter: @Twitter Name (optional)
Oct 02, 2009
Dude, you can’t base everything off of Survivorman/Man Vs. Wild episodes. People need an efficient way of cleansing water, or even reusing it when it’s necessary. You can’t just dig a hole in the ground and magically get rid of bacteria.
Danilo
Oct 19, 2009
What an eye opening video. Water filter taken to the
next level. It made me cringed when he drank that water.
Lifestraw is doing a great service to these people.
Clint
Jan 08, 2010
Where can I get them in the USA?
spuffler
Jan 30, 2010
How many people have actually used this? Can 3rd world manufacturers make these or will patents and licensing agreements cause the product to go nowhere?
Seb
Apr 30, 2010
It’s not a Swiss company though, they are Danish.. Swiss based, yes, but the founders and the administration are all Danish. Swiss based for tax reasons I assume :)
John Galt
Jul 24, 2010
This is BS! $5???
Please show me where I can buy Lifestraw for $5 or even $50. Please provide a link where you can go and actually buy this product online.
Guess what? There isn’t any. This may be some kind of scam or fraud. You can donate, but you can’t buy the product. Where’s the money going? How do you know there even is a product if you can’t buy it and use it?