Disaster Girl's Survival Kit Recommendations
Bonus items you should add on top of items listed in previous survival kit article.
Adding water purification methods to your Stash:
On top of having a hefty back up supply of water on hand, you should also know the following methods of purifying water yourself. The recommended water intake per person per day is currently at a gallon, also a gallon for pets. So for a household of say four, you would need 4 gallons a day, 28 gallons a week, 112 gallons a month. And that's just for drinking, so you're definitely going to need more for bathing, cooking, cleaning, etc. So with the amount of water usage for the average family being so high, it makes more sense to buy a house next to a fresh water lake than it does to have a couple thousand gallon water tanks lying around.
Below I've listed all the items you need to purify water three separate ways:
The Sun Method:
The Sun Method:
Sun, Sun, and more sun! Did you know that if you store water in PET bottles (available here) and let it sit in direct sunlight for 6 hours, the sun will clean it for you?
The Bleach Method:
The bleach method depends on what kind of bleach you are using. Normal household bleaches contain less than 6% chlorine per bottle, if you are using one within this range the measurements will be 8 drops per gallon. However if you are either unsure or have a lower percentage than 4-6% you are going to want to use between 30-40 drops per gallon. Double amount for cloudy water, repeat dosage if there isn't a faint odor of chlorine after a 30 minute treatment.
Chlorine Bleach with 4-6% Chlorine Count
Retail Price: $2-6
The Iodine Method
Potable Aqua Iodine and Taste Neutralizer Tablets
Retail Price: $11 + S&H
Instructions
From Bottle: Each bottle includes 50 tablets; 2 iodine tablets treat 1 quart of water
Plain Iodine: 5 drops clear water / 10 drops cloudy / wait 30 minutes
Happy Drinking!
xoxo disaster girl
P.F.S. Links for the Curious