Myth or fact: Is it safe to drink rain water?

Have you ever thought that it is safe to drink rain water, or rinse your hair with it it? In short, yes. However, there are reservations. Sometimes it may not be safe to do so it is important to know when to do it and how you can make the water safer for human consumption.

When not to drink rainwater?
The rain passes through the atmosphere before falling to the ground, so it can collect all the pollutants of the air. No one really would want to drink water with radioactive sediments from places such as Chernobyl or Fukushima. It is not good idea to drink water near chemical plants, electric chimney, paper mills and the like. Do not drink water who fled from plants or buildings, as on the surface could be toxic substances.

Rain water that is safe to drink.
Most of the rain water is safe to drink. After all rain water is the water source for the majority of the population. Pollution, pollen, mold and other contaminants levels are low - perhaps even lower than the entire population drinking water. It should be born in mind that rain water can contain bacteria, dust and insect parts, so before drinking the water filter is recommended.

How to make rain water safer to use?
Two key actions that can help improve the quality of storm water is boiling and filtering. Boiling water kill all harmful pathogens. Filtering removes chemicals, dust, pollen, mold and other contaminants. It is also very important, how the rain water is collected. You can collect rain water directly incident from the sky into a clean bucket or bowl. Ideally, if you are using one disinfected with detergent before it is washed clean water tank. After allowing rain water to stand for about an hour, the heavier particles settle at the bottom of the container. Alternatively, the water passed through a coffee filter to remove sediment. Although it is not necessary, but keeping the rain water in the refrigerator, don't allow to multiply microorganisms, which could be determined.

What about acid rain?
Most rainwater are naturally acidic and has a pH of about 5.6 on the interaction between the water and carbon dioxide in the air. It is not dangerous. The truth is that drinking water rarely have a neutral pH, because it contains dissolved minerals. To be suitable for use in water can be acidic, neutral or basic, depending on the water source. To make it easier to imagine, it is possible to say that coffee is prepared with neutral water, has a pH of about 5. The orange juice has a pH of about 4. Definitely acid rain, which should be avoided, would fall somewhere near an active volcano. In other cases, due to acid rain is not a major worry.