If you have time, start by letting it settle. Put the water in a tall container and leave it for 12 to 24 hours. Carefully dip or pour the cleaner water at the top into another container. Clean the water as you put it in the new container by running it through a filter. The easiest filter is a coffee filter. If you don't have a coffee filter, use a paper towel or a piece of clean t-shirt material or similar cloth. Change the filter whenever it gets visibly dirty. Once water is filtered, it is fine for using to clean things like clothing and floors.
Menstruation(men-STRAY-shuhn) is a woman's monthly bleeding. When you menstruate, your body sheds the lining of the uterus (womb). Menstrual blood flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix and passes out of the body through the vagina (see how the menstrual cycle works below). Most menstrual periods last from 3 to 5 days.
Your first menstrual period is called menarche (say MEN-ar-kee). It usually starts sometime between ages 11 and 14. But it can happen as early as age 9 or as late as 15. If you are a teenage girl, see your doctor if you have not started having periods by age 15. Menarche is a sign you are growing up and becoming a woman. Along with starting your period, your body is changing. You've begun to develop breasts, pubic hair, and underarm hair. And your hips have begun to widen. Menarche also means that if you have sex, you can get pregnant. You can even get pregnant in the month before your first period starts.