Category: Sanitation

Letter Re: Using Cloth Diapers in TEOTWAWKI

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Hugh, This will not apply to most of your readers, but my wife and I are using cloth diapers for our newborn son. At $5 a piece they pay for themselves quickly and will be useful when items are hard to obtain during uncertain times. Thanks for the blog, and attached is a link for the diapers. – R.T. HJL’s Comment: There are many advantages to cloth diapers. There are also many disadvantages. On our first child, we used cloth diapers (the standard white cotton with a separate plastic overpant). The point was to “go natural”, I think. However, I …


Letter Re: T.P. for the Bugout or Get Home Bag

I’m constantly looking online at what people put in their bug out and get home bags. So far as I’ve seen their always missing one important item– toilet paper! I keep at least two rolls in every bag. Yes, they take up room but weigh nothing. All of my vehicles also have a couple rolls. An immediate dietary change, going from norm to survival mode, is going to have an immediate effect on one’s system (aka: bowel movement). Yet, as I review preppers/survivalist bag setups, good old TP seems to be never mentioned. So, load a couple rolls in a …


Keep Your Nose Clean!, by E.P.

In a survival situation, one of the most important things to consider is hygiene, especially if you are caring for children. In developed countries, waterborne illnesses and skin diseases are no longer common, but even in a short-term survival situation, unclean spectres rear their ugly heads. Fortunately, a simple family hygiene kit is easy to prepare and store. Although public health has advanced much in the past 150 years, at its core it consists of isolating waste and washing hands properly. Other important considerations are regular bathing and dental hygiene. As a mother of six children, I would also add …


Two Letters Re: Urban Trash

Hugh, Under item number 7 (Recycle). Textiles, including things like shoes and purses, that aren’t in good enough shape to be donated to thrift stores can be recycled through GemText. Be kind and make sure the items are clean. Go to gemtextrecycling.com to see if they are near you. – S.B. o o o HJL, This contributor recommended burning trash that is combustible outdoors. This used to be common practice, but it is now most likely banned as illegal open burning in all but the most rural locations. Even in rural areas there can be burning bans due to wildfire …


Two Letters Re: Urban Trash

Hugh, This article is a good start to a problem solving dilemma. It definitely requires a mindset change, but that’s achievable for everyone. The best book I ever read, back in the late 80s, on this subject is Re/Uses: 2133 Ways to Recycle and Reuse the Things You Ordinarily Throw Away by Carolyn Jabs, published in 1985. – T.S. o o o Hugh, When I have plenty of scraps, I do just as the author suggests (and as Julia Child had suggested in her book!) and make soup stock with them, canning them for later use. It makes for wonderful, …


Urban Trash: Why and How to Minimize Your Garbage- Part 2, by K.S.

3. Compost/Animal Food Technically you could differentiate between these two, as some items that you can compost you shouldn’t feed to certain animals. So scrounge two plastic buckets of a size you’ll actually use, carry, and empty, and make sure they have well-sealing lids since you’ll probably keep these in the kitchen. Then, label one Compost and the other Chicken Food (or whatever). Keep them under the sink or somewhere where you’ll actually use them. I’ve heard that compost “rules” have changed and you might be able to compost meat and dairy products now. I probably wouldn’t feed old meat …


Urban Trash: Why and How to Minimize Your Garbage- Part 1, by KS

“Political upheaval. Threats of nuclear war. Violent protests. Imminent economic collapse. And you think it’s important to talk about sorting my trash? Let’s get real. I’ve got bigger things to deal with, and I don’t have time to go all eco-friendly here.” Sound familiar? Sound like… you, maybe? I get it. I really do. Why spend time doing hippy-dippy stuff, like reducing, reusing, and recycling when you could be going to the range, running tactical drills, deep-stocking your pantry, or armoring your BOV? Well, you need money for ammo, armor, food supplies, firearms, and medical gear, right? And unless you’re …


