Boil

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under decoction (disambiguation) .

Boiling water with a standard outdoor cooking set

Boiling of water is heated to the boiling point to germs and microorganisms , so bacteria , fungi kill, algae, and others. Boiling kills off almost all microorganisms, exceptions are special bacteria and viruses that can survive at 100 ° C and those that form spores.

The water should simmer for at least 3 minutes. At higher altitudes, the water has to be boiled longer, as the water has a lower boiling point at lower air pressure . As a guide: 1 minute longer per 150 meters of altitude.

In order to achieve the best possible protection against diseases , water that is taken from the environment should be boiled. A large number of microorganisms live in lakes, rivers, streams and also in open wells, some of which can cause diseases.

By boiling the so-called water hardness , which is responsible, for example, for increased soap consumption ("lime soap"), is reduced to the level of permanent water hardness.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Drinking water - water for human consumption. (PDF) March 27, 2003, accessed December 3, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Clean drinking water abroad. (PDF) Federal Foreign Office - Health Service, March 19, 2018, accessed on March 19, 2018 .