In a previous post I talked about five big prepping mistakes/disasters. I felt it was only right not to just mention them, but to provide a little detail about each of them.
How much water should I have?
How much room do you have? At home I recommend having a larger water storage. A gallon a day per person is not enough, especially if you plan to use your toilet. When you start building your water storage please remember that you should rotate your water. Even unopened store bought water has a shelf life. Like with food storage, don't let it go bad.
The recommendation is to have at minimum: 1 gallon per day per person. Plus 1/2 to 1 gallon per if you want to clean any clothes or dishes. So the question is simple. How long do you want to prepare for?
People x 1 gallon x the amount of time = "your storage"
If you want to be ready, then you need to be ready to leave your house. If you have to leave for 2 weeks that means each person carrying 14 gallons. In your "Grab and Go" packs you should have the means and knowledge to filter and purify water in case you have to. Neither I nor any of my offspring can carry 30 gallons of water for any significant distance.
How to make a water filter
The water that you come across is not necessarily going to be clean. You can make a filter that can filter out mud, dirt, insects, algae and a number of other things that you do not want to drink. Remember that you still want to purify your drinking water to make it safe.
A sand and Charcoal filter
1. To start with, you need a container.The larger your container, the more you will be able to filter at any given time. A hole will need to be drilled or knocked out of the bottom of your container for the filtered water to come out.
You do not want your sand to come out of the hole. You can prevent this by placing some small rock over the drain to keep the sand if you do not have some fabric or a screen that the water can drain through.
2. Once you have covered your hole so that the sand will not leak out with:
• a couple of inches (centimeters) of pebbles.
• a grass mesh, make sure it’s nonpoisonous grass.
• or cotton material.
I recommend 2 layers of sand
add a layer of gravel to strengthen the filter material and keep sand out of the filtered water.
3. Add a layer of sand (the larger your container the larger your layers)
4. Add a layer of charcoal. You can bust up some coal from your fire (please wait for it to cool) and use that. Do not pulverize it, small pieces, gravel size is best.
If you do not have charcoal or access to fire yet, you can still have an effective filter with just sand.
5. Collect your water. Pour your collected water through the filter. You will need another container to collect the water as it comes out the bottom (collapsible water jugs would be a good thing to have with you). Look at the water that comes out of the filter. It should be clear. If not, you may have to pass the water through the filter more than once.
Make sure your water is safe to drink.
You can boil your water as an added precaution to ensure there is no bacteria in your drinking water. It is important to have the ability to purify your drinking water supply.
How to purify your water.
Water purification is important to make sure that you are not ingesting bacteria and other poisonous contaminants.
I always recommend boiling your drinking water. After the water has been filtered there are a few purification methods that are easy to take with you. Keep them in your GAG bags (Grab and Go). You can have one or more of these items in your GAG bag.
- Water purification tablets (found at almost any camping store or section)
- Personal water filter straws ( If you can find a way to attach it, you can use one of these at the base of you filtration system and purify your water on the way out of your filter)
- Water purification bottles. Remember to pack extra filters.
Remember: No water = Death. If you don't sweat a lot you can last a few days without water. A clean water source should be one of your first priorities in an emergency situation. Shelter can Trump water depending on the need and climate.
Our sister site Pacificarmory.com will be up and running soon. Bookmark this site as it will be the best place to get all of your prepping and conceal carry wants and needs. We will also be expanding into firearms and ammo. Some of these items can be found now at oregonconcealedtraining.com Thank you
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