20-hour Experience without electricity last week

Our power was out for 20 hours on Thursday and Friday, because of a big storm that came through Thursday evening.  It was an awful feeling without my phone and computer, plus I couldn’t use water because the electric pump for our well wasn’t working. 

Luckily I had a few bottles of water so I didn’t have to filter any from the cistern, or go out to the manual pump.  I cooked a microwave dinner in the solar oven, it only took about 10 minutes to warm up.  We used solar yard lights inside that night and had quite a bit of light.

When I came home late Thursday night after working at the temple, my husband was in the house.  He said he was so bored because of nothing to do, he had fallen asleep.  Then we thought of our little  5” battery powered TV that we have for emergencies, and we laughed because he hadn’t even remembered we had a TV that didn’t need electricity.

Four Things You Need When Disaster Strikes

This is a great article by Creek Stewart, I really think the pictures are useful, so if it takes awhile to load, have patience.  I like the picture of the firestarters the best.

These four categories are what you need to include in your "bug-out bag", also known as a "B.O.B." or a 72-hour-kit.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/4-things-youll-need-when-disaster-strikes/

The Covert Preppers list of Christmas Gifts

I read a blog called "The Covert Prepper", and although it may be a little too doomsday for some of you, he has a really good list today of presents he wishes he would receive for Christmas.  I read the list, and thought I should share it with you all.

These items seem to be really top quality items.  I know the last one on the list (The Sawyer water filter) is the one we have, and we highly recommend it.

http://www.thecovertprepper.com/?p=659&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thecovertprepper%2FgfCM+%28The+Covert+Prepper%29

How Basic Can You Get

From "The Survival Mom"

http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/01/31/how-basic-can-you-get-list-1-for-beginners/

This is the most basic starting list, for people who want to get their food and water storage, but who have NO IDEA what to do, and NO MONEY to buy anything.

Hurricane articles, part 3

Here is a link to "Survival Lessons Learned from Three Hurricanes" which was posted on "The Survival Mom" blog.

Part 3 of 3:  http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/07/01/survival-diary-from-3-hurricanes-lessons-learned-part-3-of-3/

Here are things I learned from this article written by Stephen Clay McGehee:

Radios, ice chests, swimming pools, and jugs of chlorine bleach all came in handy.

When he heard the hurricanes were coming, he froze water inside cheap freezer containers in his freezer.  That were free blocks of ice that he didn't have to buy, and blocks of ice take longer to melt than ice cubes.  (I actually keep a few 2-liter pop bottles full of frozen water in my freezer at all times.  They are great to use in ice chests, and when the ice melts,  the water is contained in the bottles and doesn't  get all over your food.)

He gives recommendations for various types of good and not so good gasoline containers.  I agree with him, the nozzle is not as important as just buying a Superfunnel (about $2 each from an auto supply store.  It is a big funnel with a VERY long tube at the bottom, which is small enough to fit in the opening of the gas tank).  You can fill your gas tank much easier by pouring the gasoline from a gas can into the Super Funnel than out of the gas can's long nozzle.  They are never designed right.

Hurricane articles, part 1

Here is a link to "Survival Lessons Learned from Three Hurricanes" which was posted on "The Survival Mom" blog.

Part 1 of 3:  http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/06/29/survival-diary-from-3-hurricanes-lessons-learned-part-1-of-3/

Here are things I learned from this article written by Stephen Clay McGehee:

Your area could be affected by multiple disasters in a row, like Stephen's was.  Hurricanes Frances,  Charley, and Jeanne all came through his town in 2004.  How will you cope with one horrible situation right after another?

Having a good supply of clean water is CRITICAL.  Think how much you need to drink when you are hot, and there is no power for your air conditioning.

Buy rubber stoppers for all your bathtubs.  Using the stoppers that come with a regular bathtub will slowly drain the water away.  (It would be best to just buy "Waterbobs" for all your tubs.  Here is a link to these very useful water storage tanks: http://www.waterbob.com/Welcome.do;jsessionid=2F3A707AC0EE7CC646372A1F9BDC51BD )

He suggests having at least two plastic dish pans, to use for face washing, etc.  I will go farther than that.  I say get a stack of Rubbermaid totes of all different sizes.  You can store water in them, or do laundry in them, or use them for dishwashing.  A friend just gave me two  different sized ones, without lids.  She said she just throws them away when the lids get lost or broken.  I disagree, I think they are useful with and without the lids.

Water saving tips during a disaster

Here are some good tips by FoodStorageMadeEasy.net:

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/03/29/how-to-deal-with-long-term-water-loss/

Challenge: Use Stored Water for Cooking, Drinking

I have already put this challenge on my blog on June 1, but since we are having 2 challenges in June, I need to remind you that it is time to do the 2nd challenge.

