Vaseline (the most popular brand name for petroleum jelly) is surprisingly useful when it comes to disaster preparedness and survival. As Sensible Prepper demonstrates in this video, there’s at least a dozen survival uses for Vaseline.
Here’s his list:
- Moisturize dry, chapped, and sunburned skin.
- Protect small wounds, scrapes, and cuts.
- Lubricate metal parts on tools and gear.
- Clean dirt and sticky stuff off of hands.
- Lubricate old and stuck zippers.
- Keep old keys and locks working well.
- Moisturize chapped lips.
- Protect old, dried out leather.
- Protect extremeties from frostbite.
- Make a cottonball firestarter.
- Make a small candle with cotton.
- Prevent chafing when walking long distances.
Watch the video below to see these uses demonstrated.
BrianS says
April 1, 2018 at 1:40 amYou can get petroleum jelly in tubes for a more compact kit or to avoid the possibility of a mess from leakage. Tubes are not very common but they are available. Look around at pricing because some sites charge 5 & 6 times what others do for exactly the same item.
I had a normal vaseline container fall open in a case. A terrible mess that is not very easy to clean up. Lucky it was a hard case & not a fabric bag or backpack or the clean up may have been almost impossible.
I normally pack all messy pastes & liquids inside two zip seal bags now & put them inside a wet sack or transparent waterproof travel bag. Transparent bags & sacks make inspection easier.
Barry Campbell says
July 14, 2018 at 3:15 pmMost countries give condoms and live for free at health clinic’s. Both are real good survival and prepping aids.
Barry Campbell says
July 14, 2018 at 3:18 pmLube not live. Predictive text on and didn’t notice the change.
oldguy says
March 6, 2018 at 1:21 amYears ago I saw a Canadian out door show showing how to build a snow cave. And they use a Sucrets can with petroleum jelly and a piece of rolled up gauze as a stove to heat up the snow cave. And to melt snow for drinking water