LifeStraw purifies water instantly for under $2 a year

There are gadgets that make life more fun, and then there are gadgets that make life possible. The LifeStraw from Denmark's Vestergaard Frandsen Group has the potential to fall into the latter category. A device about the size of a large pen or drinking straw, the LifeStraw is a complete water purification kit that draws its power from the person sucking down the water. The LifeStraw is the product of ten years of development work, based on the goal of creating an efficient, affordable water-purification system for the developing world, where water-borne illnesses are a major killer. When produced in quantity, each LifeStraw — which uses a combination of mesh filters, iodine-impregnated beads and active carbon to remove particulate matter and bacteria — is expected to cost under $2 and be able to provide a year's worth of pure drinking water. When and if this hits the market, we hope to see some worthy charity distributing them by the millions (you listening, Bill and Melinda?).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Jeffery @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#2 - Respect

[glad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#1 you have always been able to drink out of the toilet, try it and I gurantee you'll live. However in places such as Africa drinking supposedly clean looking water can kill you also it can make you blind, kidney damage, liver damage, need I go on. If it gets into production it'll save lives. Also it's got applications for the military perhaps/mountaineers/otdoor pursuit etc.

[Fito @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Great news. Next step would be a kind of small and portable pump so they can fill buckets and pots for their transportation. Also nice gadget for adventure travellers.

[johnh @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I would pay for 50 of them and have them distributed where they are needed.

[Hans @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#1, you're lucky to have a toilet. others have to pass on on land. be more considerate.

[rayk @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I'd definetly donate a fair bit to a an organisation that would buy them and distribute in places where they are needed.

[Sasha S. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

There should be a supply of these things in EVERY country in the world ready to be distributed (or dropped out of the airplane) at the moment's notice.

My sincere congratulations to Vestergaard Frandsen Group. As for version 2.0 of this product I suggest removal of the salt so that through such a straw a person can drink sea-water as well.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation should buy 100 million of these things and distribute them where needed.

[DoubleUK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Fantastic invention.

Now a straw that makes salt water drinkable...

[Dev @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#3 -- It says it does not guard against Giardia
"... in the continental United States, beware that the common "beaver fever" (Giardia lamblia infection) is caused by an organism with 5 micron spores, which are resistant to iodine...."

http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2005/05/lifestraw.html

[confuted @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Count me in - I'll buy some to donate, and some for personal use.

[Rick Flashman @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Good point #12. People will assume this solves ALL problems with dirty water and distribute them to the poor illiterate. They will try to use it to drink the dirtiest water they would have avoided in the first place and still get sick.

[setonioboy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

so we can drink out of the toilet now?

[Chaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

If the guys that invented Viagra can get a Nobel Prize, this guy deserves about 40 of 'em.

[daniel free @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

provided you clean your toilet regularly the water in the bowl and cistern is the same water that comes out of your taps, so yea drink away, you wont even need a purifier.

this straw looks amazing, when its out i defenitely plan on buying a few, there was a similar invention in NZ quite a few years back when the fscking aussies infected our rivers with Giardia (nasty bug, gives you the schlitz and then some) that filtered water as it was being sucked through, it was a quite wide spiral design with a lot of filters, but had the tendancy to get blocked up after use in water that wasnt perfectly clear.

it will be interesting to see how this one deals with sediment etc in a manner that allows it to last for a whole year.

[Lars Groeger @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Sounds great on first view... ...but what is not mentioned at engadget is: you can only suck 100 ml to 150 ml per minute out of this straw..A half tea cup per minute ..Which ist still cool when your in a desert near to dehydration....but in real life i could imagine people will refuse to use it regular....i mean people are lazy and dump even if its about there own health....

Still its a faboulus idea !!

[MrMiles @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

These could be sold in the states and other countries as handy survival kit gadgets for camping / exploring / mountaineering / hunting / back-packing / and any other adventure sports. Mark them up to, say, $25 a go. For every one that's sold, profits pay for 20 of them to be distributed to those that need them.

