72 Hour Emergency Kit

[PentiumInside]

I read drinking bleach in water for a long period of time wasn't a good idea. I'm not sure if that's correct or not.

Nah, 1 teaspoon per 5 gallon jug is fine. Just keep it sealed and in a dark place.

[havejoy]

It depends upon how much bleach you put in the water. Almost, if not all, city water systems in the US have bleach added to the water because it's the cheapest and safest biocide that exist. If you drink water with too high a concentration of bleach in it, you can kill off the good e. coli in your intestines and that would be unhealthy.

[WANDERER]

I didn't know that. I actually thought you would put the bleach in when you were using the water, not store it with bleach in it. I guess you would want the right bottles, softdrink bottles might degrade more quickly?

[WANDERER]

Second question...when you open the bottles do you get bleach fumes?

[havejoy]

No fumes if you only put a teaspoon of bleach per 5 gallon jug. You shouldn't really be able to smell or taste it.

[havejoy]

A lot of people I know use their old 2 Liter soft drink bottles. They should be fine.

[PentiumInside]

I didn't know that. I actually thought you would put the bleach in when you were using the water, not store it with bleach in it. I guess you would want the right bottles, softdrink bottles might degrade more quickly?

If you are using small bottles just put about 3-5 drops per 2-liter. And as was stated earlier, that small amount isn't enough to cause any "degradation" any more than water without bleach. I mean if you were that adverse to using bleach then you could boil the containers and the lids and the water and seal it, tape it, and wax it and hope you killed all the microbes and be ok as well one would think :)

[WANDERER]

But they are not 'sealed' very well against floodwater. Still, better a plan than no plan.

[PentiumInside]

But they are not 'sealed' very well against floodwater. Still, better a plan than no plan.

If its floods that concern you then "seal" a box with some filters, pure-tabs, and some fuel w/ lighters :)

[WANDERER]

Probably not too much chance of a flood...but yes fuel would be good thinking as well.

[Guest Username-Removed]

Water Storage

If you wish to store water as part of three month supply, you’ll need at least one gallon of water per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes. A normally active person needs at least ½ gallon of water per day, just for drinking. To store the safest and most reliable form of water, FEMA recommends that you purchase & store commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open until you need it and observe the expiration date. You can prepare your own water storage by using food grade water storage containers of reuse 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles. If you choose this method, you’ll need to thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Additionally, for soft drink bottles, sanitize the bottles by adding one teaspoon of non-scented liquid chlorine bleach to a quart of water, and swish the sanitizing solution so that it touches all inside surfaces and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Then, fill the bottle with regular tap water from a city water supply (pre-treated with chlorine). If your tap water is not chlorinated, treat it yourself with two drops of non-scented liquid chorine bleach per gallon of water. Tightly seal the container using the original cap making sure that you do not contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it. Write the date on the outside of the cap so that you know when you filled it and store in a cool dark place.

Purifying Contaminated Water

The best way to avoid the problems associated with contaminated water is to have your own water storage before a disaster happens. Generally speaking, you can base your storage water needs on one gallon (roughly 4 liters) of water per person per day for drinking and hygiene use. If you should find that your water supply is non-existent, you should consider emergency methods to purify the existing sources of water you do find. If the power is out, it’s possible that your city water is not being purified. If you have a well on your property, with no electricity, the pump won’t work. If this happens, you’ll need to find city water, or another source of water, and purify it. Boiling water is one way of purifying it. The method below uses the boiling technique as well as chorine bleach to purify it after boiling.

A. Filter water using a piece of cloth or a coffee filter to remove solid particles.

B. Bring water to a rolling boil and maintain for a minimum of 10 minutes. For every 1000 feet above sea level, add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes. If the water pot is covered, it will shorten the time to reach a boil.

C. Let it cool at least 30 minutes. Water must be cool for next step (chlorine treatment) or it will be useless.

D. Treat the water: You can use Liquid Chlorine Bleach to purify water. This method must be 5.25% or 6% Sodium Hypochlorite (like Clorox Regular Bleach) and contain NO soap, fragrance or phosphates. Measuring by drops is more accurate and the preferred method. If want to purify 1 GALLON / 4 LITERS of water, add 16 drops (1/4 tsp. / 1.25ml) chlorine. If you want to purify 5 GALLONS / 19 LITERS WATER, Add 80 drops (1 tsp. / 5ml) chlorine. When in doubt GET A CHLORINE TEST KIT.

E. Let it stand for 30 minutes.

F. If it smells of chlorine, use it. If it does not have a chlorine scent, add 16 more drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water), let stand 30 minutes, and smell it again. If it smells of chlorine, use it. If it does not, discard it and find another source of water.

