Emergency Survival Water Tips

5 Emergency Water Sources in Your Home

Knowing what resources are available to you in a crisis is an important part of emergency survival. In extreme survival circumstances, water from different locations in your home can be used after purifying it.


Below is a list of 5 locations in your home you can find water in emergency survival situations.

Keep in mind that these emergency water suggestions are NOT to be used as a planned source of water storage and should only be used as a last resort, to keep you alive. These sources should NEVER be used for drinking without the proper and thorough purifying techniques.

1. Hot water heater-The hot water heater is probably the best and largest source of water you will find in your home. Be sure to take any purification precautions necessary before drinking water out of your hot water heater.

2. Ice in the freezer-Remove ice cubes, ice build up and all contents of the freezer and put them into a large bucket. The ice and the moisture of the contents of the freezer will melt and settle in the bottom of the bucket.

3. Garden hose-When you use your garden hose and turn it off, water may be left inside the hose. Put one end of the hose into a bucket and pick up the other end of the hose so that the hose is at a slant toward the bucket. Any water left in the hose will drain into the bucket.

4. Swimming pool or hot tub-Use EXTREME CAUTION when using water from a hot tub or swimming pool because of the many chemicals the water contains. Be sure to use the proper water purifying techniques specific to water in hot tubs and swimming pools before using the water for other purposes.

5. Fish aquarium-This is probably the most unfavorable of the 5 suggestions. Water purification cannot be stressed enough with aquarium water. Use only as a last resort.

Though these water sources may seem very unattractive, they may save your life in extreme survival situations. When using any of these emergency water sources, remember to use the proper water purification techniques that will keep you and your family from getting sick.

Learning what survival resources are available to you will increase your chances of emergency survival.

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4 Ways to Get Drinkable Water for Emergency Survival

Drinking untreated water has many hazards. Many forms of bacteria, viruses and impurities are found in untreated water. These hazards include cholera, amoebas, bacteria and other parasites, dysentery, coli poisoning, giardia, schitzomonasis, diphtheria, hepatitis, typhus, and the list goes on. Because of the seriousness of the aforementioned hazards, water treatment is an important part of emergency survival.

So what can you do to obtain drinkable water and protect yourself from these hazards? A few options exist for minimizing your risk of getting sick from dirty water. According to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), you should always use bottled water that has not been exposed to outside elements when possible. Do no attempt to disinfect and drink untreated water unless you absolutely need it for survival.

Useable water can found in a variety of places around the house such as in the hot water heater and by melting the ice in your freezer. Avoid getting water out of places where the water is still and stagnant. As a rule of thumb, flowing water is usually cleaner than stagnant water. Before attempting to treat any water, making sure it looks clear to the naked eye is the first step. If the water is dirty, filter it through some fabric or a water filter if you have one. If you don’t have anything on hand to filter the water, let it sit so the sediments and impurities can settle, then skim the clean water without stirring up the sediments.

Once you have clear water, you have different options from which to choose to disinfect it-

1. Boiling-Bring water to a rolling boil and let it boil vigorously for 1 minute for altitudes lower than 1 mile, 3 minutes for altitudes higher than 1 mile. Warning-this only kills MOST pathogens. Some argue that you must boil water at 160 °F for 30 minutes to kill all parasites. Keep in mind that the longer you boil water the more it will evaporate and the more fuel you use, using up two valuable resources. Use discretion when deciding if boiling is the correct water- disinfecting option for you. Water will be warm after boiling so pour water back and into two containers to cool it down and to help get rid of the boiling taste. Also you may let is stand for a couple of hours or add a pinch of salt to every liter.

2. Chemicals-As with boiling, filter water as best you can and let it settle before treating it with chemicals. Two chemicals commonly used to treat water that are readily available are chlorine and iodine. Both of these chemical are more effective when used in warm water, but again heating water takes fuel and water evaporates, so use discretion. As with boiling, chemicals remove MOST disease-causing organisms, not all.

3. Bleach-Household chlorine bleach is also useful to help disinfect water. Many chlorine bleach containers have instructions on their labels for treating water. The bleach-to-water ratio will vary according to the percentage chlorine content in the bleach. For detailed instructions on proportions of bleach-to-water, go to the EPA’s website.

4. Filter-Various water filters are available on the market today. Use discretion when choosing a filter. Check ratings and customer reviews before purchasing a filter. As with other water treatment methods, filters may not remove or kill all disease-causing agents, so do not attempt to treat water when treated water is already available to you.

Emergency survival information in this article was obtained from the author of SurvivalPreparedness911.com, EPA.gov and SurvivalTopics.com.

