What is the Most Important thing to prep?

[marineimaging]

I don't know if most people are aware of it or not, but anyone who lives in a house has a stockpile of around 40 or 50 gallons in their home at all times. It's their water heater! All you need to do is shut off the main water shutoff to keep it from getting contaminated, open an upstairs faucet to relieve pressure, and then turn on the water release valve at the bottom of the heater. That should give you drinking water for quite some time.

Another is to fill a bathtub as quickly as possible using the cold water tap. That was a common practice of ours growing up in Riverside, Orange, TX every hurricane season. We also kept milk jugs for that reason. You can rinse them out and keep them aside then fill them for emergencies.

 

[Aldebaran]

Another is to fill a bathtub as quickly as possible using the cold water tap. That was a common practice of ours growing up in Riverside, Orange, TX every hurricane season. We also kept milk jugs for that reason. You can rinse them out and keep them aside then fill them for emergencies.

I've been filling bottles such as 2 litre bottles and keeping them for about a year before changing the water. I had an occasion lately where I had to use it because of a plumbing problem I was having and had to turn off the water main. It didn't taste very good. I think I'll have to start changing it every 6 months and see if that helps.

 

[RDKirk]

Bless you. I was beginning to think our prepping efforts were in trouble. Ha Ha. But on a serious note. I tell folks that water weighs 8.34 lbs (3.8 kilos) per gallon. 100 web sites will give you about 90 different answers on what you should drink per day. Realistically but conservatively, at half a gallon per day for the adults and 1/3rd gallon per day for the children a family of 4 trying get away from a disaster area in Southeast Texas in August cannot carry enough water to get more than about 8 miles away. So it is better to consider hunkering down, preparing to catch and collect as much rain as you can, and try to avoid evaporation from your sweat as well as the containers. Stay in the shade, work at night, and have survival straws available for the most extreme emergencies. You can live without food much longer and better than you can without water.

When we at Strategic Air Command were planning dispersal hidey holes during the Cold War, we planned for five gallons per person per day. Drinking water wasn't the only consideration. Equally important was water for hygiene and sewerage. That's of course most vital when you've got a group of people in a relatively small location. (I was once told by a former Vietnam PW: "Always eat what they give you to eat and always wash whenever you get the chance. Otherwise, you'll get sick and weak and won't be able to escape when you get the chance.")

If you have some waterless ways to handle hygiene and sewerage for whatever term you're prepping for, that's fine. But be sure to to have given them consideration.

 

[marineimaging]

I've been filling bottles such as 2 litre bottles and keeping them for about a year before changing the water. I had an occasion lately where I had to use it because of a plumbing problem I was having and had to turn off the water main. It didn't taste very good. I think I'll have to start changing it every 6 months and see if that helps.

Did you try putting a few drops of chlorine in it?

 

[Aldebaran]

Did you try putting a few drops of chlorine in it?

I did. Not to mention the fact that it smells of chlorine in the first place since it is city water.

 

[marineimaging]

It might be worthwhile then to use 1:5 Chlorine solution to clean the bottles out first. I used some sweet tea bottles a few months ago and stored them. Went back a month later and black stuff was growing in them. Sluffed them out and sloshed the mixture around, rinsed well, two drops of chlorine and 5 months later clean as a whistle. IOW the were not as clean as I thought when I stored them.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

I'm an old fart. Let me share some practical advice on water.

Many people who live in urban zones will have no water in a Without Rule of Law (WROL) scenario. FEMA could never supply water on demand during hurricanes as they do NOT have a warehouse of water but must take bids. Therefore if every urban center in America had no water, then people would die of dehydration very fast.

They would wait too long to bugout. And when they ran out of gas and traveled on foot, they couldn't carry heavy amounts of water and find clean water. Most would die.

By the time they get to Christian peppers most assuredly the bulk...I mean over 100 million would die of dehydration. 80 percent live in urban centers. Let that sink in. 100 million would be the lower end as 330 million people live here and not counting illegals.

Which means if you had two weeks of drinking water, then you could survive and then harvest what was still around. Food is not the primary concern but water is.

The valve on hot water tanks notoriously gets clogged with rust. Turn off the gas and electric and test your valve. It has threads most likely and you can attached a garden hose to see. That reduces spillage.

It is UNSAFE to fill up bathtubs with water to drink. Studies testing this found extremely high levels of bacteria. Instead, a waterBob fits into the tub as a plastic sleeve with a handpump and a valve so that is very inexpensive.

In an emergency rapidly clean your washing machine thoroughly removing all soap residue. Rinse at least twice. On the third fill on the highest level, stop the machine. That holds quite a volume of water safely and most have washing machines.

Only use unscented bleach to purify questionable water that may have pathogens. That will not remove agricultural runoff which has fertilizer and pesticides and animal waste in it. Rooftop gutters will allow you to collect rainwater but for the garden as there might be asbestos in the tiles And bird waste.

