The Daddy Survival Site

 Survival Tip:  Pregnancy & Water

As she continues through her pregnancy, it is critical that she drink a lot of water.  Eight 8 oz glasses at least.  This will help with the blood needed to support the new life developing in her.  It will also keep her own fluids moving and reduce swelling and blood pressure.  This does not replace the requirement for milk which will keep her body from losing calcium that the baby is taking from her to develop its bones.  The first sign of calcium deficiency is weakened teeth and cavities.  She may feel bloated from drinking so much, but by listening to her own body she will know what and when to drink.  It's your job to keep on her. 

How to Distill Water:

Let's say you are out in the desert and get lost.  You need water to survive.  You have a canteen, cup and a small black trash bag.  You will first need to start saving your urine in the event you run out of water.  It is very disgusting to try and swallow urine so distilling it may be your best choice.  Fill up your canteen with Urine and dig a circular hole 1 to 2 feet in diameter and about a foot deep.  Place the canteen opened inside and at the edge of the hole.  In the center place a cup.  Make sure niether item exceeds the height of the hole.  Cover the hole with the black trash bag making sure to secure the sides with rocks and dirt to make a tight seal.  place a rock in the center just above the cup so that it pulls the plastic down a little bit.  It is best if the distilling area is in direct sunlight to allow for the heat to work it's magic.  The urine in the canteen will condensate on the inside of the trash bag and roll down to the center where the cup is then drip into the cup.  You can accomplish the same thing by emulsifying non-poisonous plants with lots of liquid like vines or cactus and placing them in the hole, preferably on top of a piece of plastic so the fluids don't leak into the parched ground. 

 
This diagram is of a solar still and uses basically the same principals to distilling water from urine, however it is designed to pull water out of the ground.  This works great in wooded areas.

Creating a Solar Still:

You will need a large plastic sheet or tarp to make a solar still. Dig a conical hole about four-feet wide at the top and coming to a point about two-feet deep. The bottom of the hole should be in the very center (equal distance from all sides). The slope of the sides isn't critical. Put a medium size pot at the very bottom of the hole. Then lay your plastic sheet over the top of the hole and put a medium size rock (about one-pound) in the center of the sheet just above the pot which will be directly underneath the sheet. Put heavy rocks on top of your plastic sheet all around the outside of the hole to keep the sheet from touching the inner sloping sides of the hole. The center of the sheet should be about 18 inches below the surface of the ground but about 6 inches above the pot. Wait 24 hours. Water vapor will form on the underside of your tarp and drain down to its lowest point (beneath your one-pound rock) and then drip into your pot in the bottom of the hole. On hot days and cold nights you can collect about one-pint of water per 24-hour period.  You can also put moist green non-poisonous vegetation (leaves) near the bottom of the hole (but not in the pot) and this will increase the water yield from your still.

Solar still water is naturally distilled and it may be safe to drink without any treatments (such as boiling or chlorine). However, to avoid the possibility of getting sick it is a good idea to process the still water by boiling.  You will have to move your solar still every two or three days because you will have pulled all the available water from that hole until the next time it rains.

If you want to buy a plastic sheet to take with you when you go camping, then you can find them in the house paint section of most stores, including WalMart and most hardware stores. They are used by painters as drop-cloths to keep paint off the floor. They come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. For durability, the 2-mil thickness is probably best.  The 3-mil stuff will last longer but it is heavier and therefore you will burn more calories carrying it around in your backpack. The 1-mil stuff is lighter but it is very easily damaged (torn).