I have actually done that, dcarch. Melted snow for water for my steam iron back when I had to do a lot of ironing. DH's work shirts. The water isn't absolutely pure...had some sediment in it so had to carefully pour it into milk jugs w/o disturbing the sediment. Would work in old school (not sealed) auto batteries, too. Would not ingest it.

Much thanks dcarch, I didn't know this.

You didn't know that snow ( and rain) are distilled water?? really?
And in case you don't know, it takes a lot of snow to make a quart of water....more if it's very cold out. They say, at 30 degrees it takes 10 inches of snow to make an inch of water. So you better have a very big pot to gather snow.

Don’t drink it though:

A team of scientists recently revealed that snow in urban areas can absorb the same toxic and carcinogenic pollutants that come from car exhaust. The interaction of pollutants with cold elements and freezing temperatures in snow might even cause the release of new compounds, according to Dr. Parisa Ariya, professor of chemistry and atmospheric sciences at McGill University in Canada, who led the research.

"Snow flakes are ice particles with various types of surfaces, including several active sites, that can absorb various gaseous or particulate pollutants," she told The Huffington Post. "As a mother who is an atmospheric physical chemist, I definitely do not suggest my young kids to eat snow in urban areas in general."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_569d33e2e4b0778f46fa4aa1/amp

lindac92, no I didn't know this. Really. Which is why I thanked dcarch for tip. I do know it takes quite a lot to make water from snow.

Thank you FOAS. I don't drink bottled distilled water so I wouldn't have drunk snow water - unless I was caught outside, dehydrated, and even then, I'd have to be pretty darned thirsty and have a good fire going to warm my core temperature!

OTOH, I do remember making snow ice cream once, and I suppose despite pollutants, there's every possibility I'd make it again a couple more times in my life. I breathe polluted air too : )

We have deer, skunks, opossums, gophers, ground hogs, birds (bald eagles and hawks included), mice, moles, lizards, bats, ad nauseum, running, flying, and crawling through our back yard, despite living on a quiet suburban street. We use fertilizer on our grass also. I use manure in our gardens. Call me a risk taker, but I don't think I'm taking major risks if I imbibe in a little snow ice cream fun a few times in my life...

Jeff Gaffney, professor of chemistry at the University of Arkansas, and John Pomeroy, a researcher who studies water resources and climate change at the University of Saskatchewan aren't quite as skeptical as Parisa Ariya, but I'm sure if one looks all over the internet, one can find arguments for and against making snow ice cream. I surely wouldn't do it regularly, if I do it again. The funniest quote in the article I linked to is "never eat snow that's been plowed". Most of us have seen plowed snow... and I can't imagine anyone wanting a taste of that!

Yes, there are many considerations regarding snow purity.

Keep this in mind also, when a substance is crystallizing ( as in water becoming snow) it actually purifies. In the making of computer chips, they use this crystallization method called "zone refining" to make ultra pure semiconductors.

Snow actually goes thru two ultra purification stages, first distillation, then crystallization.

dcarch

And then it picks up all sorts of junk from the air on the way down.....and lots of kids do eat snow....hence the saying "don't eat yellow snow".
Which reminds me I have a recipe for the most delicious yellow snow, a pineapple snow ice-cream.

Really, don't drink it? Interesting... I was in Adelaide Australia over Christmas and New Years. People there drink the rain water run off from their roofs.

Not to my liking... I prefer city water... I think, it is better?

Moni

LOL! I don't think I'd drink runoff from my roof... isn't Adelaide a pretty big city, or am I thinking of someplace else? So, OklaMoni, it was New Years... were they by chance a bit on the tipsy side when they partook? : ) Seriously though, did they actually collect the water to drink?

I confess, I've drunk water from our Birch tree... I'm not exaggerating, it was surprisingly sweet. I've heard it's 'healthy' but drank it primarily out of curiosity - I didn't turn into super woman or anything. I hear people bottle the stuff, but I've also heard they bottle anything and call it Birch Water.

Sorry dcarch, this has gotten way OT. I do intend to collect snow for my iron though, and truly, thank you.

2MD, OT is good. :-)

People swim, dive in ponds, rivers, lakes where animals pee, dump and die.

Imagine what gets in your eyes, ears, mouth, ------.

I wouldn't worry about pure snow.

So I used my digital multi-meter to measure electrical resistance of snow water v.s. tap water.

Tap water - 65 ohms

Snow water - 516000 ohms.

What this means is this: Pure water is non-electric conductive. The measurement shows snow water is many times more pure than tap water. (The higher the ohms, the less conductive)

dcarch

Yes, in the suburbs of Adelaide.. and they drink that water!

OklaMoni, I'm assuming that the Aussies are using cisterns. It's quite an old idea that dates back to the Greeks & Romans. One of my friends' mother lived on a high bluff over the Ohio river in southern Illinois. All of her water came from a cistern because drilling a well would have been prohibitively expensive at the time her home was built (mid last century.)

Cisterns normally have a way to filter the water. There is a lot more detail at the link, including info about areas where cisterns are commonly still in use.

https://extension.psu.edu/rainwater-cisterns-design-construction-and-treatment

this is a normal sight:

off a light house... see the water bins?

Yes, this was in town... but outside of town it is most often their only water

and no, not in Adelaide, but along the Great Ocean Road.

I purchased four 64-gallon trash cans to collect rain water from the roof gutters for watering my garden.

dcarch

Yes, even small rain barrels have filters for the water. The home water catchments definitely do.

Looked into a bit more. Aussies call them just plain old 'water tanks' (not cisterns). Adelaide gets around 36" annual rainfall. The water is mostly used for laundry, toilets and irrigation. (In the bush, it's also used for drinking water.)

