We can never have too many options at our disposal when it comes to being able to access, purify or produce safe drinking water in an emergency. This is why it’s so important to have multiple backups in place that you can use if all else fails. One method that’s worth considering is using a few plastic bottles and the energy from the sun to distill water. While this may not be the most-efficient option out there, it can be a life-saver when filters break or we run out of purification tablets. Take a look at the steps below, and see how easy it is to improvise an emergency distillation system in a matter of minutes.
Getting Started
The first step is to choose sets of suitable bottles. They should be made from clean, clear plastic that is in good condition, and you’ll also need the lids. You’ll also need pairs of bottles to make each distiller, along with some duct tape, and a knife or drill bit that can bore holes through the lids. Finally, you’ll also need a piece of wood or other object that can be used to prop up one side of the distiller when finished.
Carefully cut or bore out the center of each cap so that the edges are almost reaching the side walls. This will allow vapor from evaporating water to move between the connected bottles during the process of distillation, and larger holes will help to make the unit more efficient. Next, peel off a strip of tape that’s a couple of inches long before grabbing the two caps and pressing them together with your thumb and middle finger. Apply the tape around the outer edge, and make sure that it’s completely-sealed.
Next, fill one of the bottles about a third of the way up with the water that you want to distill before screwing on one of the caps that you just joined together. Screw the empty bottle to the other cap before carefully moving the distiller into an area that is receiving abundant, direct sunlight. Make sure that you don’t let any of the dirty water spill into the clean bottle. You can also wait until you’ve set the distiller in place before attaching the clean bottle if you want to err on the side of caution as well.
Filtering the Water
Place the piece of wood, book, rock or other object on the ground, and lean the dirty water bottle against it so it rests at a slight angle. The basic idea is that the water will evaporate and rise into the clean bottle, condense, and then form droplets that can be harvested. However, it’s important that the angle is shallow enough so that the collected water won’t overflow the basin near the bottle top and drain back into the dirty one. On the other hand, you need to have the distiller propped at a slight angle in order to prevent the dirty water from flowing into the clean bottle. It’s a catch-22 that will require a little bit of experimentation and trial and error to work through.
However, once you do, you’ll be surprised at how much water these little distillers can collect, especially if you’re in an area that’s receiving a lot of energy from the sun. You can also scale up as necessary in order to increase the amount of water that you can harvest at a time as well.
Try this out for yourself the next time you’re outside on a sunny day, and you’ll be surprised that something as common as plastic bottles can be repurposed into a life-saving resource.