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Emergency survival planning includes numerous precautionary steps to protect yourself and your family. These steps should be prioritized and accomplished in order according to their importance. One of the most crucial steps in emergency survival planning is storing and preparing a way to provide drinkable water in survival situations.

Water is the life-fluid for the human body. It facilitates a variety of the body’s functions such as carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells, allows proper digestion, flushing waste and toxins from the body, regulates body temperature and cushioning the joints. Water can compared to oil in a vehicle. With the proper amount and quality of oil, a vehicle runs smoothly and efficiently. With low oil level and quality, a vehicle will run roughly and the different parts will begin to fail. With no oil a vehicle will burn out and eventually die. Water has the same effect on the body.

The instructed amount of water a person should drink is eight 8 ounce glasses per day. This is difficult to accomplish for most people. The correct amount of water a person should drink per day depends on the individual. A good rule of thumb is the more the better! Men should drink more water than women and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should drink more water than women who are not. Also, a person that exercises should drink more water than someone who does not. Climate and altitude also play a role in how much water a person should drink. High altitude and dry or hot climates cause the required daily amount of water to increase. The amount of clothing and what parts of the body are covered also plays a part in necessary water consumption. Since various parts of the body lose different quantities of water through evaporation, breathing and sweating, the necessary daily intake of water for each person also depends on the clothing a person is wearing.

Not drinking enough water often occurs in survival situations and leads to dehydration. Even when you are thirsty, you are experiencing mild dehydration. Signs that you are dehydrated include dry skin, constipation, frequent urinary tract infections, reoccurring headaches, muscle weakness, sleepiness and dizziness.

Dehydration is a key concern for survival preparedness. Once you are dehydrated, body functions begin to shut down and continue to shut down until an adequate supply of water is replenished. Without water, the average person can last a few days to a just over a week at the most. This short timeline that one can last without water is partly due to evaporation. In an extremely hot climate, a person may not last even 24 hours without water. In cooler climates, a person may last a week without water.

If no water is available, the kidneys shut down within a couple of days which eventually leads to death. In addition, without adequate water the body experiences other side-effects such as ketosis and uremia (build up of toxins in the blood), organ failure, electrolyte imbalance that causes cardiac arrhythmia, seizures, low blood pressure leading to blood clots, brain damage and eventually death.

Water is also a key factor of survival preparedness because it has a large affect on morale. Staying positive and focused in a survival situation is difficult if you do not have enough water to keep you from becoming dehydrated.

Though the effects of having no water are serious, the precautions one can take to have sufficient water for emergency survival are affordable and easy-to-do. Many options exist to ensure you are prepared for survival situations such as water purification devices and tablets, water filtrations devices and various storage options. No matter the method you choose to ensure you will have water to drink in emergency situations, do not underestimate water’s role in emergency survival.

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How Much Water Do I Need?

You should have at least a three-day supply of water and you should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking. Additionally, in determining adequate quantities, take the following into account:

* Individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate.
* Children, nursing mothers, and ill people need more water.
* Very hot temperatures can double the amount of water needed.
* A medical emergency might require additional water.

To prepare safest and most reliable survival supply of water, it is recommended you purchase commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it.

Observe the expiration or “use by” date. If you are preparing your own containers of water it is recommended you purchase food-grade water storage containers from surplus or camping supplies stores to use for water storage. Before filling with water, thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Follow directions below on filling the container with water. If you choose to use your own storage containers, choose two-liter plastic soft drink bottles – not plastic jugs or cardboard containers that have had milk or fruit juice in them. Milk protein and fruit sugars cannot be adequately removed from these containers and provide an environment for bacterial growth when water is stored in them. Cardboard containers also leak easily and are not designed for long-term storage of liquids. Also, do not use glass containers, because they can break and are heavy.

If storing water in plastic soda bottles, follow these steps-

1-Thoroughly clean the bottles with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.
2-Sanitize the bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water.
3-Swish the sanitizing solution in the bottle so that it touches all surfaces.
4-After sanitizing the bottle, thoroughly rinse out the sanitizing solution with clean water.

Fill the bottle to the top with regular tap water. If the tap water has been commercially treated from a water utility with chlorine, you do not need to add anything else to the water to keep it clean. If the water you are using comes from a well or water source that is not treated with chlorine, add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water. Tightly close the container using the original cap. Be careful not to contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it with your finger. Place a date on the outside of the container so that you know when you filled it. Store in a cool, dark place.Replace the water every six months if not using commercially bottled water.

Article from http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water