Letter Re: Sanitation Considerations for Long Term Emergency Situations

SurvivalBlog, Reading all the back and forth last month regarding what to do after toilet paper is no longer available, lead me to the conclusion that I think we are making things much more dirty and complicated than necessary. I currently have a small one-gallon hand pump pressure sprayer in storage specifically for this purpose. It will be kept next to the toilet or outhouse and used essentially as a bidet. Simply remain sitting on the toilet, “power wash” the affected area, and dry with a clean cloth. You will still need to clean and disinfect the drying cloths, but …


Letter Re: Sanitation Issues

Good morning, Hugh, Many homes are equipped with septic tanks to perform as a holding tank for waste, allowing waste decomposition to occur. Reduction of solid waste through bacterial action works, but is a slow process and often incomplete. Additionally, a large number of chemicals we regularly introduce into our septic tanks, such as common soap, dishwashingj and clothes detergents, bleach, commercial toilet cleaning solutions, et cetera, are toxic to the bacteria performing the job of decomposition. Septic tanks are one part of the equation; the other being the leach field. Leach fields are the fluid distribution pipes running from …


Two Letters Re: Toilet Wipes

HJL, How about the eBay Bidet. It not only rhymes, it completely solves your bum washing problem. You install it on your toilet in 20 minutes. I found out about this using a process of elimination. – M. o o o Hi Hugh, This idea may have already been mentioned, but I connected a kitchen sink dish spray hose and nozzle to my toilet water supply as a homemade bidet using a pipe tee, 1/2-inch valves, and some reducing adapters. It takes a little experimenting to know how far to crack open the valve to keep from spraying water everywhere. …


Letter Re: Washable Cloth Toilet Wipes

Hugh, Regarding the person who wondered “Why go to all the trouble to cut and sew toilet wipes when you can simply use mass-produced bathroom washcloths”: By making them, each family member has their own as I used a different fabric pattern for me and my husband; this removes the “ick” factor Also, I plan to make and sell these both pre- and post-SHTF, and the fabric was free to me. There are other issues that must be considered as well: Last year with a UTI, I used a full 1,000 sheet roll of Scott toilet paper in only six …


Letter: Washable Cloth Toilet Wipes

Dear Editor: I have a suggestion, prompted by my reading of the recent two-part SurvivalBlog article titled: “Sew and Grow, Save and Recycle Your Way Into Preparedness“: Why go to all the trouble to cut and sew toilet wipes when you can simply use mass-produced bathroom washcloths? They are already the right size and will clean you up better than smooth cloth will. I already have a large stash of thick washcloths that I bought at a thrift store, along with a case of rubber dishwashing gloves in various sizes. When all the toilet paper is gone, each family member gets …


Sew and Grow, Save and Recycle Your Way Into Preparedness – Part 2, by S.T.

Minimum Quantities Needed You will need the minimum quantities that are listed below. However, you can start on your path to reusable products with lower quantities and can continue to add additional quantities each and every week as you produce additional quantities of final product. Washable feminine hygiene products- 50- 8” for each female in the home 25- 12” for each female in the home Washable toilet paper- 50 for each male in the home 100 for each female in the home Washable dish towels- 20 each Washable napkins- 21 for each person in the house Washable aprons 2 for …


Letter Re: Sanitation Issues: Understanding Home Septic Systems

Jim: Regarding this letter: Sanitation Issues: Understanding Home Septic Systems, I have  a  few observations: When our family recently took a vacation to South America, we were instructed to throw all toilet paper, wet and dirty, into a waste can – even at the best hotels. By American standards, we found that pretty gross. I read that this is standard in many countries and greatly reduces the need for septic tank pumping – to once every 10 years instead of the recommended four  years. Although pumping is expensive, about $400 when we last had it done, that is a fraction …


Sew and Grow, Save and Recycle Your Way Into Preparedness – Part 1, by S.T.

As a society, we all rely upon a vast amount of manufactured products every day from canning jars and lids to dishes to pots and pans to toothpaste and dental floss. This list goes on and on. However, we can not forget that gasoline and diesel fuel and electricity are the most important manufactured items. Without these there will no longer be any other mass produced manufactured items made or delivered to a store near you. Every disposable item that you can now replace with reusable items will put you well ahead of the sheeple, save you money, and make …