How to properly boil water and other safety tips during a boil water advisory

On Tuesday evening the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory for the city of Wichita and other public water supply systems that purchase water from Wichita. Those systems include Sedgwick County Rural Water Districts 1, 2 and 3; the cities of Valley Center, Kechi and Rose Hill; and El Paso Water Co. (City of Derby)

Until the advisory is lifted, only properly disinfected water should be used for drinking, cooking, washing dishes and brushing your teeth.

The safest method for treating water is to boil it for one minute. To do so, bring the water to a full, rolling boil — not just bubbles rising — before you start your timer. Let the water cool before drinking.

To make the water taste better after boiling, add oxygen back to it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. If the water still has a flat taste, you can add a pinch of salt to each quart.

If the water is cloudy, you can filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel or coffee filter.

The KDHE offered the following additional tips and things to do during the advisory:

• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
  
  
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic ice maker.
• Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

Sources: KDHE, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:40 PM.