Category: Sanitation

Letter Re: Constructing a DIY Composting Toilet

Dear Editor: In regards to “Constructing a DIY Composting Toilet”: That urine could be a valuable commodity for those that might need to improvise their own black powder one day. I respectfully submit this website link, which explains one way the Old Confederacy manufactured nitre (saltpetre.) A chemist named Jonathan Harrelson in 1863 figured out how to create more potassium nitrate or nitre by extracting it from urine. The men were all away fighting. But women could collect their urine out of bedpans and pour it into a huge truck pulled by a horse around town and they would make potassium …


Constructing a DIY Composting Toilet, by SF in Oregon

Here is my description of my do-it-yourself (DIY) toilet that works like a charm. This is how to deal with the “S” part of when the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF). Of all the kludges I’ve built off-grid, I’m most proud of my toilet. As preppers, we tend to spend a lot of time on food (what goes in) but not so much on sanitation (what comes out). If you are on-grid with a septic system, great. But as many folks in Texas recently discovered with their once in a generation below freezing storm and subsequent power outage, without water …


TEOTWAWKI Clothes-Washing System, by St. Funogas

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One thing we take for granted in this day and age is the ability to throw our clothes into a machine, forget about ‘em for an hour, then come back have them all nice and clean. When I was born, my military family was so poor my mother washed diapers for two babies in the bathtub. Not only was it hard on her knees but also on her petite hands as she wrung out all those diapers before hanging them on the line. The day my dad made third class he borrowed a crow (third-class insignia) and wore it home. …


Getting Started with Cloth Diapers – Part 2, by ADC

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Cloth Diapering when TSHTF It is important to remember that SHTF is a spectrum. The S is H-ing TF right now everywhere and H-ing extra hard in several places. I, for one, have broken the seal on my SHTF ammunition reserve. Yet, the electricity and the plumbing still work. We can continue diapering as normal, and don’t have to hope that the shelves aren’t stripped of diapers, and that the store hasn’t shut down because of the pandemic, and that rioters haven’t burned the store down. Detergent is the only diaper supply …


Getting Started with Cloth Diapers – Part 1, by ADC

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Introduction People who are interested in preparedness are naturally drawn to cloth diapering, because cloth diapers provide a degree of independence and resiliency that cannot be had with disposable diapers. Toilet paper shortages in the time of COVID have gotten a great deal of attention, but there have also been shortages of disposable diapers. Cloth diapers might even be the ideal prep: it is simple, affordable, and socially acceptable to choose to diaper your baby right now in the same way as you would have to diaper you baby post-TEOTWAWKI. The easier it is to practice a prep, the more …


A Primer on UVC Light – Part 2, by Dr. David J.

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(Continued from Part1.  This concludes the article.) Area Disinfection For area disinfection, an unshielded UVC light bulb is put on a lamp and controlled either by remote control or timer. Many are purpose-built, but it is certainly possible to buy a UVC bulb and place it on your own unshaded lamp and use a generic remote control or timer. The UVC rays will neutralize microorganisms in the air and all surfaces that the light strikes. It can also be used to disinfect strategically placed masks, clothing and other items. In my opinion, the strength of area UVC light is to …


A Primer on UVC Light – Part 1, by Dr. David J.

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Whatever your take on COVID 19, it has certainly sharpened our focus on contagious disease. As we spiral downwards as a society, it’s a good bet that other contagious disease will be visiting us more often. It is important to remember COVID 19 has not made other diseases fade away, even if the media attention on this virus makes it seem that way. Preppers often focus on bullets, beans and bandages – weapons, stored foods and trauma-related first aid supplies, but realistically disease is probably the main killer in any long-term scenario. The purpose of this article then, is to …


Facing Lockdown in an Apartment – Part 1, by J.F.J.

