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Many of us have become experts on sanitation and cleaning thanks to the pandemic. We quickly learned all about sanitation wipes, the importance of handwashing, and what common supplies around the house can be used as a sanitizer when you’re in a pinch.
In a grid-down scenario, it is crucial to think about sanitation and how to keep your family healthy. Access to clean or running water may be limited, and it is important to sanitization items on hand when the power is out. Germs and viruses can quickly spread in an emergency, making sanitation even more critical. Learn more about how to build a sanitation kit with these tips.
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Pick a Sturdy Box
Sanitation kits should be stored in a tote that can stand up to the elements. This usually includes a rubber or plastic tote that has a secure lid and closure. Choosing a clear tote with clamp-style handles is also a good idea so that you can see the contents of the tote and ensure that the lid won’t pop off. Don’t use cardboard or other materials that will easily absorb water.
Pack the Sanitation Kit
Every family will have different items in their sanitation kit. These items could significantly vary depending on your location and the weather. However, it is safe to say that most sanitation kits should include the following items:
Disinfectants
The most important part of a sanitation kit is to pack items that can disinfect from germs.
Bleach
A few gallons of bleach is always a good idea for your sanitation kit. Even if your tote doesn’t have room for bleach, consider storing jugs near the kit in your emergency storage area. You can dilute bleach to clean surfaces and sterilize essential cooking utensils.
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Rubbing Alcohol
Another good item to have in your sanitation kit is a bottle or two of rubbing alcohol. This useful supply can disinfect areas as well as disinfect wounds. It is another sanitation and cleaning agent that is great to have on hand. Be sure to store bottles with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol, though, as some bottles have less of the needed active ingredient.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Known for its disinfecting qualities, hydrogen peroxide is another great option to put into the sanitation kit. It is commonly used to clean wounds, cuts, and scrapes that could seem like a small injury but turn into a major problem. Keep hydrogen peroxide in dark bottles away from sunlight for better storage.
Alcohol
While you may want to break into the sanitation kit after a stressful day in an emergency, it is best to leave it alone until you really need it. Hard alcohol is shelf-stable and doesn’t require any fuss. It is primarily used as a pain reliever in emergencies when someone needs to have a bone set or some kind of surgery without anesthesia. Alcohol can also be used to sanitize and clean important tools as well.
Personal Health
Keeping your body clean, as well as your clothes and towels clean, are important.
Soaps
Hand washing is the best way to keep germs and sickness at bay. Pack your sanitation kit with multiple forms of soap, including dish soap, hand soap, laundry and bar soap. Any and all will work for cleaning your dishes, body, and other items that need a quick wash. However, bar soap is the usual favorite for sanitation kits as it is easy to pack and comes in large value packs.
Feminine Hygiene
If there are any women in your household, it is essential to consider packing feminine hygiene products into your sanitation kit. Storing a box of tampons or pads helps care for the women in your family during an emergency and keeps you from needing to wash clothes or rags often.
Small Shovel
Coming into contact with poop is one of the easiest ways to get sick in a disaster. Not only does it carry germs, but it also can pass along sickness very quickly. Storing a small shovel in the sanitation kit is a vital tool to use when anyone needs to do their business outside. Bury the poop in different areas of the yard when you don’t have access to septic systems.
Toilet Paper
While some would argue that toilet paper isn’t needed in an emergency, it is quite convenient. If you don’t have packs of toilet paper already hoarded in your home, you may want to pick up a few extra rolls for the sanitation kit. Toilet paper is a good way to protect your hands and can be a barrier so that you don’t come into contact with feces.
Toiletries
While brushing and flossing your teeth may not seem like a critical sanitary skill, it is important to keep germs away. Brushing and flossing can help protect your teeth from decay or cavities that can pose serious health concerns when not addressed quickly. Your oral health is an integral part of the body that should be protected in an emergency, especially when dental care would be essentially non-existent.
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Hand Sanitizer
Stocking hand sanitizer in a sanitation kit is an easy way to keep hands clean when hand washing is limited. Options like Purell come in multiple sizes that are easy to pop into a pocket or store in small spaces. Many of us have learned that not all hand sanitizers are equal when it comes to how they feel (or smell) after living through the pandemic. However, in an emergency, most hand sanitizers on the market are better than nothing.
Other Supplies
Your sanitation kit will be stocked with items that disinfect and clean your personal effects, but don’t forget these other supplies as well.
Trash Bags
As an easy item to forget, many people don’t realize their need for trash bags until it is too late. Keeping your living space clean and free from trash is an important part of surviving an emergency. Store a roll or two of trash bags in the sanitation kit that should last a long time.
