By Paula Kravfordt
If you have food to eat, you have a sanitation issue, from personal cleanliness to food preparation. This is the most critical area of concern especially if we were in a disaster type situation. If your family gets sick from poor cleanliness habits, it won’t matter how much food you have stored.
"After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's." (Sorry I can’t find the author of this truism!" After the info I present to you, I think you will agree with this assessment!)
Toilet paper is a recent luxury, so what did all our ancestors use???
- corn cobs soaked in a rain barrel
- mussel shells
- a "gompf stick" that was kept in a container by the privy, but this was late period
- Irish and Scandinavian ancients used moss
- Romans washed up with water
- both linen and wool cloth scraps have been found in ancient privies, scraps from old clothing
- discarded locks of sheep's wool, which would make sense from skirting fleeces
- hay-balls
- straw
- smooth rocks
- sailors used the ends of frayed anchor ropes On Frontier House, they said settlers in the 1800's each used their own rag and washed it after.
A little about the corn cobs - Old privies had a hole in the side wall to dispose of the corn cob and this was called a "corn hole." Now you know where the expression ("corn holed") comes from. To prepare the cob, you take two dried corn cobs, and rub them together so as to make a nice soft frayed surface. Then you use it and dispose of the cob through the corn hole after wards. Those were plowed under since there was such a small percentage of offensive material in them.
When I was a little girl my grandmother lived in Mud Lake, Idaho. They didn’t get plumbing until the late 70's. They had an outhouse with the prior year volume of Sears Catalog. It was made at the time of the same paper that phone books are made of. The idea was to take a page and smash and rub it in your hands to soften it up. It was your choice how long you were in the potty to soften it up to your personal liking.
What do people use now who do not use TP?
The Europeans have had this down for a while, they are called Bidet's.
Others use a damp cloth, then wash the cloth. Use a diaper pail or something until a washing load is ready. By the way, half diapers are great - damper on end, wipe, and use the dry half to dry. (Make sure not to use those cloths to wash your face) Some cultures use their left hand, their right hand is for eating. Other’s use leaves, (be watchful for poison ivy!)
Reading about all of this has given me a greater appreciation of toilet paper! I don’t know how many people are going to be willing to share their TP!
How much Toilet Paper do I need to store?
It has been suggested that each person needs a roll per week. The best brand of TP I have found so far to be the best value is Scott. I try every week that I go shopping to buy a big package of it. It is bulky and cumbersome to store, but after the research I have done, that is ok!
Babies and Diapers
Since most people use disposable diapers, many do not have cloth diapers in storage. If disposables were not available, you would need cloth diapers, pins and plastic pants. You need to make note of how many diapers your baby goes through each day. You need at least 3 days worth of diapers. You also need to have 2-3 pairs of plastic pants per day and at least 4 sets of pins. I don’t like to mention store names, but Wal Mart is the only store that carries these things regularly.) You also need to make sure you have a rash cream for your baby, you need 20 oz for every year of age your child is that is in diapers.
Baby Wipe Recipe
1 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon lotion, 1 tablespoon baby wash. Mix well. Put soft paper towels that have been cut in half in air tight container and cover with liquid.
Waste Disposal (It shows how blessed we are that we really don’t know how to deal with this subject and turn our noses up at it.)
What would happen to our world if the toilets no longer flushed? Few things can spread disease faster, attract more flies, vermin and rodents than the improper storage of human waste. It has been speculated that some of the deadly diseases of the Middle Ages in Europe were spread mainly by the inadequate sewage systems of the time. Failure to properly dispose of human waste can lead to epidemics such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, nausea and diarrhea.
This is a very brief outline of these things.
So how do we deal with this waste?
Toilet - No running water: We could still use our potties if there weren’t any broken sewer lines. The water uses the gravity system. You would need to use grey water to flush the toilets. They would have to be flushed less often to save on water use.
Toilet - Can not flush: Place a one gallon bucket inside the empty toilet and a plastic bag inside the bucket. When the toilet is used, tie up the bag and dispose of. You will need to bury it, if garbage services are not available. Buckets - This is the easiest thing for an indoor waste disposal system if the toilets couldn’t be used. Put a heavy duty trash bag inside a 5 gallon bucket as a liner. You will need a bucket for urine and a bucket for excrement. After each use add a little dirt, kitty liter, or sawdust. When they are full pour out the urine in a location far from your water source. Use a shovel to dig a hole and bury the excrement. You can even add a comfortable toilet seat to the bucket. A family of four will fill this in about 4 days.
