Welcome!
Welcome to week #2 in the “72 Hour Kit Ideas: A week by week approach” series.
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Last Week
I hope all of you were able to gather some water you can carry to your 72 hr kit supplies last week.
Week #3: Making Water Safe
If during an evacuation of your area you were able to take your car, it would be very reasonable to take three or more gallons of water per person for your family. You should have at least this much water ready to throw into your car at a moment’s notice.
But what if you are forced to evacuate your area on foot? It’s simply not realistic to carry that much water over any real distance. So, the fact is, you can’t carry enough water for three days in your actual pack.
But, it is highly likely you will come across alternative water sources in one form or another: a lake, pond, backyard pool, stream, river, rainwater, etc. If you come across other vacant homes, you may be able to use hidden water sources there: ice cubes, hot water tanks, pipes, toilet reserve tanks, etc.
However, since you will be uncertain of the source or cleanliness of these water sources, you will need a way to make them safe to drink. This week, add supplies to your kit that will allow you to make alternative water sources safe to drink.
There are many methods of making water safe to drink. There are pros and cons to each method. No one method will work well for everyone in all situations. Choose what works best from the following suggestions for your family right now!
Suggestion#1: Bleach
If you choose this method, you will need to keep bleach in your 72 hour kit (find a small container at a dollar store or in the travel section). Make sure to rotate it every few months! You may also want to consider adding a drink mix to make treated water more palatable. Print out the following instructions from FEMA and keep them with the bleach:
Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, colorsafe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. Because the potency of bleach diminishes with time, use bleach from a newly opened or unopened bottle. Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of bleach, discard it and find another source of water.
Suggestion #2: Boiling and Distillation
If you choose this method, add a large pot with a handled lid (see illustration below), a small cup, string, and a small stove (with fuel) to your 72 hr kit. Print these instructions from FEMA and keep them with your pot:
Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water), and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled. (see illustration)
Suggestion #3: Water Purification Tablets/Treatment Solutions
If you choose this method, make sure that the option you purchase includes directions and be sure to include them in your kit. If you can’t get some at your grocery store, here are a few options: Aquamira water treatment , purification tablets. You may also want to consider adding a drink mix to make treated water more palatable.
Suggestion #4: Water Filtration Bottle
If you choose this method, you can get two different bottles: One for around $20 and one for around $30. You can also get a Seychelle bottle for just over $30.
Suggestion #5: SteriPen
If you choose this method, purchase one (or more) of the SteriPens and add it to your kit.
Suggestion #6: Water Filters
If you choose this method, purchase one (or more) water filters and add it to your kit (here are those available through me at THRIVE Life and a few more that are available through Amazon.
What We Have Done in Our Family
When we first started our 72 hour kits, we used just purification tablets because they were cost effective. I still keep some in our kits. We have since added four filtration bottles: one in each kit. I like the convenience and familiarity the filter bottles provide. Plus, they are light and will allow us to filter 120 gallons of water without changing any filters.
How about You?
Leave me a comment and tell me how you’ve decided to add the ability to purify/filter water to your kit.
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| Week #1: Water To Carry | Week #3: Plan Your Food | Series Into: 72 Hour Kit Series, A Week by week approach |
Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.
We finally got all 6 filtration bottles we wanted for our kits. Such a huge sigh of relief that we can easily carry them out if needed, but they could easily be used if we shelter in place.
After reading Deb C’s comment I decided to look and see what the AquaPail weighed…The #400 is 7.5 lbs, #1000 is 13 lbs, #3000 is 35lbs, and the #5000 (which sadly isn’t offered by SR anymore) is 55lbs.
The #400 sounds like it would be best for a 72 hour kit… definitely not as heavy as lugging around all the water needed…since my property backs up to an irrigation canal, I’d love to get one of the bigger sizes eventually.
Awesome Tiffany. Thanks for helping me out!
Thanks so much for all your hard work on this site. The information is great and we are starting to put things together for our bugout bag. Thanks for all the info!
You are welcome Denise!
Thanks for the instructions on how to use the bleach. Good tip, also, of adding drink mixes to flavor. I plan on adding filtration bottles to our kits. But i really want the Aquapail…I’m going to discuss this with my husband & see what we can get. i love that it has a long shelf life. One question…are they heavy or is it something we could lug along with our kits if we had to?
Sorry I took so long to get back to you. Tiffany (commented below) is correct. The #400 is 7.5 lbs, #1000 is 13 lbs, #3000 is 35lbs, and the #5000 (which sadly isn’t offered by SR anymore) is 55lbs. I have the #400 in our kits.
I think as a priority we’ll do the tablets but I like the idea of individual purification bottles. I have used those before and I like them. Easy and light. Thanks!!
Sara
You are welcome!
We have bleach in our house always in smaller containers for easy portability and 2 filtering water bottles out of the 4 we need. (thank you for clarifying the shelf life on the filters- I have always wondered)
Of course Abi!
