The History of Water Purification Systems

January 9, 2023

Your body needs a large amount of water to function properly. However, it doesn’t just need any water; it needs pure and clean drinking water.

Water purification allows businesses and homeowners to get the healthy water they need to sustain life. These are some details about water purification systems, the different types they have, and how they came about.

What Does a Water Purification System Do? 

A water purification or water filtration system removes the contaminants in water. Several types of purification systems exist, and each person must decide which one is best for their home or establishment. Some common purification systems are distillation, reverse osmosis, and chlorination.

Chlorination uses chlorine, while distillation uses heat and vaporization techniques. Reverse osmosis is a little different and can be explained by saying that the water gets pushed through a semi-permeable membrane.

Another type of filtration exists called the activated carbon fiber system. This system runs the water through the process of adsorption. In other words, the filter reacts with the pollutants in the water and then drains out filtered water.

Some people use the boiling method of purification. It’s an effective method because heat is usually easily accessible. However, it doesn’t eliminate some of the same items as other purification methods.  

What Is the History of Water Purification Systems?

For the most part, water purification efforts started in 1500 B.C. with the Egyptians. They primarily used heating methods to purify their water. They switched between using sunlight, fire, and hot iron. Additionally, they used sophisticated sand and gravel techniques to clean their water. 

The next people to use purification methods were the Greeks in 500 B.C. TO 500 A.D. In fact, Hippocrates created a pretty sophisticated system that worked well. His method consisted of running the water through a cloth filter. The cloth filter was referred to as the Hippocratic sleeve, and it successfully created water with fewer contaminants. 

Sir Robert Bacon created a way to remove salt from saltwater using sand in 1671. After that, John Snow experimented and discovered that chlorine could successfully purify water. Thus, he developed the chlorination process. 

Most countries had created safe water regulations for their citizens by the 20th century. For some reason, the U.S. was one of the last places to do so. However, they started to create a slew of effective filtration products after such regulations were passed.

Today we have various products to get the purest and healthiest water for our bodies. We can thank the many people who experimented with different ideas and tested various methods to clean their water first.

Now you know a little bit of information about water purification systems and how they have become popular methods of cleansing water. You may want to consider investing in one of these systems for your home and business. You can speak to an expert to help you choose the most effective device for your specific needs.   

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