Portable Toilet - Portable toilets are available in the camping section of your local retail store and are miniature versions of a porta potty. They hold a reservoir of water that flushes the waste into a storage container. (Keep in mind you would have to empty this often. When we were at girls camp we had 40 people and we filled 2 full size porta potties in 4 days.)
The Outhouse - This is very efficient and low cost. Find a place away from your water source, dig a hole, place a protective covering around it, fit with a seat with a hole in it. and it is ready to go. This is one that you don’t have to worry about sanitation and moving waste from in the house. Make sure that everyone washes their hands after. (Also make sure the door has something on it: a leather strap split to go over a nail or whatever to keep little children from wandering in and falling in the hole.) (Lime can be used but must be used with caution to keep the smell down.)
What if I Run Out of TP - You can use a cake pan that has a sealed cover on it. Put several layers from magazines, newsppers, telephone books etc. Add a little water to the paper and seal it up. It softens the paper and moistens it just a bit so there isn't the irritation that too rough of paper can create.
Other ideas - duplicate what has been done in the past.
PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF DISEASE
It is vitally important to wash your hands after using the bathroom, particularly if there are water shortages. If you have to use outside facilities like an outhouse you might want to hang a water bag filled with water with bleach in it to rinse your hands after going potty.
Other suggested items to be stored in this are would be:
Antibacterial soaps
Baby wipes
Bar soap (Be sure to store the antibacterial bar soap)
Liquid soap with pump
The families who did our little experiment of going 72 hours without electricity and running water, learned a lot about this area. We all used our potties to flush but we used stored water to wash with.
The comments included:
We did not have enough water to properly wash our hands
We did not have the right kind of supplies to properly wash our hands
We did not have enough hand towels. We went through a lot more of the smaller towels than we do normally. I need to add more hand towels or plan to rip up my big ones which would lead to a shortage there.
We found we needed more rags.
Showing posts with label Sanitation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanitation. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Homemade Cleaners
These are basic cleaners you can use for hundreds of tasks.
Basic Cleaner:
Concentrated Dish Soap is great for dishes, floors, walls, stains on clothes, oil or grease spills, etc. Warm soapy water is the basic cleaner for almost everything.
Vinegar and Baking Soda:
Mix these together for clearing drains and cutting through grease. Chase with boiling water.
Vinegar alone:
Use to remove limescale, cleaning windows (mix with water and a little bit of rubbing alcohol), getting rid of pet urine on carpet and also deters pets from returning to same spot.
Washing Soda:
Use for your dishwasher if you don't have dishwasher soap, in your laundry to boost cleaning power, use to cut grease.
Basic Cleaner:
Concentrated Dish Soap is great for dishes, floors, walls, stains on clothes, oil or grease spills, etc. Warm soapy water is the basic cleaner for almost everything.
Vinegar and Baking Soda:
Mix these together for clearing drains and cutting through grease. Chase with boiling water.
Vinegar alone:
Use to remove limescale, cleaning windows (mix with water and a little bit of rubbing alcohol), getting rid of pet urine on carpet and also deters pets from returning to same spot.
Washing Soda:
Use for your dishwasher if you don't have dishwasher soap, in your laundry to boost cleaning power, use to cut grease.
All About Soap
By Paula Kvarfordt
During any type of disaster one of the biggest challenges is cleanliness. Disease and sickness are spread because of lack of ability to wash hands and dispose of garbage and waste.
It is so important to keep our hands clean, have the ability to wash clothing and keep our area of living clean from refuse, waste and garbage.
Soap is a great item to add to your storage. It is a great morale booster and is one of the top 10 things on barter lists. It is also one of the top 10 things to disappear in a disaster.
There are soaps for different purposes:
Hand Soap
Shampoo
Dish Soap
Laundry Soap
Cleaners for your house
HAND SOAP:
When you purchase hand soap, make sure you buy the antibacterial soap.
Your supplies need to include one bar of soap per person per month.
Before you use your bars of soap, let them dry out to last longer.
When you get down to slivers of soap left. Put them in a nylon sock, tie the end shut and you will have the best hand, foot, elbow and etc scrubber!
DISH SOAP:
You need the basics to keep your dishes clean, such as dish soap, dish cloths, dish towels, a drainer, SOS pads, and scrubbers.