Matches
Many people may forget the power of heat and fire when it comes to sanitizing tools and equipment. Storing matches in a sanitation kit is helpful when wanting to start a fire or boil water. Water is an essential resource in an emergency, and keeping matches on hand to bring water to the boiling point can keep drinking water safe.
Hand Towels
While paper towels are convenient and can be helpful in an emergency, consider packing hand towels instead. Not only can they be washed and reused many times, but they can be used for a wide range of activities or needs. Roll them up and stuff them into empty crevices inside the sanitation box to save on storage space.
Gather supplies now for your sanitation kit in case of an emergency. Consider getting the supplies first and then choosing a tote or box that is large enough for all of the items. Store your emergency sanitation kit in your emergency storage and make sure to keep it dry and out of direct sunlight. Keeping your family safe and healthy after a disaster is so much easier with the help of a sanitation kit.
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I understand that liquid bleach loses its potency after 6 months. It may be better to keep Calcium Hypochlorite Chlorine Shock Treatment for Swimming Pools and mix your own bleach as needed. Instructions are readily available on the Web.
Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol. I think by “hard alcohol” the author meant drinking alcohol which is ethanol. Any alcohol used for disinfecting purposes must be greater than 60% of the alcohol, either IPA or ethanol. You can buy rubbing alcohol at around 30% which is fine for just that purpose, 63% which is fine for disinfecting surfaces and wounds or 90% which is useful as fuel and also disinfectant. It can be cut with distilled water to give you lower percentages of alcohol. It usually is more expensive than lesser percentages. I haven’t done the math to determine whether it is cheaper to buy 90% and cut it or just buy the lower percentages and don’t mess around with cutting the 90%.
Ethanol that you buy to drink is sold at proof levels. 100 proof is 50% ethanol. In order to use alcoholic beverages for disinfecting purposes, it must be at a bare minimum 130 proof. In some states one cannot purchase beverages at that proof level. It is necessary to go to another state and smuggle it into your state if you want to go that routine. Everclear is a clear ethanol that can be purchased in some states at 190 proof. Outside of a laboratory it is impossible to maintain 100% alcohol as alcohol readily absorbs ambient moisture which soon makes the alcohol less than 100%. You can only buy 100% IPA or ethanol from laboratory supply places and it is quite expensive. If you buy something labeled 100% in the mall drug store, you can be assured that it is NOT that percent alcohol and I would be reluctant to use it for any purpose as the incorrect label might be incorrect in other aspects too and you don’t know what you bought.
One of the reasons in the days before commercial wound cleansing fluids whiskey was used to cleanse wounds is because in the distillation process to produce the alcohol, the water used was sterilized. Unless the whiskey was over 130 proof, it was not a bactericide but it was clean and so could wash bacteria from the wound which in those days of infrequent bathing most likely were present in any cut or other impairment of the skin.
Methanol is used commercially to strip paint from wood and other commercial activities. It is highly toxic. It will kill you if consumed and it will lead to various toxic conditions if left on skin, whether broken or intact. Methanol should be handled with extreme care. It cannot be made drinkable by filtering through bread. That is a completely fallacious urban legend and one that should be put to rest as drinking methanol WILL KILL YOU, filtered through bread or not. It will not be an easy death. If I were contemplating suicide, methanol would be very low down on my list of substances to induce death.
Now is the time to stock up on alcohol wipes, sprays, and gels. They can be had for dirt cheap clearance prices every where.
And I would consider flushable wipes to stockpile. They take up less space, are not ruined if they get wet, and even if they dry out, can be hydrated and used again. And there’s no danger to your pipes if you’re burying them anyway. Plus, they can clean all parts of your body, and even your pots and pans.
And a pro tip here, keep your flushable wipes and your alcohol wipes separated and clearly marked. You don’t want to grab the wrong one in the dark…
DO NOT USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, H202, TO CLEAN WOUNDS!!!!!
I don’t know how many times I have to repeat that, but that outdated bad advice keeps getting put into these articles.
This isn’t new either. Doctors have nixed H2O2 for 40+ years in wound care treatment.
Peroxide inhibits healing and is destructive to the tissues it’s applied to.
Come on Urban Survival, quit handing out poor and contraindicated advice!
Thank you, BB for once again putting that utterly false urban legend to rest. Hydrogen peroxide is fine for disinfecting the tools you are going to use to stitch that nasty cut or the clamp to clamp the severed artery. I don’t know, do women still use peroxide to bleach their hair? I know when I was much much younger “peroxide blonde” was not a compliment.