As a means of review for those that have been following our articles, or for those that are new here today, I want to review very briefly the Law of Three, which states; in any given survival situation you only have three hours to live without body heat, three days to live without water, and three weeks to live without food. In our last column we discussed the needs and how-to of maintaining body heat. In this column we will take a look at obtaining water, more importantly clean water. I suppose that it goes without saying that just bending down and taking a drink from your favorite wilderness spot is luxury that we no longer have access to. Virtually all water has the possibility of being contaminated in many, many different ways. A friend of ours, who works for the Kentucky Division of Water, simply put it this way, you don’t want to know what all is in our water. This is so sad, but true.
One of the easiest and most efficient methods of obtaining clean water is to carry iodine tablets or drops with you when you go onto your next hike. To do this you need to have a water container of some sort, or find one in the woods. Again, keep in mind this is all in reference to a survival situation, not just your average hike in the woods. Fill the water container, and put in 5-10 drops of iodine tablets per every 32 ounces of water. You must also remember, and this one is easily forgotten, to put iodine around the rim of the bottle itself to cleanse it as well. Shake the container well, so that the iodine is dispersed evenly throughout the water, and then let is sit for at least 30 minutes. The water will definitely have an iodine after-taste to it, but it will still provide clean water for you.
Another option for you when you know you are taking your next trek is to have a water purifier pump. These little gadgets are worth their weight in good water! Each manufacturer is different but basically you have in intake hose, an output hose and a small hand pump that brings the water into the filter and puts it out into what ever container you have. Again, keep in mind that when using these pumps that you NEVER let the output hose into an unclean water source, or it will possibly contaminate the water as it goes into your container.
The other obvious option that goes along with cleaning water, but like these last two, requires you to have supplies on hand when you go into the woods, it to bring water to a boil as your method of cleansing. Most outdoors folk suggest bringing the water to a rolling boil for approximately one minute. If the water is cloudy or has a lot of other grey matter in it, you can further filter it with a bandana or t-shirt.
Those are methods when you find yourself lost in a survival situation and you went in prepared. But what do you do if you find yourself lost unprepared or maybe stranded in your own home, without water? Those are the questions I will address now.
One of the best things to keep mind is that dirty water, is better than no water at all. Once again, keep in mind in a general sense, that without water for 3 days you simply cannot survive at all. So if you find yourself out, or stranded in some way for 3 days, without water, you will start noticing obvious physical signs of dehydration. Some of the signs of dehydration are dry mouth, stop, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, and lightheadedness. Your proper decision making capability will also markedly decrease which could easily because you to leave a shelter, erratically go through the woods, or many other things that could come from diminished thinking capabilities.
Some of the best sources for water in nature are rain and dew. You can gather them both easily from grass, or leaves, by wiping the foliage with a shirt or bandana and squeeze the water into your mouth to get the water you desperately need. There are also certain vines, such as the wild grape, that when cut will provide upwards of a gallon of water a day. Be cautious though, you must have your edible and medicinal plants skills going strong, because Canadian moonseed vine and wild grape look virtually identical. Wild grapes, which are awesome when you find them, and Canadian moonseed being poisonous! Misidentification could mean life or death in a survival situation.
As for in your home, in a disaster situation where you may be unable to leave, always have water on hand in some form of storage for you use. Water bottles or gallons of water, unopened are too easy to store and there for emergency use in whatever situation may arise. You also have a few gallons residing in your toilet tank as well. That is clean water, and again I mean the tank, not the bowl itself, no matter what your pet Fido thinks about it. Also in a severe emergency, you have many gallons of water resting in both your hot water tank, and in the pipes themselves, that you can easily get to.
So those are the basic methods for beginners, there are other methods such as solar still, hillbilly filter (my words) made from plant material and rocks, using animal skins. If you desire to discover those you can do your own research, or contact us, we would be happy to help you find your way into the woods!
One of the easiest and most efficient methods of obtaining clean water is to carry iodine tablets or drops with you when you go onto your next hike. To do this you need to have a water container of some sort, or find one in the woods. Again, keep in mind this is all in reference to a survival situation, not just your average hike in the woods. Fill the water container, and put in 5-10 drops of iodine tablets per every 32 ounces of water. You must also remember, and this one is easily forgotten, to put iodine around the rim of the bottle itself to cleanse it as well. Shake the container well, so that the iodine is dispersed evenly throughout the water, and then let is sit for at least 30 minutes. The water will definitely have an iodine after-taste to it, but it will still provide clean water for you.
Another option for you when you know you are taking your next trek is to have a water purifier pump. These little gadgets are worth their weight in good water! Each manufacturer is different but basically you have in intake hose, an output hose and a small hand pump that brings the water into the filter and puts it out into what ever container you have. Again, keep in mind that when using these pumps that you NEVER let the output hose into an unclean water source, or it will possibly contaminate the water as it goes into your container.
The other obvious option that goes along with cleaning water, but like these last two, requires you to have supplies on hand when you go into the woods, it to bring water to a boil as your method of cleansing. Most outdoors folk suggest bringing the water to a rolling boil for approximately one minute. If the water is cloudy or has a lot of other grey matter in it, you can further filter it with a bandana or t-shirt.
Those are methods when you find yourself lost in a survival situation and you went in prepared. But what do you do if you find yourself lost unprepared or maybe stranded in your own home, without water? Those are the questions I will address now.
One of the best things to keep mind is that dirty water, is better than no water at all. Once again, keep in mind in a general sense, that without water for 3 days you simply cannot survive at all. So if you find yourself out, or stranded in some way for 3 days, without water, you will start noticing obvious physical signs of dehydration. Some of the signs of dehydration are dry mouth, stop, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, and lightheadedness. Your proper decision making capability will also markedly decrease which could easily because you to leave a shelter, erratically go through the woods, or many other things that could come from diminished thinking capabilities.
Some of the best sources for water in nature are rain and dew. You can gather them both easily from grass, or leaves, by wiping the foliage with a shirt or bandana and squeeze the water into your mouth to get the water you desperately need. There are also certain vines, such as the wild grape, that when cut will provide upwards of a gallon of water a day. Be cautious though, you must have your edible and medicinal plants skills going strong, because Canadian moonseed vine and wild grape look virtually identical. Wild grapes, which are awesome when you find them, and Canadian moonseed being poisonous! Misidentification could mean life or death in a survival situation.
As for in your home, in a disaster situation where you may be unable to leave, always have water on hand in some form of storage for you use. Water bottles or gallons of water, unopened are too easy to store and there for emergency use in whatever situation may arise. You also have a few gallons residing in your toilet tank as well. That is clean water, and again I mean the tank, not the bowl itself, no matter what your pet Fido thinks about it. Also in a severe emergency, you have many gallons of water resting in both your hot water tank, and in the pipes themselves, that you can easily get to.
So those are the basic methods for beginners, there are other methods such as solar still, hillbilly filter (my words) made from plant material and rocks, using animal skins. If you desire to discover those you can do your own research, or contact us, we would be happy to help you find your way into the woods!
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