What You’ll Need
- 1 Plastic bottle (medium size recommended)
- Sharp knife or scissors
- Soldering iron or heated metal rod (for making small holes)
- Cotton (clean, unbleached if possible)
- Charcoal (boiled and dried for safety)
- Fine, clean sand
- Clean gravel or small pebbles
- Water container (to collect the filtered water)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prepare the Bottle
Start with a clean plastic bottle. Wash it thoroughly inside and out to remove any dirt, residue, or odors. This ensures you’re not introducing more contaminants into your filtered water.
Cut the bottle in half. The top half will become the main filter body, and the bottom half will act as the container for your filtered water.
2. Create Filtration Holes
Use a soldering iron or heated metal rod to make three to five small holes in the bottle cap. These will allow filtered water to drip through. Make sure the holes are small enough to keep the filter layers in place but large enough to let water pass through slowly.
You can also add a few small holes along the sides of the bottle to help with air flow, which improves the filtration speed.