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Having recently moved from a home on a one-acre lot at the edge of the country to an apartment complex on the outskirts of a small town, I have had to change my disaster contingency plans to suit my new environment. Living in an apartment in the suburbs has the advantage of allowing people to have a comfortable environment close to city conveniences and entertainment. However, apartment living has its significant disadvantages when in dire circumstances. Communications may be cut off if landlines are damaged or cell phone towers are without power. Natural and man-made disasters play havoc with local …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Pest Control – Part 2, by J.S.R.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) and Lyme disease are two bacterial tick-borne infections of particular concern. The ticks that transmit both of these diseases are found all over the United States. The CDC states that RMSF is most common in Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. After the three- to twelve-day incubation period, the early signs (days 1-4) of RMSF include a high fever, severe headache, gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, anorexia), and edema around the eyes and on the back of the hands. Two to five days after symptoms begin, the …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Pest Control – Part 1, by J.S.R.

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Historically, guns and knives make barely a blip on the charts in their ability to kill when compared to mosquitoes, lice, and ticks. These killers trigger no motion sensors or metal detectors. They don’t need night vision goggles. They spare no one and are entirely indiscriminate in their attacks. It was true historically, and it is true now. It will continue to be true in the future. Focusing too much attention on Hollywood’s distracting scripts for doomsday scenarios where firearms do all the killing prevents people from preparing for the far more likely assassins that will find, wherever you bug …


Solutions to Post-Event Problems, by Old Bobbert

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Post-event situations can be surprisingly difficult to discuss. Let’s first cover more positive and productive word usage. We can all readily agree that there is nothing positive, enabling, or uplifting about the acronym WTSHTF. The Editor of this blog euphemistically uses “When the Schumer Hits The Fan”, in defining it.  But we all know what these letters really stand for, and that is often felt to be negative or low class language. Moving up in the world of solution communications, we can instead choose to say or write “Event.” Our newly adopted word (much more expressive) can convey a disaster …


QLav Personal Bidet, by Pat Cascio

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I wasn’t quite sure how to approach the testing of this product, as it is something that is a bit out of the ordinary. I’m not sure how many readers are familiar with the bidet – I never saw one or heard of one, until I was in New York City back in 1978, staying at a hotel – my first time ever in a hotel. I was working an undercover gig, that took me from my then home town of Chicago, to Miami and finally to NYC. Up until then I had only stayed in motels when traveling. Upon …


Family Preparations for Nuclear War

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Today, I’m addressing a subject that I suppose should have had more emphasis earlier in SurvivalBlog: The risk of nuclear war, and how families can plan and prepare to survive it. The Risk The risk of nuclear war is now actually greater than during the bad old Cold War. Back then, there were just a handful of nuclear powers that were divided into two or three camps. But today, there are umpteen factions and even terrorist groups with potential access to nukes. Face the facts: We live in a dangerous world. Someday, one or more of hose nukes is going …


Family Earthquake Preparedness: Are You Ready?

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The recent strong earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska underscores the importance of family earthquake readiness. Thankfully, we live in a country with modern building standards. This is not in the case of many Third World nations, where unreinforced masonry construction is the norm. In the Third World, folks tend to be very stingy with reinforcing bar (“rebar”). So its seems that every time there is a large earthquake in those regions, there are building collapses, with large loss of life. By far, the safest houses for earthquakes are of wood frame construction. This is because such structures can flex and sway, …


Letter Re: Storing Calcium Hypochlorite

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Hugh, I was wondering if there was a better way of storing Calcium Hypochlorite? [POOLIFE TurboShock 78% Pool Shock 1 lb] Glass stopper bottles Would using a 1/2 gallon Ball [“Mason style”] jar and Tattler plastic lid be a workable alternative? I forgot to repackage some that I bought a couple of years ago. It was fine at the beginning of hurricane season, but isn’t anymore. Shame on me. I’m glad I stored it on a shelf by itself. How did the Tattler plastic lids on Mason jars do? Does it need to be vented annually? – T.J.