How to Turn Salt Water to Drinkable Water

A common theme in lost-at-sea stories is the cruel irony of floating adrift in a life raft in a sea of undrinkable water. Ingest too much salt over a long period of time and it will kill you. Survival rafts come equipped with solar stills, which separate the water from the salt by evaporation, then condense and recollect the pure water. Make a homemade solar still to desalinate and purify water.

Things You'll Need

  • Vegetable steamer
  • Bucket
  • Wide-mouthed cup
  • Saltwater
  • Plastic sheet to cover top of bucket
  • Duct tape
  • Small rock
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place a vegetable steamer in the center of the bottom of a bucket. If you do not have a steamer handy, use anything that does not float and makes a stable platform at the bottom of the bucket.

    • 2

      Place a wide-mouthed cup in the center of the vegetable steamer and pour enough saltwater into the bottom of the bucket to cover the legs of the steamer, but not so much that you float the cup.

    • 3

      Drape the plastic sheet over the top of the bucket and attach it with duct tape. Use small strips to get the plastic secured in place, leaving enough slack in the plastic sheet so it sags when it is fully secured.

    • 4

      Wrap duct tape tightly around the top of the bucket, fully securing the plastic sheet. The idea is to get a decent seal.

    • 5

      Place a small rock in the center of the plastic and set the bucket out in the sun. The pure water evaporates, then condenses against the plastic. It then runs down to the lowest point, weighed down by the rock, and drips into the cup.