You need enough dish cloths to trade them everyday. Dish clothes and sponges harbor all kinds of things that will make you sick. I read a report that said many people who think they have the flu often, in reality are having small cases of food poisoning from the dish clothes they do their dishes with. They leave them out and use them for several days. What would happen if you left bits and pieces of food out and they were dampish then you ate them after several days. Wash your cloths at the end of each day!
If you do not have hot water, you will need some type of pot that can heat water over a fire. No your kitchen pots unless they are specifically designed for fire will not work. Direct fire heating is much hotter than your stove.
If you can’t use your sink you will need two dish pan’s, one for rinsing and one for washing.
As for amounts for dish soap. You will use more than you do if you currently use a dishwasher.
Wash your dishes for one day. All of them, make note of how much dish soap you use and times that by 30. The general rule is you need one small bottle of dish soap per month per person. If you are cooking with a fire, you will use more dish soap than you do now cooking with your stove.
LAUNDRY SOAP:
We wash our clothes a lot. In a crisis they could be washed less often. You will need supplies to wash your clothing by hand if we didn’t have electricity. Generations past used rocks then washboards. You will need a big tub to wash in and something else to rinse in. The fine things such as undies and garments are the easiest to wash. Using a plunger works much like a washing machine does....you would need to enlist several people to do this, because it takes a lot of muscles!
Soap–get antibacterial
Washboard
Plunger
Laundry Soap (homemade or commercial)
Clorox
If you have a baby you will need some type of diaper pail once your disposables run out.
CLEANERS FOR YOUR HOUSE:
Look at the items you use to clean your home with. Every month add a few of these to your storage. Look to see what cleaners can do several jobs so you don’t have to store as many supplies. You will also need rags, buckets etc.
Another thing to have a back up of is a good broom. If you can’t vacuum your home, you would have to sweep your carpets.
Keeping clean with limited water in a crisis
Heat water in a large kettle on cook stove
Take out what water is needed for dishes and to keep counters clean for the day
Reserve one cup of water for brushing teeth
Reserve another quart for each person to wash their hands through the day.
Water that is used for rinse water for the dishes can be used to bath children and wash faces. Any extra used to flush potties.
Water that has been used to wash dishes can be used to mop floors or saved to flush the potty if you are able to use it.
You can also purify it to water plants and gardens.
Before mopping the floor use some spic and span to cut the grease
Add a dash of Clorox to bucket before flushing the toilet.
During any type of disaster one of the biggest challenges is cleanliness. Disease and sickness are spread because of lack of ability to wash hands and dispose of garbage and waste.
It is so important to keep our hands clean, have the ability to wash clothing and keep our area of living clean from refuse, waste and garbage.
Soap is a great item to add to your storage. It is a great morale booster and is one of the top 10 things on barter lists. It is also one of the top 10 things to disappear in a disaster.
There are soaps for different purposes:
Hand Soap
Shampoo
Dish Soap
Laundry Soap
Cleaners for your house
HAND SOAP:
When you purchase hand soap, make sure you buy the antibacterial soap.
Your supplies need to include one bar of soap per person per month.
Before you use your bars of soap, let them dry out to last longer.
When you get down to slivers of soap left. Put them in a nylon sock, tie the end shut and you will have the best hand, foot, elbow and etc scrubber!
DISH SOAP:
You need the basics to keep your dishes clean, such as dish soap, dish cloths, dish towels, a drainer, SOS pads, and scrubbers.
You need enough dish cloths to trade them everyday. Dish clothes and sponges harbor all kinds of things that will make you sick. I read a report that said many people who think they have the flu often, in reality are having small cases of food poisoning from the dish clothes they do their dishes with. They leave them out and use them for several days. What would happen if you left bits and pieces of food out and they were dampish then you ate them after several days. Wash your cloths at the end of each day!
If you do not have hot water, you will need some type of pot that can heat water over a fire. No your kitchen pots unless they are specifically designed for fire will not work. Direct fire heating is much hotter than your stove.
If you can’t use your sink you will need two dish pan’s, one for rinsing and one for washing.
As for amounts for dish soap. You will use more than you do if you currently use a dishwasher.
Wash your dishes for one day. All of them, make note of how much dish soap you use and times that by 30. The general rule is you need one small bottle of dish soap per month per person. If you are cooking with a fire, you will use more dish soap than you do now cooking with your stove.
