Very good content. One very important, un-limited source of water is an air conditioner unit. Central a/c, window are portable are all appliances that generate water constantly. I've been through situations where water is cut off after a disaster or accident, but there is still electric power. Even with a generator, you can operate a window a/c and have a source of several gallons of water per day -specially in humid places. Of course, dehumidifiers are an excellent source of clean water, as well as making the area more pleasant and breathable in humid places
LOVE a LOT of you on this list and watch regularly! I can't wait to check out the other channels, thank you guys so much for putting out these videos. Much love!
Great video. When you were talking about water treatment I was reminded of the fact the water treatment, sewage and sanitation workers save more lives than doctors.
Actually remembered the water heater trick and used it this past week. I live in mississippi and the day before hurricane ida hit i got our old 53 gallon tank water heater (swapped to a tankless water heater earlier this year), put it up on 2 cinder blocks, and filled it up. Had 53 gallons of water stored for whatever purpose. Thankfully we didnt need it but id rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
That's smart. I was watching the news about Ida and saw some people standing in a line to get water the day after. I was wondering why so many people don't prepare, even when they know in advance it's coming. It's better to try and avoid needing to rely on government or charity to survive in a disaster.
I have literally just arrived at my new home in the countryside. My friend questioned why I still ran my water through a Berkey water filter since the town got its water from a pristine water source. I just asked him if my water pipes were copper, lead, or plastic, and if the supplier chlorinated the water. He didn't know, and neither do I. Thank you for this video. Water is life.
@@triplehornsheep2419 Agreed mate. Here in the UK there are very few properties that are entirely "off grid". Unless you build a log cabin in the forest or something like that.
As far as municipal water lines being 'stealing', in an SHTF situation, if I'm tapping a hydrant so the old couple next door can have water without using any of my preps, that's just me making use of my taxpayer dollars.
I'd categorize that as the positive way to reap what we have already sown especially if it's to help somebody out that wasn't able to do for themselves
I subscribed a month ago, I thought I was a good prepper. Ran through 15-20 of your videos and realized…. learning to learn from others will probably be the biggest asset we all NEED to learn. You’ve taught me a lot bro, appreciate it. Keep the awesome “eye opening” content coming. Skill transfer. You teach me how to can food and I teach you how to rebuild a carburetor. Only makes us stronger when SHTF. Blessings 🙏.
Same in most of Missouri. We have two wells, a spring, a year-round creek, and a river fairly close. Then we installed a rain catchment system. When leaving the property for any reason we carry Grayl's and water straws. Water is life!
I'll just say this. Office spaces maybe completely ignored ... at first. But office buildings will be a gold mine for AA batteries, snack foods, and bottle water. 1. Every clock, every wireless mouse, every desk doodad will have at least one AA battery in it. 2. If you have office workers, you have food snacks. The two go hand and hand. The receptionist is going to have a candy jar. It is one of the tedious jobs in the office and keeping your mouth occupied with hard candy is one way to stay alert and help occupy your mind during the day. Minimal calories to boot. 3. 5 gallon water drums will likely be the norm in the cubicle farms, but older buildings without open floor plans are all going to be individual offices. And each office is going to likely have a stash. Nobody trust community frigs. Nobody.
It's not really an extra source, but I recomened getting a bath blader for however many tubs you have. If you know a big storm or something is coming, fill them up before you lose power. That will give you up to 50 gallons of water per bathtub.
About the bathtub bladders: most of them hold 100 gallons. Water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon. That's 830 lbs, full! Modern bathtubs will crack and break with that weight, unless they have proper support under them. This wud be built under when the tub was installed. If your tub is newer than 20+ years, don't count it. Just keep that in mind. Give those instructions with the tub bladder. You can set it up outdoors with a homemade support system, if need be. My 1970's tub can handle that weight. My newer one cracked with 250 lbs in it!
Another good place that I usually look for is that if you come across a dried riverbed. Look for the inside bends of the river curves. It's easy to identify them because they have green foliage growing near. Just start digging with a trowel and you will most likely come across some fresh water.