[Finished.Law.School @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

About time!!

[lpret @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#15, that's what I was interested in when I first read this. I'm an avid hiker, and I've taken a Katadyn portable filter before, and you really have to pump that thing for a while to get any water -- I can only imagine what it'd be like to have to suck it up. However, like others said, it's better than nothing.

[james @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

now we need one that can chill the water so its cold and refreshing! Or is that tooooo much to ask? ha

[Da Greasy Guide @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

AMAZING!!!!!!! This is clearly technology at it's best.

[dave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I've got Giardia?!? I've had Beaver Fever since Highschool...

[Armelo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I hope that it cannot be recycled. I've seen products that no longer work sold in many countries. I would hate that people who really need this are sold are duped knowingly or unknowingly by people who want to make a few bucks

[Derrick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

This is great for over-night hiking or camping. I will gladly buy a few.

[Dylan Greene @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

This has to be a hoax.

How can it cost $2 and last a year when a Brita Filter cost $20, lasts only a couple months, and doesn't make non-drinkable water drinkable?

After a few months the amount of bacteria and other crap in the filter would make sucking water through it nearly impossible.

It also doesn't help those that need clean water the most - babies and infants. Are moms expected to lean them over the stream with that straw in their mouth?

This must be a joke.

[Dean Shan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I'd get one if it protected against Giardia (Alaskan lakes are full of it) I'd even pay $60 for one. If they play their cards right they can sell them for $2 a pop for African aid then release a North American version and sell them to the general public and recoup all the R&D costs.

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

These in-straw filters have been around for a while. As have canteens and 'sports bottles' with filters in the cap or straw. But none of them have ever claimed to last a year...

Not saying this as an attack on the gadget, if it actually lasts for a year it probably has a pretty ingenious design. Because as 'Daniel free' points out, you still gotta get rid of all that stuff you snarf up that this thing filters out. That may be several ounces of particulate matter in some places (and I'm talking mainly about micro organisms and not really just mud and algae...1 year is a long time). I wonder how this thing handles it...

Perhaps it only filters out the larger stuff and the iodine beads simply render *most* pathogens inert (obviously excluding Giardia) ?

But it's always nice to see someone come up with a way to help people instead of a better way to hurt/kill them...

[downit @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Has no one noticed the chick in the pic is wearing an ipod???? Hence she is drinking from an istraw from an ipond.

[dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

this is great for develping nations, but for thos of you thinking about buying it for personal use...

Mountain Safety Research came out with a little pen sized device recently that kills just about anyting. It uses a little salt, a little water, and little electricity (in the form of lithium batteries) to create a mixed-oxidant solution via electrolysis.

it will kill just about any of those little nasties. and the batteries last an acceptable amount of time as well!

http://www.survivalschool.com/products/Water_Filters/MIOX_Water_Purifier.htm

[VJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#25, that thing is wayyy too expensive...but its still good. But this straw is absoluteley amazing.

#21 "How can it cost $2 and last a year when a Brita Filter cost $20, lasts only a couple months, and doesn't make non-drinkable water drinkable?"

lmaooo this is so true......I've had so many bad experiences with the Brita Filters. They lastlike a month or 2 and the water still tastes wierd....might as well buy this little thing and save up bigtime.....But I dont get how you can get clean water out of a really dirty water source. I mean, LOOK AT THE PICTURE!...u cant even your hand in the water yet you can get pure drinkable water......but I think if it becomes successful in the market, this guy deserves 100 Nobel Prizes...

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

This:

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/MCN1200

is basically what I was talking about. For the moment one of these is probably what you camping/backpacking people might want. Not to mention people vacationing in certain countries south of the border.

Well, maybe I'm being harsh. I know you can go to any foreign country with water that is totally safe and drinkable for the indigs and end up sick as a dog cuz your system is simply not prepared for whatever specific little bugs are in the water that the natives, after years of exposure, literally eat for breakfast...

But for 20 gallons @ $6.95 a pop, this probably ain't bad for the occasional user (I should probably stick a few of these in the earth quake bug-out-bag, dang blasted San Andreas fault...grumble grumble...).

