Drinking Rainwater: You Should Know and Observe This

Whether you can drink rainwater is a frequently discussed question. We have summarized the answer and what you need to consider for you.

That includes rainwater if you drink it

In theory, rain is just water that has evaporated, then condensed in the sky and fallen to the ground. Nevertheless, one should be careful, since the water is usually not free of pollutants.

• It is believed that any pollutants in the water remain in the body of water from which it evaporates. This distilled water that is now in heaven before the rain down has no minerals.
• However, the mineral-poor water strives for an enriched state and therefore absorbs the substances from the environment when it falls. It is described as “responsive”. The absorbed substances include sulfur and nitrogen compounds as well as carbon dioxide.
• Depending on which region you are in, the air is very rich in the pollutants mentioned. As a result, the rain also contains a lot of pollutants.
• In these cases, you should not drink rainwater: it contains no minerals and is undrinkable due to the pollutants. Bacteria are absorbed by the water and multiply rapidly when the rain is caught.

Effects on the body

If you do drink rainwater or if you still want to drink it, you should keep a few things in mind.

• The mineral-free water also contains no electrolytes, which are important for regulating the water balance in the human body. If you now drink the rainwater, the body tries to distribute its electrolytes evenly. The process is called diffusion.
• The process continues until the fluid already in the body and the rainwater have roughly the same amount of electrolytes. The water is excreted again through the urine; a loss of electrolytes is associated with this.
• So if you drink the rainwater, the natural electrolyte diffusion ensures that vital electrolytes are lost. This can be compensated for by diet; nevertheless, this is an unnecessary effort.
• Your body is also stressed by the numerous pollutants in the rainwater. Rainwater is therefore undrinkable for you and should only be used to water the garden or something similar.

Drinking water from rainwater

One way to still drink the rainwater is to turn it into drinking water. To do this, you should observe these important instructions.

• Because rainwater is full of pollutants and bacteria, you should not drink it without first cleaning it thoroughly. One possibility is treatment using a hollow membrane.
• The coarse membrane provides an initial filtration. Bacteria that are relatively large are trapped. In the second step, the pollutants can be filtered out of the water using an activated carbon filter or a gravel filter.
• A filter plate, which cleans the water with the help of plates made of aerated concrete, is also possible. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that the devices are very expensive and maintenance is not cheap either.
• If you still want to use the water, you can use it as washing water or to water the plants in the garden. It only becomes drinkable after thorough filtration.