One thing to remember: plan for sanitation at the same time you plan for water sources. Sanitation takes up a ton of your free water supplies. We recently had a water issue with the city water shut down. Testing, I found it takes a good couple gallons to properly flush your toilet. It wasn’t a SHTF moment so I didn’t mind using my backup water supply, but if you actually have to save your water for survival you need other options for the toilet such as the 5 gallon bucket/water doodle/trash bag trick.
You can cut the top off of a two liter bottle and fill it up to pour into the toilet bowl from a height of a couple feet and it will flush. It isn’t ideal but it works.
Bury your fecal matter no less than 100 feet away from your water source, if that source is from the ground. (well water being pulled by generator, garden hand pump etc.
Another water source: Hand well pumps. These will have a large handle at the top. If it has not been used in a while, you may need to prime it. Tale a small amount of water with you when you go the pump. Pour some of that water into the top of the pump, where the handle is attached to a shaft which goes down into the pump. Work the handle and pour more water at the same time. When primed, the pump will draw water from the well up to he spigot and out into a bucket or other container that you had placed to catch the pumped water.
If the water pump has not been used for a long while, the leathers maybe dried out. The leathers are soft and create a vacuum to pull the water up from the well. Sometimes pouring hot water into the top of the pump will help soften the leathers up. Sometimes they need to be replaced due to age and condition.
I went a year and a half without running water. I collected rain water for flushing. That was when I realized you don't need clean water in your toilet.
I use a chamber pot (empty milk gallon) to gather my urine and dump it when full. Sometimes in the comode, sometimes outside. It usually takes 5-6 times to fill it.
Good points! Thank you. I have a few caveats. 1. Be very careful about cactus as a water source--many cacti are toxic! Know what you're tapping into before trying. 2. Rain seems pure as it falls from the sky, but if it drips off your roof, you need to purify it before drinking it. Birds poop on that roof. 3. Don't just drape a tarp on the ground in the rain--much of the water will run off. Elevate the sides. (I know, obvious when sitting in our armchairs. Not obvious when Gehenna's breaking loose.) 4. Just saying, as a person of color, while White preppers, seen as "scavenging", might get away with stealing water from commercial buildings in an emergency, the rest of us would be shot for "looting". Weigh the risks carefully. 5. After draining the potable water from the back of the toilet, you can then refill it with unpotable water for flushing.
I got two silcocks after hearing about them here and at Sensible Prepping then went down to the nearest two main streets of modestly sized towns near me in the DFW metroplex and tested them. I found so many sources of water in a state with only one, single natural lake. It really opened my eyes. I keep one in a Get-Home bag and one in my toolkit now. Went 7 days without clean water and 3 without any at all but what was in the pipes this past Feb. I knew to prepare months before, but many people here didn’t, and had to go by churches for 80 500ml bottles per household. Also, keep a bottle of iodine tablets and an iodine taste remover in my Get Home. Got a few of each in the main stash. Love the current focus on water. Please keep it up!
@@jonahtwhale1779 I’ve only used Potable Aqua PA+ Remover tablets on top of the iodine ones. They worked well enough that when Fort Worth’s water reservoirs lost processing capability that we could drink using the pills as directed. Always been squeamish about using bleach, and the taste isnt great, but iodine and the taste remover make a good combo. Even so, always have a few months of bottled water on hand.
One that i learnt from scouts; Dig a pit, a sheet/tarp/plastic over the pit, with a rock in the middle and a pot directly underneath said rock. As the soil heats and cools, water will be collected on the fabric and drip down into the container. Esp useful in hotter climes/no plant life etc
solar still, or at least a variation of it - one of the drawbacks of the scouting program going away, i specialized in wilderness survival on my path to Eagle Scout, and learned a lot of such tricks...made survival training in the military a piece of cake!
@@chookvalve my old scout group has changed :'( when i volunteered as adult 15yrs ago, briefly, it was like a 2nd school, with a curriculum and everything. the only 'scouting' was the last half being half games n half basics id learnt at cubs -.- i was almost heart-broken n the politics was insane, so i didnt stick it out
It is a crazy idea. If there is no water pressure, you won't get much, if any water. Opening a faucet outside of a building, without an open tap inside creates a scenario that basically stops the water from draining. Considering that if you are that desperate for water, then others are also and some might be willing to killy you to get at it. So anything you plan on doing,to get water, better be very quick and easy.