As an avid backcountry camper, I can tell you that carrying water is not the way to go. I prefer to use the water filtration systems, like the Katadyn system you gave away last week. They are easy to use and light to carry.
I completely agree! Water is heavy!
Right now I only have bleach for at-home purifying. I have a water filter and tablets on my “Christmas” list. 🙂
Hope you get them!
Going through the series again to fill in the holes. I am planning to add a filter bottle to my kit. I currently have coffee filters to filter large particles from water and potable water tablets in the kits but want to add filter bottles now. This series is just great! Thanks again!
PS I am totally HOOKED on the Pomegranate Yogurt Bites! Wow!
Yes, the pomegrante bites are a favorite at our house too!
In preparation for Sandy last week I realized we are in great shape to stay at home for a week, maybe longer. As far as being prepared to leave due to flooding and damage to our home, not so much. I do have a Sawyer water filter bottle that is supposed to filter a million gallons, haven’t tried it yet but I need too. After using it with our pond water I will be sending a water sample in to get tested.
P.S. I can’t wait to get one of the kids backpacks with all the pockets! What great price too.
So sorry to hear you were affected by Sandy, but glad to know you were relatively prepared.
I have one filtration bottle but will be adding more and an AquaPail as soon as I have more host benefits from party sales this fall 🙂
Yay for host benefits!
I love the water bottle filtration idea, but right now we have th purification tablets… Doesn’t take up much space in the kit and right now it’s the best for the budget. Maybe I can round up some family members to go in on a 12 pack of bottles to get the discounted price. Thanks for the super info.
Yes, the 12 pk is a great deal!
We purchased a 55 gallon kit with the water purification drops and also have a PUR water bottle for each family member. The water bottles are 20 oz each and have a filter as part of the bottle. The filter can be replaced after a while so we have some filters in with our food storage. I have seen some straw filters that we may get for our go bag since they are small and inexpensive.
Yes, the straws are very small and lightweight Christine.
Plan to use bottled water. Bleach for on the road.
I love the idea of the filtration water bottles, and am planning on adding those to our packs. I also like the availability of bleach, so little bottles of that will probably also end up in the packs with some drink mixes to help with taste.
The water filtration bottles are very convenient Erica!
We bought a water filter from a used mountain equipment store this summer and also carry water treatment tablets in both packs in case we get separated or if something happens to the filter. I also added some powdered drink mix for my daughter as she may not like the stored water or whatever comes from a stream.
I wouldn’t blame her. I might not like it either! haha
This is such a great website! my sister made emergency kits for her family and now I’m starting mine! I’m only 2 weeks behind the schedule you are on. But I looked ahead to this week. i think I’ll do a mix of water bottles, water purifying tablets, and purifying water bottles!!!
Sounds great!
We have purification tablets in each of our bags, and I have a steri pen. I am planning to add a filter bottle to each bag this month.
I really need to show my older girls how to use the tablets, though. It wouldn’t do them much good if they didn’t know how or when to use the tablets!
Yes, education is just as important as “stuff!”
I will be adding purification tablets or treatment drops to all of our packs this week. I love the idea of the Aqua Pail, but will have to wait a while for that.
Little by little!
Hi misty, thanks for doing this weekly survival posting again. I missed half of the first set last time. Glad to be joining you again. For this week’s topic, my family already have 20 gallons of water shelved away for 6 of us. I haven’t gotten any filters or tablets yet in case we need to evacuate somewhere. I am looking into that aqua pail that you’ve mentioned. And Thanks for reminding me to add flavor mix to the kit. My kids drinks water but probably won’t if it tastes weird.
I really do like the Aquapail. And welcome back!
My husband and I each have a water purification bottle and each person in our family have a water filtration bottle with extra filter in our backpacks as well as carry a gallon bottle of water. At home, we have water in 7 gal. jugs, bottled water, and twice a month I will put water in our used Simply Orange or lemonade bottles. After 6 months, I will use the oldest one for plants, etc. so I am constantly rotating. I am ordering a 55 gal. drum for each member of our family as well.
Way to go! You are on top of it!
I have the means to boil water, plus bleach, pool shock to make bleach, and a water filter. My greater concern is how to have the water to purify.
I have a huge fear of not having enough water, Thank you for giving all these options.
You are welcome Jana!
We plan to use the purification tablets and water filtration bottles in our 72 hour kits. I would like to get an aquabucket for sheltering in place and traveling by car. Planning to add Gatorade drink mixes in our kits to replace electrolytes and encourage better water consumption by our boys.
I use the THRIVE drink mixes for that purpose Karrie. Love the extra vitamins plus electrolytes!
We each have a water filtration bottle in our back packs. We also have a Berkey water filter that has a one gallon capacity. I would love to be able to get extra filters for all of them so we can be able to go a longer period of time with clean water.
The more the better, but little by little!
I am a new Shelf Reliance consultant and I love it! I am going to get water purification products for each of our 72 hour kits so we will be ready if necessary. Thanks
Welcome to Shelf Reliance Cheryl!