How to Build a Survival Water Filter
You can make a survival water filter using only your knife and the materials provided by nature. Fashioned from a birch bark cone containing layers of grasses and sand, this water filter will effectively remove particles from the water. If you happen to have charcoal, including it among your layers will serve to remove bacteria from the water.
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Things You'll Need
- Stout knife
- Birch tree
- Vines
- Several small stones
- Sand
- Grasses
- Charcoal, if possible
Instructions
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1
Make a horizontal cut all the way around a birch tree with a knife. Make an identical cut about 15 inches below the first one. Join the horizontal cuts with a single vertical cut.
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2
Slip the tip of the knife blade through the vertical cut and under one side of the bark to create a slightly loosened edge to grasp. Pull or pry the bark strip from the tree in a single piece.
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3
Roll one end of the bark inward, like rolling a newspaper, to form a cone. Roll the tip end of the cone as tightly as you can, leaving an opening no bigger than a penny, if possible. Secure the cone's shape by using some flexible vines around it to tie it into place, creating a container.
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4
Drop several small rocks or stones into the bottom of the cone. These will serve to hold filtering materials in the container.
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5
Alternate layers of sand, grasses and charcoal, if you have it, to fill the cone. Make each layer an inch or so deep. It doesn't matter which material you start or end with, as long as they are alternated.
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Pour impure water into the top of the survival water filter and collect it in a separate container held below the filter. If the filtered water doesn't look clear, filter it again.
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Tips & Warnings
Look for the clearest water that you can find. Running water is far safer than standing water, and water that erupts through the ground from a spring is purer than water than has been running on top of the ground.
Avoid discolored water, marsh and swamp water and water with algae growing in it. Use two separate containers, one for the water you have purified and another for impure water.
