# Purifying water with no pot **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215 "2014-07-15T20:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/21 "2014-07-16T18:34:34Z")
I would still opt for a sharp, heavy knife, like a Bowie. You can do so much more with a good knife than most other tools. Shelter, fire, digging for or butchering food. I think that people here are overly worried about drinking sterile, clean water. The bigger issue is can you _find_ water? If you can find water you can drink it. And if you are thirsty, you will, no matter what the condition of the water is. But we haven’t specified just where we are naked and alone. Are we in a temperate area, a desert, where? That matters, because there will be native materials available wherever we are that can be used to help us get water cleaner. Peel the bark off a small tree or shrub, it rolls up into a tube. Pack the tube with moss and you have somewhat of a filter straw that you can use to drink out of questionable water holes. If you find free running water I wouldn’t even hesitate to drink from it. If you are in an area without open or free flowing water, then finding water at all is going to be a bigger challenge than deciding how to clean it. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/22 "2014-07-16T18:38:10Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > I think that people here are overly worried about drinking sterile, clean water. The bigger issue is can you _find_ water? If you can find water you can drink it. And if you are thirsty, you will, no matter what the condition of the water is. > > But we haven’t specified just where we are naked and alone. Are we in a temperate area, a desert, where? That matters, because there will be native materials available wherever we are that can be used to help us get water cleaner. If you watch the show, the issue is not finding water. It’s finding safe water. Most of the locations are tropical rain forests, like South America. There was one in Louisiana swamps, and one on an island somewhere. Only in the African savannah episode was finding water the challenge… and even then, what they found was a muddy watering hole that would not have been safe to drink. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/23 "2014-07-16T21:09:58Z")
I would think that boiling water in a bamboo container will be the easiest. Bamboo or other plants/trees that have hollow stems. here is a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQpw17cWHoQ) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/24 "2014-07-16T21:18:54Z")
Tool of choice: [water filter](http://www.mec.ca/product/4013-733/katadyn-pocket-water-filter/?f=10+50007+50469) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/25 "2014-07-16T21:34:58Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Tool of choice: [water filter](http://www.mec.ca/product/4013-733/katadyn-pocket-water-filter/?f=10+50007+50469) Again, not the type of object you could take on the show. Needs to be primitive, that’s the whole point of the show. Naked like a cave man pre-clothing. Only primitive tools like a knife or a pan or a firestriking flint. And your unknown parter (of opposite sex) shows up naked with an unknown object. Objects can be modern material but generally not complicated like your filter. Neat filter btw. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/26 "2014-07-16T22:52:15Z")
Then I’d take a fire-starting flint, us fire to make charcoal, then use gravel, sand and charcoal to filter water, [e.g.](http://www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/how_to_make_activated_charcoal): > [@](#): > > However, if this project is directed at ultimately making a cheap water or air filter for primitive circumstances, it should be noted that plain charcoal has a long history (3,000+ years) of use in odor control and water purification. As far back as 1500 B.C. down to hospitals in the 1800s, plain charcoal powder was used to control the stench of rotting flesh. Ancient sea explorers scortched the inside of wooden water barrels to preserve drinking water during long voyages. In their campaigns to help tame the wild West, the American Calvary used plain lump charcoal in the last compartment of a 3-compartment box (1. gravel 2. washed sand 3. charcoal) to filter swamp water for drinking water. It has been found that even the lowly plain wood charcoal has fragments of the super molecule Buckmisterfullerene (C60) that has phenomenal adsorptive capacities. So, if it is for some rough or makeshift circumstances, just your regular charcoal will work effectively enough as both a water and air filter, without the potential mishaps of trying to activate it with some potentially corrosive chemicals. Obviously not ideal (wouldn’t stop viruses), but it would improve the odds against protozoa. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/27 "2014-07-16T23:36:58Z")
I’d go for a decent hunting knife. You can use it to cut saplings, bamboo, etc to make shelter (your first priority), and leaves/dry grass, reeds to fashion makeshift clothing or bedding. You can use it to cut bamboo or leaves to make water vessels; if you can find flint, you can strike it against the back of the blade to make sparks and light a fire (if you can’t find flint, you can use the knife to cut and fashion wood for a firelighting drill or other friction-based method - as well as using the sharp edge of the knife to make shavings for tinder. You can use it to make hunting, fishing and trapping implements, and to prepare anything you catch. If I was expecting guaranteed rescue within 48 hours, I’d pick a tarp or heavy wool blanket. If the survival period is indefinite, and only one item is allowed, I can’t see how it can be anything other than a good knife. OK, maybe a small, very sharp hatchet, but maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/28 "2014-07-16T23:42:23Z")
