I could really use a break from work lol
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The two best prepping investments I recently made were solar powered USB battery bank that will allow my smartphone and MP3 player and USB rechargeable lights indefinitely, even during winter and it only cost $70... and a mini USB rechargeable speaker which allows my entire family to also listen to local news radio, Emergency Broadcast System announcements, the radio in the evenings and classic short stories and podcasts and radio-plays for the kids "bedtime story" before bed.
The other was an $8 bucket of pool chlorine powder that can be used to purify water butt water and water from any other source including rivers and rainwater. Just pass it through some cotton sheets first to remove any silt or leaves.
If stored correctly, a bucket of chlorine pool powder will last forever and purify enough water for a family of four for 500 years! It's far cheaper than iodine tablets and far better than bleach which has a very short shelf-life.
Get an radio with extra batteries. Ive also invested in two way radios for the entire family. I also have a battery powered police scanner. Really wish I had done the Ham radio thing.
I've been contemplating making a gravity water filter that uses sand, charcoal, and filters in a column. Or possibly capturing rainwater and being able to boil and purify it. Two different approaches, two different sets of issues....but I'm leaning toward the latter method.
The simplest, cheapest and easiest solution is to pass your source water through some cotton sheets and then chlorinate it. This will produce water the same quality that comes out of the tap.
My only other recommendation is buying a eye dropper and some blue food coloring so you can color treated water. This will prevent your family from making any mistakes.
Boiling your water is always a great way to reduce the risk even more, but if you're chlorine dosages are correct, boiling water will be unnecessary. You're better off saving that gas for cooking.
Good points. simplest is always the best way. Question: Does the chlorine leave a taste in the water, AND is it safe for human consumption?
Back in my river rafting days purifying water with bleach was done every night. No other chore is so important. Often the cleanest water available was the muddy river itself. We considered it safe to drink when treated.
5 gallon bucketful's of river water with a capful of household bleach were left to outgas overnight. In the morning it's put into jerry cans and tied down in the boats. The taste is something you learn to enjoy while admiring the scenery.
Chlorine will leave a slight taste in the water but only if you overdose it slightly for safety but not too much so it becomes harmful. It will leave far less of a taste than bleach (which is recommended as a water treatment solution by the CDC) or iodine which also leaves the water colored red. Iodine treatment tablets are ridiculously expensive so they are never viable unless you're taking a two week vacation in Tibet. I can confirm that iodine is effective because I used it when taking a two week vacation in Tibet... and their drinking water is sewage.
Trust me, when Shit Hits The Fan, the taste of treated water will be the least of your worries.
Yes, chlorinated water is safe for human consumption as long as you don't use too much chlorine: all first world nation water treatment plants use chlorine to treat their water. What comes out of your tap is chlorinated water. Most people are unaware of this.
Grocery store bottled water is also treated with chlorine because that's tap water too, only in a toxic plastic bottle and 100,000 x as expensive but it comes with a picture of a snowy mountain on it.
Where to buy and how to use? THX!
I bought my battery bank from ebay. It is a 500000mAh Portable Solar Panel Dual USB External Battery Power Bank Pack Charger. I doubled the USD price in my comments because I suspect people will want something that charges quicker than what I need, but from my testing, I'm delighted.
You'll need to decide how many devices you'll want to charge each day before you can decide what sort of battery bank will suit you. If you're only charging an MP3 player, a smartphone, some speakers and lights, then the one I mentioned will probably just be enough.
Sadly, battery banks are something that you'll need to research for yourself. I can't even recommend a range of brands because this is the first I've bought and I can't compare it to it's competition.
Most battery banks will charge even under overcast weather. All can be charged quickly from a live USB source if you know power shortages are coming. My power battery bank instructions said to run it until flat before charging it to full... to ensure maximum battery life.
Just leave them on the windowsill that gets the most sun and, if you bought one with enough capacity and one with solar cells with enough quality then you'll be able to recharge all of your devices whenever you need to without the bank running flat.
As for the pool chlorine, anything will do that is just the cheap pool chlorine powder just as long as it has no other active ingredients or brags about additional weird shit that you don't want to digest such as blue coloring or sea salt or other fancy shit.
And don't fear using chlorine because chlorinated water is what comes out of the tap. Most people have no idea that chlorine is what our water treatment services use to keep the water safe... **JUST READ THE DOSAGES CAREFULLY because if you're chlorinating a small container such as a 5 gallon jerry can then you'll need a ridiculously small amount. I'd recommend figuring out a fool-proof way to measure enough pool chlorine powder to treat whatever containers you have in advance, without relying on devices like electric scales which will eventually run out of batteries or break.
Also, if you're interested in prepping for interruptions to the water infrastructure, I'd recommend finding who sells second-hand 52 gallon pickle containers in your area - they usually cost about $20 USD. They are huge, tough, plastic containers about 22 inch diameter and 40 inches high with massive screw-on lids. Clean them out with washing detergent, fill 'em up with tap water and seal the lid. It doesn't matter if they sit in the sun for 20 years because you'll chlorinate that water when you need it. Also, don't bother drilling a tap into them because that only risks leakage if the seals degrade - instead just open the screw-on lid and lower a length of hose until it touches the bottle, block the end with your thumb, withdraw the hose a little so you're not siphoning silt... and water will flow.
52 gallons of water will last an adult for 100 days without rationing.
You can also do other stuff like disconnecting a down-pipe and collecting rainwater on your roof into buckets to top up your pickle container. Avoid the first few hours of the first rains after a dry-spell because it will be full of whatever dust and crud collected on your roof since the last downpour.
If you have any questions then please ask.