LAUNDRY SOAP:
We wash our clothes a lot. In a crisis they could be washed less often. You will need supplies to wash your clothing by hand if we didn’t have electricity. Generations past used rocks then washboards. You will need a big tub to wash in and something else to rinse in. The fine things such as undies and garments are the easiest to wash. Using a plunger works much like a washing machine does....you would need to enlist several people to do this, because it takes a lot of muscles!
Soap–get antibacterial
Washboard
Plunger
Laundry Soap (homemade or commercial)
Clorox
If you have a baby you will need some type of diaper pail once your disposables run out.
CLEANERS FOR YOUR HOUSE:
Look at the items you use to clean your home with. Every month add a few of these to your storage. Look to see what cleaners can do several jobs so you don’t have to store as many supplies. You will also need rags, buckets etc.
Another thing to have a back up of is a good broom. If you can’t vacuum your home, you would have to sweep your carpets.
Keeping clean with limited water in a crisis
Heat water in a large kettle on cook stove
Take out what water is needed for dishes and to keep counters clean for the day
Reserve one cup of water for brushing teeth
Reserve another quart for each person to wash their hands through the day.
Water that is used for rinse water for the dishes can be used to bath children and wash faces. Any extra used to flush potties.
Water that has been used to wash dishes can be used to mop floors or saved to flush the potty if you are able to use it.
You can also purify it to water plants and gardens.
Before mopping the floor use some spic and span to cut the grease
Add a dash of Clorox to bucket before flushing the toilet.
Homemade Laundry Soap
I have made this and used it. This is the recipe I used, although you can find other recipes online as well. This recipe is from Shiloah Baker:
5 gallon bucket
2 bars of Ivory soap, grated
1 gallon hot water
3/4 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (Arm and hammer)
2 gallons water
1 tsp. fragrance oil OR 15 drops of essential oil (I suggest Lemon or orange)
Mix 5 cups of water with grated ivory soap into a large pot and melt on medium high heat. Once melted, mix in last two soaps then the last of the water and fragrance. Makes a gel like solution. Use 1/2 cup per load. This cost me around $5 for 3 gallons of laundry soap compared to $9 for a small box of our favorite laundry detergent that will only last 2 weeks.
I have read other reports that say they have used it in HE machines and had no problem.
If you feel your clothes are dingy or not getting clean enough, I've read to use Oxyclean with it for an extra boost.
You can use 1 cup per load, instead of 1/2 cup to get the clothes cleaner, or double the amounts of borax and washing soda when you make a batch.
Other soap you can use is Zote or Fels Naptha.
Vinegar is a natural fabric softener and brightener.
Washing Soda is not baking soda. I have not been able to find it at Walmart, or any other stores here in Western Nebraska. You can order some from online, or get a good friend to bring you some when they come to visit.
If you don't want to give up your fabric softener sheets, you can recycle them easily. Save your sheets, place in a jar and add some liquid fabric softener to the jar. Pull a sheet out when you are ready for your next dryer load. Recycle them back into the jar when you are done.
5 gallon bucket
2 bars of Ivory soap, grated
1 gallon hot water
3/4 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (Arm and hammer)
2 gallons water
1 tsp. fragrance oil OR 15 drops of essential oil (I suggest Lemon or orange)
Mix 5 cups of water with grated ivory soap into a large pot and melt on medium high heat. Once melted, mix in last two soaps then the last of the water and fragrance. Makes a gel like solution. Use 1/2 cup per load. This cost me around $5 for 3 gallons of laundry soap compared to $9 for a small box of our favorite laundry detergent that will only last 2 weeks.
I have read other reports that say they have used it in HE machines and had no problem.
If you feel your clothes are dingy or not getting clean enough, I've read to use Oxyclean with it for an extra boost.
You can use 1 cup per load, instead of 1/2 cup to get the clothes cleaner, or double the amounts of borax and washing soda when you make a batch.
Other soap you can use is Zote or Fels Naptha.
Vinegar is a natural fabric softener and brightener.
Washing Soda is not baking soda. I have not been able to find it at Walmart, or any other stores here in Western Nebraska. You can order some from online, or get a good friend to bring you some when they come to visit.
If you don't want to give up your fabric softener sheets, you can recycle them easily. Save your sheets, place in a jar and add some liquid fabric softener to the jar. Pull a sheet out when you are ready for your next dryer load. Recycle them back into the jar when you are done.
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