Consider how water sitting in a closed glass jar sitting in the sun gets hot from the sun's rays passing through the glass. This is not the best thinking in how a portable ultraviolet water purifier works, but it does touch on the basics. While the water inside the glass jar will become heated, it will not reach the water's boiling point, which is required to kill any bacteria that be swimming freely in the water. Rather, the portable ultraviolet water purifier works by rendering most of the bacteria in the water sterile, so that it cannot reproduce once it enters the human system.

Having safe water to drink is not only desired by most campers, it is also a necessity. Without clean, safe water consumers can become deathly ill from all of the bacteria, viruses and different protozoa that thrive in the water. A portable ultraviolet water purifier can help insure the water is safe to drink, but they can take time to purify the water and while effective, they may not meet the need for a continuous supply.

The main thing to remember about the portable ultraviolet water purifier is that they work best on clean, filtered water to kill many forms of bacteria. It is been shown that ultraviolet light is deadly to many aquatic organisms, but if the water is not filtered of sediment before being exposed to ultraviolet light, not all of the bacteria will be destroyed.

Purification Choice Should Be Based On Performance

Many emergency services rely on a portable ultraviolet water purifier to provide clean, safe water for medical services. Finding a quality unit may take some time, but it is important to find one that pre-filters the water before going into the chamber into which the ultraviolet light is passed.

Some smaller portable ultraviolet water purifier units are available that operate on battery, or in some cases by solar power, that filter the water through .1 micron filters to remove any organic and non-organic sediment, making its treatment in a drinking water purifier more efficient and effective. Some of the larger portable ultraviolet water purifier units are strong enough to provide a continuous source of water, provided the water is well filtered before passing through the light.

Since the light from a portable ultraviolet water purifier is a shorter wavelength it is highly effective at killing bacteria, even though it cannot be seen. In many units, simple maintenance such as changing the bulb, cleaning its housing and changing filters regularly is all that is need to keep the portable ultraviolet water purifier working as expected.