Have you run out of regular fire starters, and you need to prepare some meals, or you need heat? Though it may be problematic, there are some simple methods that can help you start a fire. And you only need certain household items for this. More precisely, you will need some kind of heating source or something that magnifies and intensifies light to start a fire.
How to Start a Fire With Household Items
Maybe you already applied this method of starting a fire as a kid by using a magnifying glass. All you need to do is to expose a magnifying glass to some sunlight and direct its beam onto some dry tinder. It usually takes a minute, but you will be satisfied with the ‘flame’ result. Try to find some sort of glass lenses. Instead of a magnifying glass, you may use lenses for glasses or a mirror for starting a fire this way.
Another way for making a fire needs flint and steel. Though not standard for some households, many people actually have these items in their homes. In order to make a spark, you should strike a piece of steel against a flint. In order to transform that spark into a flame, you will need extra dry tinder and some light blowing. It could be challenging in windy conditions, but it is worth trying.
You have probably seen this in some survival shows - people using 2 pieces of wood to make a fire by rubbing them against each other. Well, one piece of food should have an indent (made by drilling or carving, for example), where you will put a stick which fits. Then, you will roll the stick back and forth as fast as you can. Thus you will get friction which results in heat. Make sure to have some thin and dry tinder on top of the hole so that the heat produced by friction can catch the tinder. In this way, heat and sparks turn into flame and finally, fire.
Common household items, batteries, and lightbulbs can produce fire, as well. It is really ingenious. More precisely, you will use a candent lightbulb and a large D battery. In order to expose filaments, smash the battery. Next, touch negative and positive terminals of the battery by the plug end of the lightbulb. This contact will heat up the previously mentioned tungsten filaments. The heat produced in this way is sufficient for lighting some kindling or tinder.
A contact between a D battery and steel wool presents one more effective method of using household items for starting a fire. When it comes to steel wool, it shouldn’t be tightly packed, but rather made loose. Then, touch it by the battery terminals. This contact will result in friction with extreme heat which is enough to set the steel wool on fire. As you probably presume, the next step is putting together the burning steel wool and some dry tinder. And here is the fire.
BATTERY AND FOIL WRAPPER
There is one more use of batteries for making a fire. This time, you should combine an AA or AAA battery and a foil wrapper. In the beginning, you should cut the foil wrapper in small strips. Then twist it in the middle to look like a bow tie. After that, touch both battery terminals with the foil wrapper. This contact should light the wrapper.
As you can see, there are at least six simple and great solutions for making a fire in case of lack of matches, lighters, lighter cubes or other regular fire starters All you need is to find these materials in your home and know their place.