(Have you done Challenge #1 yet?)

2012- A Year of Preparedness

Our June challenge is: Use Stored Water.

Challenge 1:  Pick one day during the first two weeks of June, and flush toilets with stored water for the entire day.  

(You will need to refill the containers, because later this month you will be choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water.)

Goals:

Learn to use stored water to flush the toilet, using a bucket of water poured into the bowl, not the tank.  You’ll need about 3 quarts of water per flush.

Learn to flush the toilet less often.  (Ever heard the old saying, "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down"?)

Rules:  Early in the morning, shut off the valve leading from the wall to the toilet.

Put masking tape over the flush levers on all your toilets.

Keep track of how much water you use for flushing in 24 hours.  Email Amy with what your family learned. 

Challenge 2:

 Our next challenge will consist of choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water. Please complete this challenge during the second half of June.

Goals:  Use purchased water or stored tapwater for all cooking and drinking for one day.  Find out how much water it takes for one day, and email your experiences to Amy.

Rules:

Put tape over all your sink faucets early one morning.

Put filled water containers near every faucet.

Do not use any water from the faucet today. Drink and cook today using just stored water.

Also brush your teeth and wash your hands with stored water.

Prepare all three meals at home and wipe the kitchen counters with stored water.  

It is okay to shower, use the dishwasher and washing machine, and flush toilets as usual.

Handwashing using stored water

I save these empty 40 oz. laundry detergent containers and store water inside them.  I label them "Water for Washing" because this water would be soapy and you shouldn't drink it.

Put one by each sink.  Since they have a little spigot, you can easily wash your hands when there is no water in the tap.

"Emergency Water Storage", Ensign 2006

See “Emergency Water Storage” Ensign, Aug. 2006, p. 71
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/08/random-sampler?lang=eng

Emergency Water Storage

Do you have enough water stored for your family in the event of an emergency? If so, is it stored properly? Adults need to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people may need more. Additional water is needed for food preparation and hygiene—for a total of one gallon per adult per day. The Church recommends storing a two-week supply as a minimum. For an adult, that’s 14 gallons (53 liters).

According to providentliving.org, water storage containers should be thoroughly washed and should be airtight and resistant to breakage. Plastic soda bottles are commonly used. If the water has been treated with chlorine by a water utility, you do not need to add anything before storing it. If the water is not chlorinated and is clear, add eight drops of household bleach (5 percent sodium hypochlorite) per gallon. If the water is not chlorinated and is cloudy, add 16 drops per gallon. Seal the containers tightly, date them, and store them in a cool, dark place. Since many containers are clear, and light can permeate them, you may want to cover them or store them in dark plastic bags. Replace water every six months.

Other water sources in your home include the water heater and water remaining in the pipes, but in the event of contamination, this water would need to be purified. Having ready, potable water available for immediate use is one of the most important ways to help your family be prepared for an emergency.

Any container will do, if a hurricane is coming

Before I ever moved to North Carolina, about the only thing I had ever heard about hurricane preparations was "Always fill up all your bathtubs with water".

I wondered why?

Later, I learned that sometimes, the hurricane flooding will contaminate the municipal water sources, and then you will have to boil all your water.  Its best to store as much clean water as you can, so that if that happens you will have some that isn't contaminated.

So, lets say you are in my ward and we are having two ward challenges this month.  And the name of one challenge is "Flush all your toilets for one day with stored water" and the name of the other is "Cook and drink only stored water for one day".

If I were you, I would store water in every available container you can get, just to see how much water you will be using for those two challenges.

And it will be a pretty good trial run for if a hurricane ever hits here and swamps our municipal water treatment plant.

Flushing a toilet using a bucket

One of our challenges for this month is to choose a day, and use stored water to flush toilets for 24 hours. Record how much water you used, and email me with your experiences so I can put it on this blog.

I tested how to use stored water to flush toilets, and found out YOU HAVE TO USE A BUCKET.  Do not try to pour water out of 2 liter sodapop bottles, it comes out too slow.

My toilets flushed just fine pouring at least 3 quarts of water into the bucket, then pouring the bucketful of water QUICKLY straight into the hole in the bottom of the toilet bowl.  This created suction, and it flushed very well.

Things to avoid:

Do not pour the water slowly.

Do not pour in less than 3 quarts.  (Your toilet might have to have more, 3 quarts worked in mine.)

Do not use purchased bottled water, it is expensive. In times of disasters, you could even use recycled water, like dish rinse water or bath water, or even pond water, to flush your toilets.

Do not pour the water into the toilet tank.  I tried it with 4 quarts and it wouldn't flush at all.  I would have had to use a lot more than 4 quarts.  Just take my word for it, and pour the water into the bowl, that takes only 3 quarts.

