Sanitation: One of the most important preparedness discussions.

[Great-Kazoo]

I thought those hand sanitizer gels were just gelled alcohol. Why would a packet make a difference othere than including a scrub cloth?

Most of those studies are flawed. Oak86 has chewed me out several times for quoting studies that are terribly managed.

Alcohol kills germs. Washing the germs off is far better but this assumes a clean water source.

Also uv light kills germs. Hanging a smelly shirt on a clothes line for a few days will kill the germs. The crusty stuff will still be there which can agrivate the skin and cause rashes leading to infection if un adressed.

Proper hand washing trumps other less effective cleansing . However if it's what you have, use it. IMO the gel, unless used as you would soap and water, only moves the crap from one place to another.
Using an alcohol wipe gives you something which the dirt / germs adhere to and are removed from the surface.

[Great-Kazoo]

Wow Jim, you sure are Mr Negative in this thread. LOL!

Sanitation is indeed an issue that should be thought through. Burrying one's waste is great if you're bugging out, but if one is bugging in (at least for a while) what do people do, go crap in the neighbors yard? Might make them a bit tense. And while krusty clothes might sound like fun (?) and hand sanitizer is less than ideal, it's better than nothing, and clean clothes are a big morale booster.

Point being, better to put some thought into this ahead of time, and I think rbeau has some good ideas. Would love to hear what others have planned too.

It's Mr. Negativity Tuesday. While his ideas are good . I see too much use of water for cleaning utensils and clothes that could be channeled to more productive things, like hydration and personal hygiene.

My opposition to hand sanitizer / gel stems from seeing too much dependency on it, within the medical field. It has become the "go to" means to cleanse hands, prior to seeing the next patient. Dr's and some nurses drop a dollop on their hands, do a quick / light once over and move on. They don't allow contact time for it to be effective, or IMO even conscious of what they're doing.

Next time one of you visit a medical office watch them. It's almost as bad as observing unskilled food service workers.

[rbeau30]

So I am bringing this thread back from the dead. For washing clothes I am going the route of making my own laundry detergent. The three ingredients can be kept dry and separate until you need to make more.

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/hom...intable-label/

It is what Wulf202 mentioned earlier in the thread.

If this isn't good for SHTF scenario, at least I will be saving money for more SHTF stuff.

[Wulf202]

"Washing soda" is also "soda ash" or in the pool world "ph up" you can get it at any pool supply shop in quantity.

[Irving]

We tried this but I don't think it cleaned our clothes as well as we liked so we never did it again. My laundry bucket is now my brass bucket. Let us know how you like it. I've still got some fels naptha around as well. I'd also like to try the dry version.

[TheGrey]

I make our own laundry soap. It's dry, not liquid, and it lives in a 5-gallon bucket. Our HE machine gets 1 Tablespoon per load. Clothes come out clean-smelling and it works well!

Guys, if you're putting away laundry soap, get an extra bottle of Woolite for ladies delicates.

I've seen all sorts of recipes online. Instead of "1 cup of this" and "1 1/2 cup of that", here's what I do:

1 box of Borax
1 Box washing soda
3 lbs baking soda (1/2 of those big bags you can buy at Sam's club)
1 tub of generic Oxyclean cleaner (not absolutely necessary)
4 bars grated Fels Naptha

Dump everything into a 5 gallon bucket. Mix the ingredients by stirring, or putting the lid firmly on the container, turn it on it's side and rock it back and forth until it's mixed.

This stuff lasts, and goes a LONG way.

I also use white vinegar as a rinsing agent. White vinegar is terrific for sanitizing.

[TheGrey]

Ladies will also require a way of washing clothing- especially when they first reach the age of menarche. Not to be gross, but there is a learning curve involved, and clothing will need to be washed.

[Wulf202]

I'll be trying the oxy clean addition. Thanks

[rbeau30]

After I do the Liquid version I think we will try the dry version. That seems a lot less messy and fussy. The only concern I had was with dry detergent, does it dissolve well even with using cold water cycles?

[TheGrey]

After I do the Liquid version I think we will try the dry version. That seems a lot less messy and fussy. The only concern I had was with dry detergent, does it dissolve well even with using cold water cycles?

I not only use the cold cycle for most of my cleaning, but I utilize the "quick wash" cycle, that cleans things n 25 minutes. I still wash my whites in hot water, still use bleach for that cycle with the dry detergent, and I've not had any issue with detergent not dissolving. I think the trick is to use no more than a tablespoonful per full load, and use vinegar for the rinse cycle.

An FYI, with likely TMI: we have an older cat that was frightened by one of our newer cats- he peed in his kitty cuddler. I took the cuddler and threw it into the washer by itself, put in a tablespoonful of the detergent and vinegar in the rinse cup, and I added a splash of vinegar directly onto the cuddler in the washer. I washed it in warm water and extra high spin cycle on the "casual" setting....and there was no odor or pee in the cuddler at the end of the cycle. I checked with a black light, just to be sure.

I hope it works out well for you. I make detergent about twice a year- and I wash all of our linens, blankets, curtains and such at least every three months to keep the cat hair and dander down.