Toilets when SHTF

[jansman]

Please forgive the pun in the title. I mentioned in an earlier post,that some years ago we spent 5 days without water,and also electricity. Within hours of the powercut the water stopped,and so too,the toilet cistern would not refill…

Fortunately,we have an outside loo,so all of our business was done out there,and once a day I flushed it with a bucket of rainwater. I didn’t have water butts then ,but my gardening neighbour did,and between us we decided on that course of action,as she too still had an outside loo. By the time the water came on in the village,there were a lot of folks with serious blockages!

We have a Summer house at the far end of the garden,and it’s a long way even to the outside loo,so to one side I built a compost loo.It works like a dream .Even if we didn’t have that facility,I would just dig a cat hole and eat with it that way. Here’s a link:

https://urbansurvivalsite.com/what-to-d ... when-shtf/

[GillyBee]

We have a camping loo in the shed for this sort of outage - If it lasted longer it would give us time to dig a big hole and install a compost loo - possibly shared with next door as their garden has more free space and they are vulnerable so would not be able to dig their own.

[Arzosah]

That's a good link! I confess, I don't have an option for if ts truly htf ... short term, I'd be fine, with a plastic bag over a bucket and a scoop of cat litter, which I store in the airing cupboard, of all places. I also have a lot of sawdust, from my woodsawing neighbour.

For pee on its own, I'd use something as a potty and empty it into the drains. If they worked. If not, it doesn't actually hurt to store it - for instance, in the much maligned wheelie bins it's what happened in Victorian Britain and happens today in parts of Africa and Asia, for tanning leather.

And I have a lot of toilet paper plus enough spare fabric to make reuseable wipes if need be, and the sodium hypochlorite to clean them. There'd need to be a bowl and a bar of soap to wash with as well.

[British Red]

There'd need to be a bowl and a bar of soap to wash with as well.

That's vital. Disease kills many more people than wars and we have forgotten how devastating something like gastro enteritis can be without modern medicine.

I'm sure everyone has thought if this but if relying on ground water, it's vital to consider that it will almost inevitably be contaminated by human waste very quickly. Many people simply won't know, or care, how to properly dispose of faecal matter without contamination. We think of diseases such as Typhoid as historical maladies. A few weeks without mains water or sewage will quickly bring them back.

[jennyjj01]

I'm sure everyone has thought if this but if relying on ground water, it's vital to consider that it will almost inevitably be contaminated by human waste very quickly. Many people simply won't know, or care, how to properly dispose of faecal matter without contamination. We think of diseases such as Typhoid as historical maladies. A few weeks without mains water or sewage will quickly bring them back.

Quite so. Even in times of flooding, water availability can actually be lost as drains and sewers block downstream and spill upsteam and s**t literally pours up onto the streets and our once clean streams get muck spread into them. Personally, I'd rather harvest my own from a somewhat dirty roof than from a stream with god knows what in it. Having and using ample soap, even with compromised water could be a lifesaver. We in the West have no idea about those third world bad hygiene diseases.
So, along with your tins of beans and water tablets, stockpile simple bars of soap or bottles of shower gel. My preference is the former on simple space usage criteria and storability.

[British Red]

So, along with your tins of beans and water tablets, stockpile simple bars of soap or bottles of shower gel. My preference is the former on simple space usage criteria and storability.

Exactly right, and of course, learn how to make soap and practice - it's remarkably simple. Bushcrafters have a saying,

"Knowledge weighs nothing"

Crossing over into your space thread, knowledge doesn't take up any space either (or, perhaps a little with books). Once you know proper sanitation, six or seven ways to purify water, weighs to grow, forage, rear and hunt food etc. then storing "stuff" becomes less of an issue. It's actually very easy to make soap with a knife and a saucepan.

Having a stock of things does provide a "buffer" to ride out times of panic and unrest but not everyone has space or finance for huge stocks - knowledge and skills can go a long way to plugging those gaps.

[jennyjj01]

So, along with your tins of beans and water tablets, stockpile simple bars of soap or bottles of shower gel. My preference is the former on simple space usage criteria and storability.

Exactly right, and of course, learn how to make soap and practice - it's remarkably simple. Bushcrafters have a saying,
... It's actually very easy to make soap with a knife and a saucepan.

Having a stock of things does provide a "buffer" to ride out times of panic and unrest but not everyone has space or finance for huge stocks - knowledge and skills can go a long way to plugging those gaps.

I'm intrigued. No idea how to make soap. Is this it? https://www.offthegridnews.com/lost-way ... oneer-way/

Knowledge can plug gaps.

As per my signature " Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought"
Having a few useful tools coupled with knowing how to use them, is as much a prep as any stockpile.

[British Red]

There are several ways to make soap. Lye from wood ash is certainly one way although that method strikes me as written by someone who hasn't actually done it . Caustic soda is a better alkali base for hard bar soap ( one tub makes a heck of a lot of soap). It's a straightforward skill once you've tried it. We get given all the fat needed by a lovely rare breed pug farmer but simple lard at 40p a block makes fantastic soap - better than anything from Lush!

I really like this ladies books on the subject. It's where we started

Handmade Soap Book, Updated 2nd Edition by Melinda Cross (2015-11-01)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F9QCK7A/ ... KKAGBQ12M8

[jennyjj01]

There are several ways to make soap. Lye from wood ash is certainly one way although that method strikes me as written by someone who hasn't actually done it . Caustic soda is a better alkali base for hard bar soap ( one tub makes a heck of a lot of soap). It's a straightforward skill once you've tried it. We get given all the fat needed by a lovely rare breed pug farmer but simple lard at 40p a block makes fantastic soap - better than anything from Lush!

I really like this ladies books on the subject. It's where we started

Handmade Soap Book, Updated 2nd Edition by Melinda Cross (2015-11-01)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01F9QCK7A/ ... KKAGBQ12M8

Interesting. Caustic Soda seems a bit tricky to buy because it can be used in making methamphetamine. Not exactly something we can forage post apocalypse.

The chemistry scares me. But I learned a little bit. Oil+Water+Lye... blitzed = Easy blocks of soap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8WiTp0hAA

Kudos to You British Red, for having done this for real!

It's a rather special thing to stockpile. I'll stick with my cases of Dove, for now But good to know it's possible.

https://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/sodium ... tic%20Soda

[British Red]

Interesting. Caustic Soda seems a bit tricky to buy because it can be used in making methamphetamine. Not exactly something we can forage post apocalypse.

Caustic soda isn't that hard to make, but it is something to treat with caution - as witnessed by "Fight Club".

It's hard to get in some countries but most hardware stores in the UK carry it, including B&Q

https://www.diy.com/departments/max-str ... 178_BQ.prd