Something as simple as using the bathroom turns into a
major issue after a disaster. By planning ahead, you can
still lead a fairly normal life in the toilet department, running water or not.
HUMAN
WASTE:
If you've lost
water to your home, but have a septic tank, you can still use your toilet by
dumping about 2 1/2 gallons per flush into the toilet tank.
(Remember, "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down."
Do your best to flush only when necessary! You can help keep
odors and infection down by pouring a small amount of disinfectant into the
bowl. As for toilet paper, girls can use a squirt-bottle of distilled water to
rinse, rather than using the paper.
If you are on city
septic system, however, you may have been told not to use the system.
If so, there are a couple ways to take care of human waste:
You can line the toilet bowl with a medium-sized trash
bag. You'll need to tie it very tightly and store as far away from your home
as possible.
If your toilet is not usable, or you can't get into your
house, you can fashion a toilet from a bucket lined with a plastic bag, or
by digging a hole outside. Dig the hole at 2 feet deep and plan to cover it
when it is filled to within one foot of the top.
Lime or powdered bleach can be added to keep the smell down.
Buy a camp stove.
Failure to properly dispose of human wastes can lead to epidemic
diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea. At the same time, sewage must
be disposed of in ways that will prevent contamination of water supplies used
for drinking, cooking, bathing, laundering, and other domestic purposes.
OTHER
WASTE:
- Food Waste - keep it tightly sealed to keep the bugs,
chickens and boonie dogs out. Feed your leftovers to your dogs. This would
be a good time to start a compost pile if you don't have access to trash
pickup or a dump. Of course, you can always feed the leftovers to the
chickens as I do - they will thank you for it.
- Paper Waste - burn it to start a wood fire for cooking
(or to keep warm). If it has a slight wax coating you can burn it, but don't
start a fire with it. If it has a heavy plastic coating, it shouldn't be
burned at all.
PET WASTE:
Be diligent about
picking up and disposing of this. Keep it in a sealed plastic bag inside a
plastic bucket or barrel that can be sealed, the same as human waste.
Keep as far from home as possible.
---- Remember, in many emergencies, your computer will be inaccessible, so a hard copy of any Paradise Organized chapters you find especially helpful is
a good thing to have on hand! ----
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