Issue #032
One minute at a rolling boil is the backup when the filter clogs
Plus the September outage that takes the water plant down with the lights.
Thursday, September 10, 2026 · Emergency Skills
A clogged filter and a boil advisory can land on the same afternoon. One water method is not a plan.
Today’s Skill
Filter first, heat second
Filtering handles dirt, protozoa, and most bacteria. It does not handle viruses. Boiling handles everything living but leaves the grit and the taste behind. Run cloudy water through a cloth or coffee filter first, then your element, then bring it to a rolling boil for one full minute. Above 6,500 feet, make it three. Store the boiled water in a clean jug with a lid and use it within two days.
On The Radar
The pumps run on the same grid you do
September is the busiest stretch of the Atlantic storm season, and the system that fails after the wind is often the water system. Treatment plants draw from the same grid your house does. Pressure drops, and a boil advisory follows. Fill the tub and every pot before a storm arrives. Keep a battery radio, because a phone alert needs a tower that also needs power.
The Drill
Two liters, two ways, today
Today, treat two liters two separate ways. Run the first through your filter and drink it. Boil the second for a full minute, let it cool, and pour it into a clean jug with a lid. Time both. If the filter takes longer than five minutes to move a liter, backflush it now while the tap still works and the sink still drains.
Ready beats lucky.
- Survival Rise
P.S. Forward this to the person who owns one filter and no pot.