The larger the leaves on your plant are the better. That’s because a large leaf surface will usually produce more water vapor than plants with small leaves.

Check your bag to make sure that there aren’t any holes or tears that might allow air inside. If you find one, cover the tear with a piece of strong tape, such as vinyl duct tape.

You want to be sure that the plant and bag can bear the weight of any water that’s collected, so check that they’re not starting to list to the side before the water vapor begins to gather.

You may not get as much water as you want even after several hours. If that’s the case, reseal the bag over the plant and repeat the process.

A small pocket knife works best for cutting into a plant because you can be more precise, and avoid cutting any more than is necessary.

Sucking water directly from plant isn’t a good idea because the exterior of the leaves, stems, or stalks may contain bacteria, dirt, and other debris. Be careful if you’re trying to extract moisture from a cactus. They are a great source of water, but their prickly exterior can be hard on your hands if you need to squeeze out the liquid.

If the liquid that comes out of your plant has a milky color and a sap-like consistency, don’t drink it. It’s usually poisonous. [2] X Research source Keep in mind that a single leaf, stem, or stalk may not contain much water, so you may need to extract liquid from several pieces of the plant to get as much water as you’d like.