Sanitation: One of the most important preparedness discussions.

[rbeau30]

I guess it may not be as important as I thought, I just figured that preparing for solutions to these issues would need to be thought out when SHTF. I don't plan on leaving the house right away. Probably making the house look like it has been ransacked already, because leaving would be harder.

Plus I have a SHTF "to-do list" that needs accomplishing befor I leave for any place other than the house..

[Omicron]

Wow Jim, you sure are Mr Negative in this thread. LOL!

Sanitation is indeed an issue that should be thought through. Burrying one's waste is great if you're bugging out, but if one is bugging in (at least for a while) what do people do, go crap in the neighbors yard? Might make them a bit tense. And while krusty clothes might sound like fun (?) and hand sanitizer is less than ideal, it's better than nothing, and clean clothes are a big morale booster.

Point being, better to put some thought into this ahead of time, and I think rbeau has some good ideas. Would love to hear what others have planned too.

[Great-Kazoo]

Wow Jim, you sure are Mr Negative in this thread. LOL!

Sanitation is indeed an issue that should be thought through. Burrying one's waste is great if you're bugging out, but if one is bugging in (at least for a while) what do people do, go crap in the neighbors yard? Might make them a bit tense. And while krusty clothes might sound like fun (?) and hand sanitizer is less than ideal, it's better than nothing, and clean clothes are a big morale booster.

Point being, better to put some thought into this ahead of time, and I think rbeau has some good ideas. Would love to hear what others have planned too.

It's Mr. Negativity Tuesday. While his ideas are good . I see too much use of water for cleaning utensils and clothes that could be channeled to more productive things, like hydration and personal hygiene.

My opposition to hand sanitizer / gel stems from seeing too much dependency on it, within the medical field. It has become the "go to" means to cleanse hands, prior to seeing the next patient. Dr's and some nurses drop a dollop on their hands, do a quick / light once over and move on. They don't allow contact time for it to be effective, or IMO even conscious of what they're doing.

Next time one of you visit a medical office watch them. It's almost as bad as observing unskilled food service workers.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Short term or long term? For Long Term SHTF, OP got it.

I store alcohol, pool shock, baking soda, and water. Those pile should cover many things including sanitary need.

[rbeau30]

I also heard about a study showing that non-alcohol based anti-bacterial soaps and hand sanitizers are even less effective than alcohol-based ones.

[Wulf202]

Most of those studies are flawed. Oak86 has chewed me out several times for quoting studies that are terribly managed.

Alcohol kills germs. Washing the germs off is far better but this assumes a clean water source.

Also uv light kills germs. Hanging a smelly shirt on a clothes line for a few days will kill the germs. The crusty stuff will still be there which can agrivate the skin and cause rashes leading to infection if un adressed.

[Great-Kazoo]

I thought those hand sanitizer gels were just gelled alcohol. Why would a packet make a difference othere than including a scrub cloth?

Most of those studies are flawed. Oak86 has chewed me out several times for quoting studies that are terribly managed.

Alcohol kills germs. Washing the germs off is far better but this assumes a clean water source.

Also uv light kills germs. Hanging a smelly shirt on a clothes line for a few days will kill the germs. The crusty stuff will still be there which can agrivate the skin and cause rashes leading to infection if un adressed.

Proper hand washing trumps other less effective cleansing . However if it's what you have, use it. IMO the gel, unless used as you would soap and water, only moves the crap from one place to another.
Using an alcohol wipe gives you something which the dirt / germs adhere to and are removed from the surface.

[Wulf202]

Clean clothes are an integral part of hygiene. If youre living in filth you have a higher chance of contracting something.

As far as dish soap for washing clothes. Try it. Dish soap foams. If you want to make your own out of shelf stable ingredients theres plenty of recipes online.

Bassicaly shaved bar soap. Borax. And washing soda. Also cheaper than tide by about ten fold

[rbeau30]

Clean clothes are an integral part of hygiene. If youre living in filth you have a higher chance of contracting something.

This is the way my brain was thinking, then I took a mental note every time that I touched my clothes with my hands. Then the thought of how many times do I touch my face with my hands on a given day. I figure It couldn't help to keep clothes somewhat clean, when I can get to some extra water.

Leaving dirt and stuff on clothes... while the UV light may kill germs wouldn't the germs more readily survive on a soiled set of clothes? kinda how turbidity affects the time at which UV light rendering water safe to drink?

[ChunkyMonkey]

This is the way my brain was thinking, then I took a mental note every time that I touched my clothes with my hands. Then the thought of how many times do I touch my face with my hands on a given day. I figure It couldn't help to keep clothes somewhat clean, when I can get to some extra water.

Leaving dirt and stuff on clothes... while the UV light may kill germs wouldn't the germs more readily survive on a soiled set of clothes? kinda how turbidity affects the time at which UV light rendering water safe to drink?

On the subject, look into third world country solution.

Wear cotton then hang it overnight iin a breezy area - smells fresh in the morning.
If you are to wash with detergent, make sure you have a cold water detergent. Most detergent in the US selves requires HOT/WARM water.
If you don't have detergent, soak, scrub, sun dry and coal iron! This method is known to kill most pathogen.
It's hard to find clothes wringer in the US, but get one if you run into one. $50-100 and when the power out, you'll find it real useful. IF you dont have one, mop wringer works too.
etc etc etc

I had a list of these kind of useful tips somewhere. Will post them when I find it.