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How to Take the Salt Out of Saltwater with the Sun

Desalinization is the process of removing salt from saltwater. The root of the word "desalinize" is the word "saline." "Saline" comes from Middle English and the Anglo-French word "salin," which comes from the Latin adjective "salinus," which comes from the Latin word for salt, "sal," which in turn derives from the Greek "hals" meaning "salt" or "sea." Using the power of the sun to desalinate saltwater is easier than keeping track of the etymology of "desalinization."

Things You'll Need

One tablespoon of salt
Two cups of water
Spoon
Flat-bottomed glass bowl
Glass drinking cup
Plastic wrap
Tape if needed
1/2-ounce lead fishing weight or small, smooth stone

Instructions

- 1
  Measure one tablespoon of salt into a flat-bottomed bowl.
- 2
  Pour approximately two cups of water into the bowl and stir with a spoon until the salt dissolves.
- 3
  Place a glass drinking cup in the center of the bowl with the mouth of the drinking cup upward. The mouth of the drinking cup should be lower than the sides of the bowl but higher than the saltwater level in the bowl.
- 4
  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Tape the edges of the plastic wrap to the sides of the bowl if necessary to hold the plastic wrap firmly in place.
- 5
  Place a 1/2-ounce lead fishing weight or other small weight like a smooth stone on top of the center of the plastic wrap so that it depresses the plastic wrap slightly over the mouth of the drinking cup.
- 6
  Place the bowl in a safe and sunny location such as in a window or on a deck.
- 7
  Allow your solar desalinization device to work for at least three hours. Salt-free water will collect in the drinking cup as the water vaporizes in the heat of the sun and then returns to its liquid state.

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