Category: Sanitation

Making Water Safe to Drink, by Paratrooper John

There’s a lot of information available on how to make water safe to drink.  That’s a good thing because water is one of the most important parts of our survival and comfort.  My goal in this article is to organize and describe some of these methods in a way that is interesting and easy to read. I have included a few internet links to more detailed step-by-step descriptions and how-to videos created by others. Although important, I’m won’t go into all the diseases and problems that can be caused by ingesting contaminated water. Just know that there is some bad …


Letter Re: Are You Ready for City Sewer Backups?

Mr. Rawles, Some fellow bloggers and I  discuss  prepping ideas on a discussion forum. One subject that came up (pardon the pun) was sewer problems. I am in a small town that has a sewer system. We got rid of the septic tanks and pits back in the 1980s. I was young at the time and remember being a curious kid watching the houses being plumbed into the street sewer mains, and some houses had a special valve  (called a back-flow prevention valve, or check valve) installed into the system and others didn’t. I asked the workers why, and they …


Trial by Snow, by Bill S.

To say we have had a mild winter here in Iowa is an understatement to say the least. That was until recently. It would be safe to say that with temperatures in the 50 degree range I have gotten a little complacent this winter. Like many who read SurvivalBlog I spend time watching the news and trying to keep an eye on the big picture. At least in this case it came at the expense of some of the details. Like everything in life I would like to remind myself as well as all my Brothers and Sisters out there …


Urban and Suburban Preparedness, by ChemEngineer

A recent conversation prompted this article. It seems that friends in urban and suburban homes feel that there may be little hope for them in case of disaster, since they have no “retreat” set up in a rural area as a destination. This article points out similarities in all disaster preparedness, as well as possible differences in strategies and tactics to make surviving in urban and suburban locations more likely. None of these are new ideas, just slanted toward those who are urban/ suburban dwellers and that do not have a rural retreat location. While not detailed in scope, below …


Preventing, Identifying and Managing Infectious Disease, by Nancy S.

It is of extreme importance in any TEOTWAWKI situation that precautions be taken to prevent contracting or spreading infectious disease. If infectious disease is contracted, it is important to be able to recognize and manage it. This article will present some infectious diseases to be aware of, how they are contracted, what measures to take to minimize the risk of infection, and what to do if you have been exposed.  Infectious or Communicable?  Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites that invade the body. Commonly confused with communicable diseases, infectious diseases, not surprisingly, cause …


Letter Re: Sanitation Concerns for Grid-Down Disasters

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have an indelicate question that I’d like to ask you and your readers:  In a Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF) situation, literally, what happens to the aforementioned waste products in our sewer?  If a sewer plant loses power, does it all back up and exit through all our residential toilets connected to that pipe?  Does it back up and enter nearby streams and rivers that we would be relying on for water?  Once trapped in a backed up sewer drain, could explosive methane gas be formed to further complicate the disposal of waste and even be …


Off Grid Waste Management and Sanitation, by Brother A.

Recently, due to financial considerations, we decided to end our garbage collection service. It wasn’t a large expense, but our budget is tighter than ever these days and with some planning we realized that it was actually a luxury, not a necessity. Besides, those of us who are preparing for the likely future of a breakdown in society shouldn’t really expect to have convenient curb waste disposal services, now should we? How were you planning on handling that day when it comes? You have 500 trash bags and you’re just going to stack bags of trash in some out-of-the-way corner …


Letter Re: How to Make Lye Soap

As a former soap company owner and operator, I enjoyed the article on soap making (How to Make Lye Soap, posted on November 30, 201.) However, for safety’s sake, I would like to caution your readers regarding some of the statements made in the article: 1. The author’s instructions say to “Heat the water to 110° F. Add the lye to the water.” This is a dangerous suggestion. The chemical reaction caused when lye combines with water causes even room temperature water to heat up almost to the boiling point. Starting with overly-warm water could (and probably would, depending on …


Lime and its Uses in Survival Scenarios

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In JWR’s book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” , item number 11 on the Bartering and Charity List is “50 pound sacks of lime (for outhouses”). My first thought on reading this was, “Why would I barter away my precious lime?” More than just an odor eliminator, lime is a very helpful material used for countless applications in its various forms across various industries ranging from use in the production of glass to use as a calcium supplement in Tropicana brand orange juice. My initial research was designed to discover which type of …


How to Make Lye Soap, by Masquita

WARNING: Lye is highly caustic and will degrade organic tissue. Do not allow lye to touch your skin, breathe in the fumes or be taken internally in any way. It will cause chemical burns, permanent scarring or blindness. Do not ever combine lye with aluminum, magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, brass or bronze. When using or making lye, always wear protective equipment including safety glasses and chemical resistant gloves, and have adequate ventilation.     Basic homemade lye soap is useful for so much more than cleaning up the language of wayward children. Grandma used to rub it on dirty stains …


Letter Re: The Occupy Protests as an Illustration of Refugee Camp Living

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to stress for G.R. in Texas that refugee camp living is far worse than anything experienced at Occupy Wall Street. Those were comparatively small encampments of comparatively wealthy people (in a global perspective, I work with populations who make less than $1 a day), with largely similar ideological frameworks, in cities that provided a fair number of basic services. I’ve visited several refugee camps supported by tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid and I can say that when you have more than 10,000 people together aid money is barely enough to get basic supplies …


Fear Versus Preparation, by Theresa P.

Having worked as a counselor in various positions, I have had the opportunity to view the system from many angles. What I am seeing scares me and should scare you too, not the type of fear that freezes you or drops you into a strong state of denial but the fear that motivates you to take close inventory of what is important in your life and causes you to initiate a plan to protect yourself and those you love. I must have looked like an odd duck when I worked as a drug and alcohol counselor. My co-workers were left …


Three Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene

I was just rereading the original posting about “beans, bullets and hygiene”. The author wrote to be sure to check out the discount bins for after season sales on holiday soaps. He wrote that while the soaps may be strongly scented “nobody will care after TEOTWAWKI what they smell like”. But actually, it may matter.    We live in the country. We’re not daily assaulted by the highly aromatic city folks wearing their cologne, perfume and scented body washes. So when we do happen to come in contact with them, we can smell them coming from quite a distance.   Its sorta’ the …


Two Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene

Mr. Rawles,  Another comment on home made laundry soap. There is a difference between Sodium Carbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate and using the wrong one will make a difference in the quality/effectiveness of your product. If you are having difficulty locating Sodium Carbonate you may want to consider checking with your local swimming pool supply store. Soda Ash (sodium carbonate) is a commonly used chemical to raise the pH in swimming pools. – W.V. Willard Mr. Rawles: There are several easy solutions, and a few economical difficult ones. I make my laundry soap out of grated Ivory bars, Borax, generic Oxy-Clean, and …


Three Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene

Mr. Rawles,   I read the article regarding “Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Hygiene” by Jason L. I thought I would contribute our family’s method of making laundry detergent. In stead of paying an exorbitant price for laundry soap, we make our own using Borax, Washing Soda, Fels-Naptha soap and hot water. This is the Duggar Family laundry soap recipe. I give proper credit to that family for the recipe, and it works great. Our clothes have a light clean scent and the monetary savings is tremendous. The simple and cheap ingredients make it very easy to store supplies to make literally thousands of gallons of …