Don't flush very often.  Remember the old poem, "If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down."  Disgusting but true.

Challenge for June: Use Stored Water

2012- A Year of Preparedness

Our June challenge is: Use Stored Water.

Challenge 1:  Pick one day during the first two weeks of June, and flush toilets with stored water for the entire day.  

(You will need to refill the containers, because later this month you will be choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water.)

Goals:

Learn to use stored water to flush the toilet, using a bucket of water poured into the bowl, not the tank.  You’ll need about 3 quarts of water per flush.

Learn to flush the toilet less often.  (Ever heard the old saying, "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down"?)

Rules:  Early in the morning, shut off the valve leading from the wall to the toilet.

Put masking tape over the flush levers on all your toilets.

Keep track of how much water you use for flushing in 24 hours.  Email Amy with what your family learned. 

Challenge 2:

 Our next challenge will consist of choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water. Please complete this challenge during the second half of June.

Goals:  Use purchased water or stored tapwater for all cooking and drinking for one day.  Find out how much water it takes for one day, and email your experiences to Amy.

Rules:

Put tape over all your sink faucets early one morning.

Put filled water containers near every faucet.

Do not use any water from the faucet today. Drink and cook today using just stored water.

Also brush your teeth and wash your hands with stored water.

Prepare all three meals at home and wipe the kitchen counters with stored water.  

It is okay to shower, use the dishwasher and washing machine, and flush toilets as usual.

See “Emergency Water Storage” Ensign, Aug. 2006, p. 71

Bathtubs, water heaters, are also containers for water

I keep emphasizing that we should all obtain containers in which to store water, so we will have water on hand in case of a disaster.

Hurricanes are one of the main disasters we have here in the south, and we always have several days warning that they are coming.  When a hurricane is on its way, you can fill up all your bathtubs, and that will be another storage place for water. 

However, there are a couple of problems with that.  Of course, you won't be able to use the bathtub anymore until the disaster is over or until the threat of the disaster is past.

Also, I don't like people to plan on doing that for any other unforeseen disaster.  Most of the time, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY WARNING, therefore, you won't know to fill up your bathtubs ahead of time.  Think of disasters where there is no warning:  earthquakes, city water supply getting contaminated, nuclear disaster, broken water main, etc.   You MUST have other water storage in your house or you will be out of luck.

So please, think of water in your bathtub as a supplemental source of water, not your main source.


Also, I was asked if a water heater is a good source for water in a disaster.  I am not an expert on that, I can only assume that you could probably use it if there was water pressure to make it come out your faucets.  I would not trust myself to unscrew the pipes coming out of the water heater in order to drain it into a bucket.

We have two valves on our new water heater, one stops the water before it gets to the water heater, and one stops the water coming out of the water heater.   If we ever had water contamination in our area, I don't know if I would trust the safety of the water heater.  How would I know if the contaminated water had already entered it?   I suppose if I got there in time, I could shut off the water going into the water heater, and then it would be safe to drink.

Anyway, this is all speculation.  I really don't know how to get the water out without water pressure pushing it through the pipes.  So I will go ahead and store water in 50 gallon barrels and recycled soda pop bottles, because I know how to use them.

Review of several water filters/purifiers

http://www.youtube.com/user/LDSPrepper

This man tells about several water fiters he has used over the years.

Water Purification

From FoodStorageMadeEasy.net.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/01/15/beyond-the-babysteps-water-purification/

Commercially available Water storage containers

http://www.emergencyfoodwarehouse.com/water-storage-containers.html

Check out the selection at this website.

(I am not endorsing this business, I am just showing you your options.)

Water Storage containers: Pros and Cons

FoodStorageMadeEasy.net did a great job of showing the pros and cons of different water storage containers.  Please read it and see which containers would be best for your family.  (Hint:  You would do better to get several different kinds for different scenarios.)

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/01/16/water-storage-containers-pros-and-cons/

Some tips for storing water

Go to this link and read tips about storing water, written by Carolyn Nicolaysen.
http://blog.totallyready.com/gas-prices-soaring-what-are-you-doing-water-water-not-everywhere/02/15/


Some of her ideas:

1.  Water is heavy and you need to consider this when choosing containers. Five gallons of water weighs 42 pounds.


2. Water may be stored in well-rinsed bleach (hypochlorite) bottles.(I actually disagree with this one.  I don't want any child to accidentally drink bleach.  I would stay away from storing water in bleach bottles myself.)


3. Store water in soda bottles. 


4. Mylar water storage bags.  These are sold with cardboard boxes to hold them.


5.  Store water inside your glass canning jars, in between times when they aren't filled with fruit or vegetables.  


(Be sure to go to her original article, there were a lot more details there.)

Great photo of the ultimate water and food storage rack

http://waterstoragerack.blogspot.com/p/result.html