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MasterCaneman -> RE: Home made emergency/survival equipment (1/4/2014 10:52:07 AM)
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One thing I've noticed on any 'survival gear' thread is that folks tend to avoid the subject of sanitation. It's as if we forget we have to eliminate body wastes and the trash we create in the everyday act of living. Here's where it's gonna get a little weird, but I'm sure this crowd might appreciate it.
Okay, all the utilities are out, that means sewage as well, aside from gravity systems, but they all need running water at some point to work. It's easy enough for us guys to water the weeds, but if you're a lady or gotta go #2, what do you do? Sure, you can use the old pot by dumping it with 'grey' water, but eventually the system will back up.
Plan "B" goes into play. You either get one of those portable commodes (essentially a toilet seat on a lawn chair) that stands over a five-gallon bucket, one of those stubby 'composting' toilets that are sold in the camping section, or you make one out of an old seat and some cabinet door latch springs and a five-gallon bucket. Mark a radius on the bottom of the seat, affix the latch springs to it with shallow-depth screws, and voila! It snaps on and off without much disturbance and it's in a container with a good lid when you have to take it away to drain and clean it. They're cheap, too, so you can have a bunch set aside just for that purpose.
Or conversely, if one just 'happens' to have some specialized fun furniture such as a queening bench, you can make that do double-duty in the same role. I've lost the web address, but there was a site that had numerous patterns for benches and similar artifacts that would serve just as well. (that was the weird part, btw).
What do you do with it after the fact? Well, you could stock up on the various fluids and concoctions available for the camping models, over-the-counter materials like lime, or create a compost/leach bed away from your site to deal with the solid wastes. If you go that route, while they say not to use human or pet waste in compost piles (due to all the wonderful drugs and chemicals in our systems), 'after the fact' means you do what you have to. I only suggest composting to deal with the other organic (or 'green manures') matter that seems to attend every natural disaster, such as fallen trees, leaves, dead vegetation. It also provides a way to remove food scraps in a way that won't attract vermin.
I'd recommend straight boiling water for disinfection, because chemicals will be in short supply over time and add to the miasma, while boiling reduces wood scrap from trees and structures. Nothing fancy, a good firepit with strategic rocks or other fireproof stand points for a vessel will do for most people. It'll look just punk enough to make any potential marauders pass you by, thinking you're just scraping along if you don't have fancy gear in the yard. I plan on looking as sad-sack and crazy as possible should something like that come to pass.
ETA: I forgot to mention soap. It's cheap, stock it deep. Doesn't matter if it's dishwashing liquid, hand soap, shampoo, laundry soap. Dollar stores are your friend. And there's enough 'soaper's ' on this board who can tell you what you need to make your own, if need be. Personal hygiene is as important as food, water, and ammo in my opinion.
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