The LifeStraw is an instant water purification filter designed by the Danish Vestergaard Frandsen Group. The device is able to clean bacteria, such as typhoid, salmonella, Escherichia coli, and cholera, from water for people living in third world countries.

The LifeStraw is a plastic tube 25 centimeters long and 29 millimeters in diameter, and costs around $3.00. Water that is sucked through the straw first passes through a mesh of 100-micrometer spaces, then through a mesh of 15-micrometer spaces. Water then passes through a chamber with iodine-coated beads, killing remaining bacteria. The water passes through an empty chamber, then finally passes through active carbon, removing the iodide taste and medium-sized bacteria.The entire process is powered by regular sucking, similar to using a conventional drinking straw, and filters up to 700 liters of water.

The aptly-named LifeStraw might someday be dubbed the greatest life-savers in history. This $3, 10 inch long filtered straw, kills the waterborne diseases that are killing nearly two million people a year. More than a billion people do not have access to clean water and contaminated water transmits diseases such as typhoid, and cholera.

Each LifeStraw contains three compartments, several filters, and produces water that is cleaner than most public water supplies killing 99.9999% of all bacteria. With the straw you can suck almost five cups in eight minutes, the same straw can be used for approximately a year without needing to clean or change the filters, and it can be worn around your neck on a string. Until now, there was not much we could reduce the cost of cleaning water. Billions have been plagued with sickness, dehydration, and death because there was no straw to save their life.