Distilling water is the simplest way to purify it. When water evaporates, it leaves behind most of the impurities. When it condenses again, it is almost completely pure. Heating the water to boiling point will ensure that all the bacteria die, leaving clean drinking water. This is a great science experiment, and a great survival skill as well.
Instructions
1. Find a pot with a lid. The lid should be curved and have a handle of some sort in the middle of it.
2. Tie a small bucket onto the handle of the lid. Fishing line or wire will work well because it won't absorb any of the water. The bucket should be as narrow as possible so that most of the water will condense on the lid and not on the bottom of the bucket.
3. Fill the pot with water and put it on the stove.
4. Balance the lid upside down over the pot so that the bucket is not in the water. A good way to do this is to use bigger pots filled with water on each side to hold the lid up. Alternately, you could use some string to tie the lid to your stove's fume hood.
5. Boil the water. Steam will rise and condense on the lid, then run down to the handle of the lid and drip into the bucket.
6. When the bucket starts to fill up, turn off the heat. The water in the bucket should be clean and safe to drink.
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