Drink rainwater, is it safe for health?
Rainy season finally arrived, and of course besides flood, which seems to be a routine topic every year, it never hurts to talk about the habit of playing under rain, which is usually done by children to teenagers. Indeed, there is a special sensation when playing under rain, it is so cool, sometime inadvertently rain water is swallowed. Is it safe?
Launch from the ThoughtCo site (26/12/) most rainwater is safe to drink and may even be cleaner than a public water supply. However, only rain water that falls directly from the sky is safe to drink. But, what if the story of rainwater is the only source of water when an emergency situation?
It’s okay to drink, but there are some things that need attention. First, we should boil the water to boiling. This boiling process can eradicate various kinds of bacteria and dust that may be contained in the rain water, making it safer to drink.
For information, before falling to the ground, rain water first passes through the atmosphere so it is very likely to be contaminated by some things that are harmful to the body. Therefore, it is better to avoid drinking rainwater if you live in the vicinity of a chemical factory, or a power plant, because it is very likely that rain water will be polluted by exposure to gas or smoke from both places.
Also, you should not drink rainwater that has passed through plants or buildings, because it can be directly polluted by toxic chemicals. Then avoid drinking rainwater that is stored in a dirty container, even if it is boiled first before drinking it.
Choose a clean container to collect rainwater. After the rainwater has been collected, let it sit for at least an hour so the heavy particulates can settle to the bottom. You can also use a filter tool to remove impurities. In addition, rainwater has natural acidic properties with an average pH of around 5.6 from the interaction between water and carbon dioxide in the air. This is not dangerous at all to drink.
But the case will be different if the rain falls in an active volcano area, rain water is directly polluted by volcanic mountain exposure which will be very dangerous if taken by mouth.