The tanks are promoted as a flood control measure, to help keep rainwater from overtaxing the storm sewers. I can certainly see the point of that in the first photo OklaMoni posted. There's a whole lotta' roof there and very little place for rainfall to go...just that little postage stamp of lawn.

Interesting how things are done in other parts of the world.

That was an unusual snow fall. Calm and dead quiet. Started at 5pm Saturday. An inch an hour. Around 11 pm I packed a few quart jars, then set out a wide tray on the table before an easy deck shoveling. Close to 9inches by morning. I rarely gather snow as most snow falls are stormy/windy and full of debris.

I've had rain barrels at both home for years. I would not drink it. I'm guessing it is a seasonal decision and roof material in some cultures. Tar and gravel on a hot summer day not such a good idea. Second, third good storm in Spring with a clay tile roof much different. But birds crap everywhere. Uncontrollably it seems, lol.

Did not think to test my snow/water. I have a meter for the reverse osmosis. I have a gallon jug unopened of distilled, Saturdays snow, tap, filtered, and an iceberg in the freezer. That puppy is 12,000 years old.

Interesting thread. In the northeast US one can walk into the snowy woods and see "snow fleas." I'll have to research them, but apparently (?) they are some sort of ? Arthropod.

I used to love sucking the frozen slush from my knitted mittens. Good to hear people saving runoff for garden or toilet flushing.

dcarch, you always make me smile, whether it’s a comment, your amazing dishes, or your ingenious (and money-saving) builds : ) Your meter tests had a fascinating outcome.

I hope… after we re-build our garden in a year or two, to incorporate 1-2 rain barrel trash cans for garden watering – I’d researched it briefly and think it’s a fantastic idea – there are filters to use for tar and shingle gravels, but I wouldn’t drink it! DH just added new yard drainage, plus an additional gutter, so I’m hoping he’ll be open to diverting some of our roof runoff later.

Since you mentioned it… I was one of those who enjoyed rivers and streams. I’ve lived off and on (currently on) near the Great Smoky Mountains, and each spring/summer I’d boulder-hop up streams and rivers to get away from the crowds… I will never forget jumping into deep pools and the wonderful shock of icy water from the mountain snow runoff in late spring! Or finding a moss-covered smooth rock to slide down into a little deep pool – I’m sure I’ve swallowed my share of black bear pee... and other things. Sometimes we adults need to behave like children : ) I’m sure I’ll enjoy some snow ice cream next deep snowfall.

OklaMoni, thanks for the photo! Helps explain a lot! I envy those clothes lines… I have a rather strict HOA that disallows them. I understand it, but the scent of fresh air and sun on sheets… ahhhh.

Sleevendog, the Aussies incorporate a roof washer diverter valve into some of their collection systems. Initial rainfall 'washes' the roof and is not permitted into the storage tank.

Both of the pix that OklaMoni posted have structures with sheet metal roofs but there are ways to deal with other roof materials.

I don't know how prevalent metal roofing is in Australia but I'm going to guess that it is quite popular. I know that metal roofing on residential houses is gaining traction here in Wisconsin.

Gizmoes at the link.

http://www.rainharvest.com/rain-harvesting-pty-downspout-first-flush-diverter.asp

sleevendog.. "... and an iceberg in the freezer. That puppy is 12,000 years old." Naaaw.... no, right?

Many places in the world do not have access to ground water, like the small island Caye Caulker, Belize. Ground water has a good chance to be polluted by sewage systems too. Here's an island get away with.... "two water vats have been connected to the down spouts for rainwater
collection, and can be used for every day use. An inline filter has
been added to the water system, making for wonderful drinking water."

https://www.point2homes.com/BZ/Home-For-Sale/Belize/Caye-Caulker/Caye-Caulker-South/Views-Views-Views/42042886.html

If I was in an area with very limited drinkable water supply, I probably would build myself a solar distiller.

Many DIY ideas on the internet (youtube).

dcarch

Everyone can hang laundry, and collect rain water for their yard/garden. I do both. I wish, one could get huge containers like they use in Australia, here in Oklahoma. The rain-barrels you can buy are way to small for a good rain... the majority will still run on the ground. I hung my laundry on the back patio at one of the houses I lived in, cause the home owners association said no clothes lines.... I was never reported/reprimanded. ;)

Moni

I understand every snowflake forms around a dust particle, so I'm fairly certain snow is not "pure", nor the same as distilled water. It is precipitation and water is not the only thing that precipitates out of our atmosphere.

I understand there are viruses and bacteria in the air as well.

http://bgr.com/2018/02/06/viruses-in-the-sky-bacteria-atmosphere-earth/

I'll bet melted snow is fine for using in your iron, in a pinch, but not for consumption w/o treatment.

Much different mixed with oxygen. As in the air we breath. Bacteria and molds rapidly multiply in a wet room-temp environment. As in soils allowed to 'breath' vs the flooded low point in your yard that does not drain after heavy rains/floods.

We are designed, with a healthy immune system, to easily handle day to day exposures. Compromise that with even a small ailment that our systems are already in the process of fighting.... no need to add anymore battles for your system to fight.

No water is exactly pure, not even distilled. I would have no issues having a snow cone using fresh snow being 'frozen' with minor contaminants. Just the nature of our environment. Melted and stored at room temp I would not consume.

IceBerg is probably the most pure having formed 10-15,000 years ago before modern environmental contaminants existed.

sleevendog... I asked above but you may have thought I was kidding... I thought you might have been kidding... so, do you or don't you have a chunk of 12,000 year old iceberg in your freezer! I seriously am curious! And if you do, I'll be there shortly {pulling gin from freezer}. You've got an ice pick, right?