How to get ahold of free tinder

Hello everyone,
For any of you who are bugging out, and have no idea how to get ahold of tinder, I'm going to make your day. Every time you run the dryer, you make something that can work as tinder. This something is often the culprit of house fires, and due to that, most people throw it out. You may ask "what is this substance?". It's dryer lint.

Sincerely,
hollisticprepper

P.S. If you can manage it, I would also suggest packing some aftershave in a shatterproof bottle. Due to it's high alcohol content, it is highly flammable, and can help your fire ignite.

We have several topics on dryer lint.

http://www.doomsdayprepperforums.com/index.php?search/2844896/&q=dryer+lint&o=date

jimLE said:

i hadn't thought of the shaving cream being flammable before.guess im lucky that i use shampoo to shave with instead...

Click to expand...

Not shaving cream. After shave. It's sort of like a cologne that you splash onto your face after you shave. However, with how much alcohol is in the stuff, you are basically spashing your face with antiseptic. With it's alcohol content, it's great for lighting stuff on fire, without the explosiveness of gasoline.

Does anyone have any good ideas for storing it?

I store mine in used toilet paper rolls in zip locs. Lights easy enough. I keep a few in my bob then some in the camper!

klon solo said:

Does anyone have any good ideas for storing it?

Click to expand...

I have a few Walmart plastic bags filled and rolled/tied shut. I have them with my camping gear. I have a small waste can beside the dryer that only gets lint just for that.

klon solo said:

Does anyone have any good ideas for storing it?

Click to expand...

I use altoid tins. They are big enough that you can fit quite a bit of them, yet small enough that you can easily fit more than one in a bug out bag. Also, at least from my experiences, they are waterproof.

We used lint at least 50yrs ago that I remember, mom had a lint box for trapping the lint, she would use it for pillow stuffing and making yarn, dad would wrap lint in the tinder for the fireplace today however I just use cotton balls and pill bottles for storage. Aftershave is good for fire starting in a pinch but so is rubbing alcohol and cheaper though I generally save the charcoal from fires for multiple reasons from absorbing poisons to water purification to making soap so I prefer not to use chemicals for fire starting if at all possible, reason I stopped using lint since it all isn't cotton.

Maverick said:

We used lint at least 50yrs ago that I remember, mom had a lint box for trapping the lint, she would use it for pillow stuffing and making yarn, dad would wrap lint in the tinder for the fireplace today however I just use cotton balls and pill bottles for storage. Aftershave is good for fire starting in a pinch but so is rubbing alcohol and cheaper though I generally save the charcoal from fires for multiple reasons from absorbing poisons to water purification to making soap so I prefer not to use chemicals for fire starting if at all possible, reason I stopped using lint since it all isn't cotton.

Click to expand...

I never thought of that. I'll have to remember that in the future.

If you are like Maverick, and like to go the natural route, there is always the Bear Grylls Tinderbox. It comes with a grater so that you can create tinder from trees, and once grated, it is put in the tinderbox. It also comes with a magnifying glass to ensure that so long as the sun is out, you can light a fire without using chemicals.

hollisticprepper said:

If you are like Maverick, and like to go the natural route, there is always the Bear Grylls Tinderbox. It comes with a grater so that you can create tinder from trees, and once grated, it is put in the tinderbox. It also comes with a magnifying glass to ensure that so long as the sun is out, you can light a fire without using chemicals.

Click to expand...

buy a vintage cheese grater I'm not a fan of Bear Grylls merchandize IMHO

hollisticprepper said:

I use altoid tins. They are big enough that you can fit quite a bit of them, yet small enough that you can easily fit more than one in a bug out bag. Also, at least from my experiences, they are waterproof.

Click to expand...

I like the idea of that. I'm going to find something similar to store mine. Thanks.

think I mentioned this in another thread,but guys if you dare to "borrow" a couple of tampons from your ladys supplys,when needed shred it and use for tinder,it's dry,compact and quite easy to use

Jontte, just go buy them.

I buy them for my wife, nobody is going to laugh at you at the checkout. Yeah, it felt funny the first time, but after than it was no big deal.

have done it many times,my advice was more to someone who feels somewhat uncomfy about them,I have male colleagues who have never bought those things and never will as they say...to shy perhaps

jontte said:

have done it many times,my advice was more to someone who feels somewhat uncomfy about them,I have male colleagues who have never bought those things and never will as they say...to shy perhaps

Click to expand...

I have no shame! At 51 yrs old I really don't care what anyone thinks of me!

This one might be covered elsewhere and I'm sort of resurrecting a thread here, but another cheap and easy firestarter out of trash materials is one using cardboard egg crates. The foam ones don't work for this but the eggs I get at the grocery store come in the cardboard containers and they are perfect for this little trick. Once you've used up your eggs, cut all of the little cups apart from each other. The cuts don't have to be pretty by any means. Then, fill each of them with dryer lint, shredded papers that you were going to throw away, or sawdust from your workbench and then use a candle to drip wax across the tops of the cups, sealing in your chosen tinder-trash. Put down a decent layer or two of wax, flip them over and put a layer on the backs, and presto chango, you've turned trash into very flammable, fairly long-burning, very lightweight firestarter balls. Simply set it down in your fire area with the edges up, and light one of the edges with a flick of your lighter or a match or whatever you use. (For me the ferro-rod is a backup only.) The cardboard lights easy, the wax burns long, and the tinder-trash adds to the heat coming off the wax flame. Just used one out back and it burns pretty high once the inside gets going. Burn time could be longer but I didn't fill them all the way as I only had so much sawdust from this mornings' work. You can store them in a ziplock bag to keep the corners dry. If they do get wet, the wax keeps the tinder dry, and you just need to get one corner dry to make it usable again.