Is rain water okay to drink

Question

If I was in the wilderness, is it okay if i just put out a cup to collect the rain water, and drink it? or do i have to boil the water or something

Answer 1

Depends. In the city, it's usually acid rain. But in the wilderness, yeah it should be ok.

Answer 2

it is okay to drink rain water directly .. i mean to say that just put out a cup collect water and drink it as simple as that

Answer 3

i live in the wilderness and we have rain water tanks here and the fine.

Answer 4

Yes rainwater is safe to drink. Boiling it would reduce bacteria, which should not be and issue due to the amount of ozone (O3) in the atomosphere, but i would filter it because water droplets attract dust in the air. Let a clean bucket of snow melt and look at all the dirt next time it snows....

Answer 5

It depends where you are.

In the wilderness this would be fine! No need to boil or treat the water (unless you're in an area known for its acid rain!!).

In the city there might be problems with pollutants.

In other places there can be problems if the water has come from a roof that is dirty. But there are systems that work around this, like the first flush of water after rain doesn't go into the rain tank, and the tank is designed so that any solids (like leaves etc) settle to the bottom of the tank and don't get sucked into pipes.

Answer 6

If you were stuck in the wilderness I would say yes its ok.  

Answer 7

You can if you sanitize it by filtering and boiling it.  There is a company that distributes rain water called Oregon Rainwater.    If you really want to catch rain water then you can get a rainwater cistern that can catch, store, and seal it from contaminants.

Rain water can still contain pollutants from the air and another factor that you may want to take into account is the area you are catching it.  Rain water has a neutral pH level so there is one benefit from drinking it.  I have read an article where a class analyzed snow melt and found it to be cleaner than municipal water.

If you are stuck in the wilderness then you should drink it because you don't really have much of a choice!

Answer 8

ok.Because of rain water is pure.

Answer 9

the rain water is not ok to drink because it may have some trach suff in it

                                                                          form simran

Answer 10

rain water is more healthier 4 u than water our of a tap it doesn't have unaturral chemicals in it such as chlorine and other chemicalls found in tap water.

Answer 11

DEAR FRIEND

I REQUEST YOU NOT TO TRY THIS AS RAIN WATER IS NOT SUITABLE FOR DRINKING AS IT CONTAINS LOT OF POLLUTANT VACTERIA ETC  

BUT IN ANY THIS WATER DOES NOT CONTAINS MINNERAL THAT SHULD BE IN DRINKING WATER

Answer 12

there is polution in it. dont do it!! in large amounts that is anyway. but sticking your toungue out is always ok

Answer 13

Yep you are a city folk. Of course it's ok to drink! So long as there in no excess in air pollution which may lead to acid rain. I live on tank water which is collected from rainfall, I think you'll find a lot of people living outside of cities and towns do too.

Answer 14

Normally you could drink rainwater without becoming ill.

However, rainwater contains pollutants, soil, plant parts,

insect parts, bacteria, algae, and sometimes radioactive

materials that the rain/snow has washed out of the air.

If filtered with one of the filtering systems that you

can buy in stores nowadays, and then boiled, you could

probably drink the water safely.  However, it is safer yet

to get your water from municipal water supplies or from wells

that are frequently tested.

Answer 15

Hello there.

You have many really good answers. I hope you will go through them and choose a BEST ANSWER from among those who have contributed.

All too often, people pour out their hearts with fantastic answers... spend much time with trying to help ... and get no thanks.

You should be a responsible Yahoo Asker and choose which

answer you feel has helped you the most !!!

Answer 16

yes it is ok to drink,