Also, if you use too much water for hygiene, you’ll have less to drink. So, you might consider storing some sanitizing gel to wash your hands with. We also suggest that you keep storage of disposable plates, cups, forks and knives. The less water is used to wash dishes, the more that will be available for more important needs. How much is needed for Sanitation? In a short term emergency, the biggest concern is how to flush toilets. That’s why we suggest that you fill you bath tubs with water immediately following a power outage and keep them full and use this water to flush toilets. Pool water can also be used. Remember this water should be considered non-drinkable, but serves its purpose for flushing toilets in the short term. If you use this method, you’ll need a bucket to move the water from the bath tub to the toilet.

[Aurorasungem]

Good tips on this for the chlorine. The number one item people always forgot was the hand crank can opener for opening food. I recommend even get one of the old military style ones that goes on a key ring. Just wrap the end with a little bit of tape to keep it from swinging open, and it will be very useful for a long time. Another tip, keep some dish soap in a small bottle with your kit too. It can be used to wash hands, dishes and even yourself in a real pinch. Another good thing to pack is a small cheap salt and pepper pack, the picknick style containers that are resealable. You would be surprized how often camping those get forgotten too. A small folding pocketknife is also a lifesaver. You can catch and clean fish or use it to chop veggies if needed, or even peel oranges or whatever you have available. Another item that often gets forgotten, is toilet paper. Make sure you put in one or two wrapped rolls per person if you can in your emergency pack. In an evacuation, for some reason that is always the first thing to run out at the center usually. Another useful one is to make sure your pets are taken care of. They will need rations and supplies, including any special meds or tools they use when you go too. Make sure if you have to leave them they have access to plenty of food and water, and you leave detailed instructions with them including your name, their name, special needs and any needed supplies pre packed with them, to give them the best odds of survival. In flood conditions, never leave a caged animal on the floor either. Dumb as it sounds, I saw a lot of people lose their pets because they left the carrier on the floor with a flood coming. It is far better to let them run loose in the house than to leave them like that, and the emergency rescue people will understand on dogs and cats. These are just a few things I have learned from some of the disasters I have been through. I hope this helps,

Maraleh

[Iggy]

I have literally nowhere to store that much but we do have a collection of bottles of bottled water.

I wonder if all bleach is the same. You can really smell something in the water which comes from our taps. It smells like the public swimming baths.

your city may be using a higher amount of chlorine. You can let your water sit out overnight and the chlorine smell will evaporate out.

If you are going to store 1 gallon jugs, buy the prebottled water and get it by the case, then you have the boxed case to store. Stack them two or three high behind the sofa, cover with a very lightweight board, place fabric over and you now have a sofa table.

Use bricks or board to make shelves and store your 1 gallon jugs next to an interior wall. Bookshelf it but use bricks or boards to raise the shelves just a bit above the jugs. Again use fabric to cover the front and you can put some real books on the top shelf, or knick knacks, a vase of flowers and pictures on display.

[Guest Username-Removed]

If anybody is interested, I've done some research for my branch and have found a supplier that has some excellent deals on simple 72 hour kits. Some as low as $40 after shipping! Im not connected with them in any way, but was surprised how much of a sale they were actually having. Feel free to PM me and I will give that information out upon request if you would like it.

[Rico]

Just an idea, my mom always bought bleach in the gallon bottles(and used way too much of it). When she would finish with a bottle, she'd make sure that all of the bleach was out of it then fill it up with water. No need to disinfect the bottle and the fumes and the very tiny bit that never got out would purify the water.

Milk is very expensive where we are, but canned evap milk isn't that bad. We bought a liter bottle, dump a can of evap milk in it and then fill the rest with water. It tastes better than the UHT milk they have and it comes at a savings. Whenever we find sale on it, we buy as much as we can. We've got a 3 month supply of it on hand already.

Thanks for the great ideas in this thread.

[crytsprospect]

I also use the empty plain bleach bottles. We were put to the test this winter with power outages from 24hrs to 4.5 days. We were better off than many and actually used what we have in emergency plan and shared some sterno cans with neighbors. We also have a generator which is nice. Fema is really pushing emergency plans since New Orleans tragidy. Once again something the church suggests becomes main stream. I feel blessed to have such wise inspired leaders.

[Guest Username-Removed]

I put a list together of an example of a very simple 72 hour kit with items and where you can find them and how much they cost me ....