Christian preppers can organize their neighborhoods in towns by sharing information. And then dig shallow wells which typically are 8-12 feet underground. Then treat that water. Then ensure proper sanitation. Then organize a deep well and a treadle pump so you have lots of water for gardens and livestock and washing and hygiene.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Preparedness teachers state that you should never store water in milk jugs as caesin protein adheres and thus even if you think it is clean, then bacteria will grow. You can if careful wash most two liter bottles and most glass juice containers.

Unscented bleach expires so pool shock is recommended. A single bag of pool shock could purify a neighborhood's drinking water. Maybe you should buy three, hmmm?

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Christian missionaries using the Baptist deep well method make many wells in the 3rd world villages. But they typically put in a Biosand filter which costs about $50 extra. It removed about 90-95% of pathogens. That way if hygiene is compromised by animal or human waste or garbage or burial, then that will prevent sickness.

A smart Christian leader would organize the neighborhood's sanitation practices to save his family and other survivors.

 

[havevisions]

My goodness! If Trump drops those bombs he's talking about in Syria, (another thread) and the bombs come this way, I hope I go first.

I don't want to be here anymore. At my age, I don't think I can handle the tribulation.
All I do is keep a half gallon of distilled water for my bipap machine.

I don't even have one of those devices that change lake water to purified water.
I'm sunk.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Here is the principle how a Biosand filter operates. It takes a month to develop so you need a plan for before. No soap gets near it or it will screw it up!

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Here is a demonstration of the inexpensive waterBob. This is not a commercial just a suggestion as it is a frugal safe way to prepare. The money belongs to God so we should always be good stewards and not waste money.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

American scientists have studied most large pools of water in rural locations and found either residential or agricultural runoff. That takes special filtration as simple chemicals or complex pesticides could be in it. Most filters remove pathogens Only. That means you're looking for a Berkey level of filtration. That is why missionaries bought Berkey's.

 

[marineimaging]

The 7 siblings of my grand-in-laws got together and paid for a well to be dug for their mother to be able to wash and cook. When they arrived at Christmas they wanted to see the well. I was out in the field where the cows were drinking from the tank and runoff would water the gardens. Their roof drains were all channeled to an underground cistern on the corner of the home and it was over one hundred years old. They had raised three generations there on that same water. If drinking water from your bathtub was dangerous we would have been dead a long time ago. Cleaning your bathtub and cleaning the tub on your washing machine are pretty much the same thing. Using ANY bottles if they are clean will store water just as milk bottles will because once the water is stored then cleaning the water with a filter of any kind is secondary. If you have NO water stored it sure is hard to clean it. Think of it this way, if we are in a position to find that we need to have stored water while millions die around us, I think whether it was in a milk jug, bathtub, rusty water heater, off the roof, or the toilet will become moot pretty quick. Still, remember that those of us who are blessed by God will find comfort with those of like minds and we will be able to tap each other for support and earthly kindness will prevail. But if we should reach that point where death is preferable to life - then we can find comfort in knowing our future is eternal with Jesus Christ.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Christians could organize the construction of biosand filterw using common materials and that would be a trade item and a ministry under collapse conditions. Think short, medium, and long term what you might accomplish for Jesus sake.

 

[marineimaging]

Christians could organize the construction of biosand filterw using common materials and that would be a trade item and a ministry under collapse conditions. Think short, medium, and long term what you might accomplish for Jesus sake.

How many pints of water would 6 bullets for a .38 buy me? How many slices of bread and cheese for a dozen .22 hollow points? Bartering will be the way of the wise if it comes to that.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Marineimaging you seem like a devout good old boy. I hear you.I'm a redneck but educated despite how I write. Cisterns were used and wells but in actuality many people got sick due to bad water. If you took public health classes at the Master's level, city water utilities were the number one improvement to overall health because routine chlorine addition ensured low levels of pathogens.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

An American Trucking Association did a major study called when the trucks stop running. You should be able to find the pdf. In 10-14 days, city water utilities run out of chlorine. So in a collapse, the water would degrade.
http://www.trucking.org/ATA Docs/What We Do/Image and Outreach Programs/When Trucks Stop America Stops.pdf

Try this experiment that they used to teach in school. Pour a glass of water into a empty glass Seven times. It will "off gas" the chlorine and smell strongly. Remember this! If the water is poorly treated in a collapse, the odor will be faint. File that away in your noggin.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Here is what a shallow sand wellpoint looks like. They are intended for agricultural use so far from ideal. Never put one near livestock. They cost from $50-150 in parts depending on quality. Many people have water only 8 feet down but for safety you should make it about 12 feet so in drought it doesn't run dry.

This is only a backup water source. It would save a lot of people and water your garden in emergencies when there is not adequate rainwater.

 

[CassiusCritzer]

Here is why it costs that much as the hand pump is part of it.