Doesn't beat $2 per year when you life might depend on it though. Good job Vestergaard Frandsen, now get to work on a new chapeau for that nice lady that's a little less 19th century so she won't get skin cancer :)

[Bob James @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Let's face it, it is a capitalistic society.

Can they make lightbulbs that don't burn out for hundreds of years... Yes!

Can they make products that last much longer... Yes!

Shaving razors that cost $2.00 a pop and only last a short while.

When you have to replace things and spend money on replacing these products, this is how companies make money.

[ninjaKid @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

#24 - not an ipod. if you look at the other pictures the string that's attached to the straw is white . . . :-p

for the "how can it cost this little and do so much" massive - duh, it's called PROGRESS. remember how huge cellphones used to be? can you imagine someone saying "how can you make a call on that? it's so SMALL! it's gotta be fake!"

i guess there's always gonna be those people . . .

[redeye @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Someone give that poor woman a cup.

[Vince C @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

This invention might not be perfect; however its something thats at least going towards the right step in helping other people less fortunate. I've actually tried making one of these in lab (i'm in H2O Engineering) and it does work.

#27 Have you been to a wastewater treatment plant before? You should visit one if not... it will answer your question on how to get clean water from a dirty/unclean source.

Ciao,

Vince

[Chad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

How about this, maybe they say "TO clean it you simply push water back through it? Pushing out all the bacteria and sediment"

That's an idear!

[CK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

> I've taken a Katadyn portable filter before, and you really
> have to pump that thing for a while to get any water

Really? Modern ones do over a litre a minute, it just gushes out. Ones from years ago were a huge pain and went slow as heck, but that's changed.

Personally I prefer Pristine, although that's not gonna be nice when you have physical debris like in the 3rd world.

#31, so why aren't you making millions selling us a *cheaper* lightbulb that lasts 100 years? etc etc.

[TTP @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

isn't the Steripen UV purifier a better solution that can handle Giardia and Cryptosporidiumin?

[chris hind @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Why aren't we air dropping these en masse in new orleans?!?!?

[Harprit Kaur @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

You have posted the wrong picture of LifeStraw in the article. This is a pipe filter and not LifeStraw. Please get in touch with me for the actual pictures.

Harprit Kaur
Manager - Corporate Marketing
Vestergaard Frandsen India Pvt. Ltd.

[Rob Fleuren @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Dear writers, I am Rob Fleuren and have been co-developing this product named Lifestraw for Vestergaard-Frandsen company. I really enjoyed all the comments in the attached letters. The filter was indeed developed to function directly via sucking the water. This has been the major challenge in this`development as the speed is high, set at 150 ml per min. This means that the disinfecting media` has to be released at high enough concentraiton and at the same time delayed for optimal action, to kill bacteria and virusses.

Concerning the turbidity and sediments. We have added a larger filter to take out the particles. To clean it, we advice to backwash, this means, return the water in the mouth back into the filter.

The most interesting surprise in this development has been that at higher turbidity, clay particles presence which are 1 micron and below, the filter still works well and disinfects. Of course it will not take out the 1 micron particles, but these are desinfected and no bacteria are attached to it. It performs well at 50 NTU, which is a measure for turbidity. FYI at this turbidity, fish are dying becuase lack of oxygen.

And the price, yes, that has been the major focuss and challenge to get it produced at this price. For this, we work together with Moshe Frommer from Purofilter in Israel, who well understood that for this segment and customers we need different approach. Besides, Moshe is an excellent scientist and an expert in water treatment field. Read more on Lifestraw on the vestergaard website udner Lifestraw.

Rob Fleuren, development Lifestraw.

[Judy Benvenuti @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Hello,
I am wondering if Rob Fleuren would be able to contact me about this amazing product that needs to enter the global marketplace. I am extremely interested in learning much more about the development of the Lifestraw.

[yvo smit ( from holland) @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

want to no if, its already on market?
and where to buy!
grt. yvo