WaterAqua BloxIN WSP500Emergency Essentials5$2.25$11.25This equals just under 1 gallon. Two

more quarts are obtained by use of the Purification tabsFoodMayday US Coast Guard Food Rations N/AGrandmas Country Foods1$5.99$5.99This provides 72 hours of caloriesLightWhite 6 Inch Lightstick - 8 HourIN CL S107Emergency Essentials3$1.25$3.75Each light stick provides for 8 hours of

lightCommsSolar-Handcrank RadioIN CM R460Emergency Essentials1$17.95$17.95AM - FM High QualityBagProSpirit® 30" Rolling Duffel - Red N/ATarget1$29.99$29.99MultiPremier Bottled Emergency KitIN KZ B725Emergency Essentials1$17.95$17.95Contains the following:

- Katadyn Micropur Tablets (water)

- Polycarbonate Bottle (water)

- Hand and Body Warmer (heat)

- Emergency Poncho (heat)

- Emergency Blanket (heat)

- Strike-Anywhere Matches (light)

- 9-Bulb LED Flashlight & batts (light)

- 5-in-1 Survival Whistle (comms)

- Basic First-Aid Kit (first aid)

- Multifunction Tool (tool)

- Carabiner (tool)

$86.88

[Guest Username-Removed]

I've been searching for an easy way to find a really good kit that everyone can use. A lot of people can't use back packs, so I started with a red wheeled duffle bag I found at Target.

(1) Red Wheeled Duffle Bag / Target $29.95

Water. Well, I know a gallon isnt enough, but this kit has more than most - There are water purification tabs also included below.

(15) Auqa Blox / Emergency Essentials $11.25

Food. This is the US coast guard approved food bars good for 1 person for 72 hours.

(1) Mayday 72 Hour food bar / Grandmas Country Foods $5.99

Light. These are light sticks that last about 8 hours each.

(3) White light sticks / Emergency Essentials $3.75

Communications. This is a really good hand crank/soar AM/FM radio

(1) Solar-Handcrank Radio / Emergency Essentials $17.95

Other Items ....

(1) Premier Bottle Emergency Kit / Emergency Essentials $17.95

Contains the following:

- Katadyn Micropur Tablets (water)

- Polycarbonate Bottle (water)

- Hand and Body Warmer (heat)

- Emergency Poncho (heat)

- Emergency Blanket (heat)

- Strike-Anywhere Matches (light)

- LED Flashlight & batts (light)

- 5-in-1 Survival Whistle (comms)

- Basic First-Aid Kit (first aid)

- Multifunction Tool (tool)

- Carabiner (tool)

Total: $86.88

[California_Dreaming]

I think MRE's are great for the "Bug out Bag". They last up to 10 years, and every so often on camping trips we use them for a day hike and then repurchase to rotate supplies.

No one has mentioned "Natures Most Perfect Food"...SPAM and it comes with it's own can opener attached. A can of SPAM does contain calories for energy.

Most won't agree with me, but I like SPAM:cool:

[Guest Alana]

My husband recently rediscovered spam. I chop it up and fry it with some onions, then put eggs over it. Actually pretty good.

[at2wooden]

mmmmmmmmmmmm spam and nature's other most perfect food ......VELVETTA.

Grilled.

I have about 50 lbs in storage. (but none in my backpack)

Velveeta...Unwrapped

[Hemidakota]

I have been inspired to get my act in gear and put together my family's 72 hour kit.

I was wondering if you had any good tips?

I don't need a full list of items to build the kit with as I have found numerous on the net. However some of the lists include different items so I was wondering if anyone had any helpful ideas such as the do's and don'ts, any useful extras to include or what can be substituted for what etc etc...

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you. :)

The church sells a 72-hour backpack and many of the Deseret Stores do the same.

[pam]

One site I highly recommend is:

Emergency Essentials - Be Prepared Emergency Preparedness Food Storage

[Phil801]

Back in June I aggregated over 100 72 hour and evacuation lists (both LDS and non-LDS supplied) and built what I called the Master List. It is available in a google spreadsheet - it is intended to help you make sure you've thought of everything, you are meant to pare it down. I wrote a long series of blog posts discussing the contents of the list - you can find it here: Ready for Anything | Utah Preppers hopefully it will be helpful to some folks.

[Raven21633]

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I can say there is no substitute for practice.

I have found (from actually having to use my kit) that there are things that I never thought of until I actually needed them, of course by then it was too late.

I recommend a family day, where everyone takes their go kit's to the park and actually spends the day using them. KEEP NOTES of anything you find your kit lacking.

I store my water separately because I found that keeping 4 liters of water in my kit made it hard to carry when the time came to grab it. You don't realize how much the stress of a disaster situation can sap your strength.

The one thing missing from my kit right now is the wind-up radio/flashlight which I found after the April 30th tornado outbreak (when I NEEDED the thing) that the NiMH battery would no longer hold a charge. I haven't replaced it yet and as I write this we are on watch for another round of very severe weather tonight and (worse) through the day tomorrow.

I have also found a ratio between the two most important considerations weight:necessity.

You can get by with a lot of things that aren't really comfortable, but functional and lightweight. Mylar instead of cloth, 1 multi-function tool rather than a whole tool-kit, wind-up radio/flashlight instead of a flashlight (with batteries) and a radio (with batteries)...

The two most important things right on top. My scriptures and the first aid kit.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Raven21633