Homemade Cleaners

December/January 2012 Mother Earth News

Sanitize

Ah, the treasures of a disinfected home.  Do you store bleach in your supplies?  Bleach can be marvelous in an emergency.  You can sanitize drinking water and disinfect surfaces and clothing.  It's good to have on hand, but...  Did you know that bleach has a shelf-life?  In fact, in optimum conditions, the Clorox.com website states it should last only between 9 to 12 months!  If you are a chemist or have a salt-water pool, then you may know that eventually it will turn into just that: salt water. 

What to do?  What to do?  You can't store it long term, and even if you could, how much could you bring if you had to leave your home?

Let me introduce quaternary tablets.  These little wafers of germ-killing joy are used in restaurants to sanitize surfaces and washed dishes.  All you do is add one tablet to a gallon of water and you have an instant disinfectant.  Add the solution to a spray bottle for your food prep surfaces.  Fill your sink with water and add one to disinfect dishes if water treatment services are down.  (Remember, if you do not have clean water you should disinfect your dishes chemically or by boiling them.) 

These tablets are easy to pack and carry, bleach bottles are not.  And best of all, quaternary tablets are inexpensive.  Buy a case for about $5 for a bottle of 150 tablets with shipping here. 

Don't take sanitation lightly.  Find ways to better insure you can keep your environment clean for your family in a disaster.

Inexpensive Eye Glasses--Zenni Optical

There are a lot of obstacles a person can come across in an emergency situation for which no one can plan.  You'll be in the best position if you plan now for the problems you know you will encounter, especially in regards to medical and physical conditions of family members and yourself.  This includes impaired vision.

How is your eyesight?  Do you wear glasses?  Do your children?  How much do you depend on eyeglasses, and do you have extras packed away for an emergency?  Do you just wear contacts instead? 

In a worst case scenario, contacts may not be reliable--they tear, they require maintenance, and they are easily lost.  But eye glasses can be very expensive.  How do you stock up?

Go to ZenniOptical.com.  They are an eyeglasses retailer online and their prices are unbelievable.  All you have to do is have your eye prescription.  Not even the signed paper, but the reading--the numbers.  Make sure it is accurate and up-to-date!  You will measure your eyes, upload a picture of yourself and be able to "try on" a large selection of glasses, after which you input your prescription and any options you may want to add (like tinting, etc.).

And here is the best part.  These glasses will cost you $8 to $35 each... for a good pair of eyeglasses!  They have springe hinges and anti-scratch coatings, etc.  There is no catch.  They are not cheap knock offs.  The quality point of these glasses is the same as any place like EyeMasters, Lens Crafters, etc.  In fact, my daughter got a pair that we happened to have seen in a store for $80 with a half-price sale.  That same exact pair from Zenni Optical cost us $25.  AND all these prices are with shipping!

Google it.  Youtube it.  You will find lots of positive reviews.  In my household we bought 7 pair of nice quality glasses for one adult and one child, and it cost us under $150.  Do yourself or you family member a favor and order at least one extra pair for your emergency supplies.

Antibiotics

You need antibiotics.  Although this post is brief, it is very important for you to research this subject.  You must have an emergency medical kit, which includes medications.  Antibiotics should try to be required because, although not good for you when not necessary, they will save lives in the event of the unavailability of medical facilites for an extended time.  In a situation where sanitation is compromised and people have to perform unfamiliar tasks like chopping wood, injury and infection will happen.  Tragically, people have died, even in recent years, from minor infections that could have been contained by a simple antibiotic. 

How to you get antibiotics for your kit?  If you have a good rapport with your doctor, ask them if they will give you a prescription for your emergency kit.  Otherwise, you can get them online.  However, many online pharmacies require a prescription or membership to their site that requires you to purchase regularly.  Instead you may want to try CalVetSupply.com, which is a veterinary pharmacy and supply website.  There is a company called Thomas Labs that makes antibiotics for fish tanks which many people claim are the same substances that go into human prescription capsules, even manufactured in the same facilities.  In addition, they come in proper dosages, like 250mg or 500mg.  On CalVetSupply.com, look for "Antiobiotics" on the left of the page in the menu, and then choose "Tablet & Capsule Antibiotics."  There are many different antibiotics available here; you will find most of what you need.  They are also inexpensive!  Of note: pill forms will last many years past their expiration, but liquids do not.  Also, not all animal drugs transfer to humans, so remember that before you run down to the feed store.  But these in particular may be a great solution for your emergency needs. 

Don't forget to purchase a pharmaceutical guide like this to help you identify the uses of your medications.  Or find other resources of reliable information on usages and dosages to print out and put in an emergency notebook.  It is of extreme importance that you use these drugs CORRECTLY.  Antibiotics are not to be used lightly, and each antibiotic will have a different effect!  Do your research!

Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Most likely, you are aware of the dangers of diarrhea and dehydration, especially in the event of an emergency.  In fact, if you do not have clean water and proper sanitation, you can bet you will have to deal with it.  Diarrhea and dehydration is life threatening!  Here, from Rehydrate.com, is a recipe to making your own electrolyte drink, because plain water won't be enough! 

An inexpensive home-made solution (for adults) consists of:

• 1  litre of water (about 34 ounces or a little over 4 cups), mixed with
• 8  teaspoons of sugar,
• 1 teaspoon of  table salt.

A half cup of orange juice or half of a mashed banana can be added to each liter to add potassium and improve taste.

The amount of rehydration that is needed depends on the size of the individual and the degree of dehydration. Rehydration is generally adequate when the person no longer feels thirsty and has a normal urine output. A rough guide to the amount of oral rehydration solution (or ORS) needed in the first 4-6 hours of treatment for a mildly dehydrated person is:

• Up to 11 lb: 200 – 400 ml
• 11-22 lb: 400 – 600 ml
• 22-33 lb: 600 – 800 ml
• 33–44 lb: 800 – 1000 ml
• 44-66 lb: 1000 – 1500 ml
• 66-88 lb: 1500 – 2000 ml
• 88 lb +: 2000-4000 ml

Click here for a printable guide on rehydrating your children!


Don't forget zinc tablets!
"The best treatment for diarrhoea is to (1) drink lots of liquids and oral rehydration salts (ORS), properly mixed with clean water from a safe source, and (2) take zinc tablets or syrup for 10–14 days."

"Medical Corps" Website

Look through these safety handouts and print them for your preparedness notebook.

Also consider printing the medical info on this page for reference, especially this one on antibiotics.  I will be discussing the purchasing and storing of antibiotics for long term soon.

Medical References?

Thanks to another blog, I found these printable references: Where There Is No Doctor and Where There Is No Dentist. You can also purchase them on Amazon.com.  These are 2010 editions.  I cannot speak for the correctness of the information, but this is something you may want to look into for your emergency library!

Some of the basic topics of No Doctor include:

• How to properly administer medicine and dosage instructions
• The proper methods of injecting medicine
• How to deliver a baby
• How to heal without medicines
• Guidelines for the use of antibiotics
• Home cures
• Medicinal plants
• Homemade casts

Some of the basic topics of No Dentist include:

• How to properly examine and diagnose dental issues
• How to treat cavities, abscesses, infected sinuses, and more
• How to prepare and insert homemade fillings
• How to inject inside the mouth
• How to safely and correctly remove a tooth