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.
The key/lock note might be expanded, it’s also a low temperature lubricant. That means it’s still playable when other lubes freeze.
You 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.
Most countries give condoms and live for free at health clinic’s. Both are real good survival and prepping aids.
Lube not live. Predictive text on and didn’t notice the change.
Years 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