Sanitation. It's like the "red-headed stepchild" of emergency preparedness. Very few people talk about.
Exposure, lack of water, food, and sanitation are your enemies.
We have a well. As I mentioned in Lesson #1, no electricity means no water which means no flushing, bathing or cleaning. This is a lesson we are still working on trying to find what works best for us.
If you do anything in the sanitation department - keep your dishes and laundry caught up and your toilets cleaned. Trust me on this. I am still getting caught off guard at times, and it's a bad habit of mine to procrastinate.
After three summer days of 8 people - it gets downright deadly around the toilet. At the time, the upstairs bath had no ventilation. It was a killer in summer normally, because it trapped heat like crazy. During a power outage, unable to flush the toilet, it literally became hazardous to our health. If the toilet wasn't cleaned to begin with, it gets down right nasty fast especially in hot weather. Have you ever seen mold grow up the sides of a toilet? We have.
Even if you have water during an outage, you still need to have a plan for sanitation just in case. Many times waste treatment plants can flood rendering any public water supply unsanitary for drinking, washing dishes and bathing. You need some type of alternate plan even if it's just a way to clean the water coming into your house. Remember, the plants treat the water so you can drink it. You can too. Just research thoroughly and have all your bases covered. It's not an area you want to skimp on.
In our case, without our well, we cannot wash dishes, bathe, or flush at all. We need to store water and conserve it. We keep a supply of paper plates, cups and plastic utensils on hand at all times. I wet paper towels down to wash out pots immediately after use using as little soap as possible. A second wet paper towel is used to wipe the soap.
I always keep baby wipes on hand for the grandchildren, so we use them if necessary for washing dirty hands. I know how to make wipes, so I can do that if I need to. I am looking into making a homemade hand sanitizer using tea tree oil. The bottled version is actually quite bad for you. Look up the ingredients.
I keep a bottle of vinegar and water solution for clean ups. Vinegar doesn't need to be rinsed, so a simple cloth works to wipe down counters, floors, stoves, etc.
Washing clothes became a problem for us. I am still working on this one, because cleaners and my hands do not get along well.
In the winter, we can pull in snow, assuming there is any, to melt and flush with. "Gray water"
Guys can skip this part, but if it's your job to make sure you have what you need, and you have women in the house, then you should read:
We ran into a problem during an outage. My middle daughter started her period, but the eldest daughter had used the supplies and didn't tell anyone we needed more. We were down to 5 pads for her to use. She also started earlier than expected, so we had a bit of a mess to clean up - with very little water on hand. This is something women need to plan for. Keep extra supplies on hand at all times. We also keep personal wipes for any accidents - female or otherwise.
Some women swear by a Diva cup or Lunette cup, but you still have to deal with clean ups during any "spills". Those with Latex allergies need to pay attention to which they're buying and don't forget about sizing. Some ladies prefer to use glad rags in a power outage, but you have to deal with washing them. It's really a matter of personal choice and how long you're preparing for.
Guys can read again.
Anyone with bladder control problems should have Depends or whatever they use stocked up.
Disposable diapers, along with cloth diapers, should be on hand.
Having dirty disposable pads or diapers laying around, if there is not trash pick-up, can become a health hazard. I highly recommend looking into some type of reusable product.
Go through your day and figure out what type of sanitation you need to plan for.
Lesson #1 - Water
Lesson #2 - Cooking
Lesson #3 - Heat
Lesson #4 - Food
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