Drop me naked into a temperate North American forest with no tools whatsoever, and I can have a basket ready in about an hour. It’s one of very few tools that can be made using no other tools. If I can find some clay (a lot easier if I’m near a riverbed), I can also waterproof it. If I’m making a permanent tool to keep, then I’m going to want to bake, or at least sun-dry, the clay, but even without that it’ll serve. And a flint for starting fires is a terrible idea for your one tool. Flint doesn’t start fires; flint _and steel_ do. You’re a lot more likely to find flint in the wild than steel, so the steel is the part you need to bring. Which could be in the form of a knife, if you’re not going to need to use it for that for long. But then, ideally, you’ll only ever need to start one fire from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/29 "2014-07-17T00:20:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And a flint for starting fires is a terrible idea for your one tool. Flint doesn’t start fires; flint _and steel_ do. You’re a lot more likely to find flint in the wild than steel, so the steel is the part you need to bring. Which could be in the form of a knife, if you’re not going to need to use it for that for long. But then, ideally, you’ll only ever need to start one fire from scratch. Not sure what they are using on the show to strike a spark. Most definitely not flint. But they hit most anything agaisnt it and sparks fly and makes fire starting easy. Not really sure why any real survivalist would need this other than the rain forest where even tinder is hard to find… Like your idea of mud caked baskets. Why didn’t I think of that? 🙂 But I still like a sharp shovel because it can be a substitute for a pot right out the gate and can do a lot of knife functions. First start a fire because you are naked. Then purify water. Take turns napping all night to a warm fire then build your shelter in the morning. Fire gets you drinkable water. Water keeps you hydrated. Shelter is a priority before food. You can go without food for days but not the other three. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/30 "2014-07-17T01:02:15Z")
Well, as the saying goes, “Pot will get you through times of no pure water better than pure water will get you through times of no pot.” Or is it the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/31 "2014-07-17T01:16:34Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Well, as the saying goes, “Pot will get you through times of no pure water better than pure water will get you through times of no pot.” Or is it the other way around? Duuude. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/32 "2014-07-17T01:16:50Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Most of the locations are tropical rain forests, like South America. Oh, hell! Then you have it made! Sew up a few containers out of big leaves and hang them to catch the run-off. It’ll be plenty clean. > [@](#): > > Only in the African savannah episode was finding water the challenge… and even then, what they found was a muddy watering hole that would not have been safe to drink. How do you know it wouldn’t be safe to drink? Good enough for multiple-great grandpa; good enough for you. We managed to survive on that continent for millions of years with lineages going extinct just a few times. Just let it settle if you need to be dainty. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/33 "2014-07-17T02:09:17Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Oh, hell! Then you have it made! Sew up a few containers out of big leaves and hang them to catch the run-off. It’ll be plenty clean. How do you know it wouldn’t be safe to drink? Good enough for multiple-great grandpa; good enough for you. We managed to survive on that continent for millions of years with lineages going extinct just a few times. Just let it settle if you need to be dainty. As long as it actually rains. Watch the show and see how people have gotten deathly ill from drinking water from running streams because it hasn’t rained in a week. Birds poop on leaves as well. The people who live there know and are acilmated to the conditions. Pretty brass to assume that you may be immune from stuff just because you think you are bad. Those are usually the people who go home crying to thier mommies after 12 days. You have no plan. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/34 "2014-07-17T06:30:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Drop me naked into a temperate North American forest with no tools whatsoever, and I can have a basket ready in about an hour. It’s one of very few tools that can be made using no other tools. If I can find some clay (a lot easier if I’m near a riverbed), I can also waterproof it. If I’m making a permanent tool to keep, then I’m going to want to bake, or at least sun-dry, the clay, but even without that it’ll serve. > > And a flint for starting fires is a terrible idea for your one tool. Flint doesn’t start fires; flint _and steel_ do. You’re a lot more likely to find flint in the wild than steel, so the steel is the part you need to bring. Which could be in the form of a knife, if you’re not going to need to use it for that for long. But then, ideally, you’ll only ever need to start one fire from scratch. It’s things like this that have me skeptical about shows like that. I know precious little about survival, but have certainly heard similar things to what you’re saying here. The firestarter you see on the show are a spring-loaded type, something like this one: [http://www.campingsurvival.com/blfistor.html](http://www.campingsurvival.com/blfistor.html). Nobody has thought to look for flint in their environment in episodes I’ve seen. Those who try to start fires without the device have a pretty dismal success rate on the show… and at least one episode features people with this striker who broke it before they got the fire started. :dubious: And while some of them have woven baskets or bags of sorts, I don’t recall ever seeing one that could hold water and never one that could be used for cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/35 "2014-07-17T09:44:39Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Like your idea of mud caked baskets. Why didn’t I think of that? 🙂 But I still like a sharp shovel because it can be a substitute for a pot right out the gate and can do a lot of knife functions. Clay isn’t quite mud. Where I grew up, there was on bank on the lake that was clay, not dirt/mud/silt. Feeling it between your fingers, it was obviously a completely different animal. If available, I’d use the hell out of it. But I don’t know how easy it is to find deposits of clay. I don’t know that I would want to depend on it. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215/36 "2014-07-17T10:16:38Z")
Many plants are able to be used as a water source - liana vines can be cut and will backflow enough water from the upper levels of the vine to provide a pint to a quart of sap/water. A nontoxic plant that you are not allergic to can have enough water in the pulpy inner parts that chewing and sucking the water out is a viable option. I would just be really circumspect about gnawing and sucking on strange plants. And it is a good idea to research and extensively practice friction fire starting. Please do learn why adding sand or other grit to the area being rubbed to increase friction is the wrong thing to do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purifying-water-with-no-pot/693215.md?page=1)