@@patparnell1933 Plumbers, Heatng Engineers and others use single and double versions for servicing radiators and so on. A four way is to ensure you have any 1 of the four standardized vavle, nut or key it might be needed to handle for example to release pressure from a water boiler system radiator.
1 1/2 to 3 inches per day at 104 avg at 50+ dew point, with exposure area of 11.91 inches with depth of 14.5 inches. Lower volume of water=more evaporation?
@@bellaellis2813 Roughly 7600 gallons when full. Pi(3.14)×radius²(in inches)×depth(in inches). Divide the result by 231(the number of cubic inches in a gallon). So, 3.14×108²×48=1,757,998.08. Which, divided by 231 = 7610.381 gallons. I learned these formulae years ago working in an aquarium shop, and it's surprising how often it's come in handy.
just wanted to say thanks. i stumbled onto your channel a couple of months ago. i too am in a urban environment. Thanks to you, I am learning how to "get ready" in the suburbs.. The rain barrel collection system is just about finished, My bob is ready to go, and I installed a spigot on the water heater. the toilet tanks have been scrubbed and no chemicals are used now. This was an excellent teaching, alerting me to additional sources. i also have a source to pull water from the air, and the battery system to make that work is coming along. thanks
I’m only beginning the prepper journey (-perhaps too late.) But I’ve really learned a lot from your videos. Thank you for serving us with such good information.
Glad to see you were included in the 30 days of prepping collaboration! We're fairly rural but your videos still offer helpful hints for us. Thank you!
I got this list many years ago: Water in pipes, Water heater, Ice cube trays, Liquid in canned goods, Back of toilet tank, Ice Jugs in freezer (also bags of ice), Home-canned water, Purchased bottled water (freeze if possible)
This is life-saving information. I will write a list and thoroughly investigate each resource Within my home and community. I have a Berkey but I see that I must be prepared For possible on the move water harvesting. Thank you so much, The information is greatly appreciated ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We moved to a more rural location in March and discovered that we had a water purification system in our new home. It wasn't something that we realized that we had, but is a wonderful surprise. We thought that it was a water softener.
I've moved around a lot and I've been a home brewer for decades. It's pretty easy to find a local spring to procure GOOD water - that has no chloramine or fluorine. (used to be that municipal water used chlorine, which dissipated in time. Now municipalities use chloramine which does NOT dissipate, at all!)
Hate to say the truth that the world is more uncertain now.. videos like this are helpful! Thank God 🙏 for good sources and tips like this from Good People!
In my area, sewer bills are calculated by using our water meter. I'm building a rainwater catchment system for flushing toilets. Using less city water, I'll save on my sewer bill. Also, bills are calculated based upon summertime usage. So it helps to have shade trees in the yard, keeping my grass green.
Same here they break it down into two different charges the first one is literally called water usage LOL the other one is called sewage and when I called and inquired about the difference because I gently explained that there was a difference I was told nope it's all the water that gets used by your house I said so water is not the clean water coming in and sewage is not what's going out like I don't know down the toilet or something and she said nope it's all from the same thing I said then why are you breaking it up into two categories she was dumbfounded
Great ideas, where I live the county has made it illegal to trap/gather rainwater. Honestly I dont see how they can even say they are the only ones with the right to use rainwater as long as you are getting it from your own property. Can anyone make this make sense to me?
It's a big issue here in Australia with most new homes having City & Recycled Water. People are encouraged to get rain tanks too. They run off different connections & the Purple Line (Recycled is meant for Gardens / Toilets).
@@jeaniejbutler4911 I suggest a covert tapping of your downspouts. Tap them so that they empty to a barrel that is inside your garage. As long as they look normal from the outside, I doubt if anyone will hassle you.
I'm in Australia, where evaporative air-conditioner are used in the outback. whilst it's not endorsed by health authorities, you can drink the water that runs off from the evaporative aircon
Anyone who looks down their nose at the prospect of pipe water, toilet water etc is blessed because desperation has not yet set in. Before desperation sets in, might as well be realistic and start just getting all the water from all the sources ready, without turning your nose up!
After decades of backpacking experience I have confidence that I can make any water potable using primitive technology, if necessary. Natural filtration, boiling, distilling...
I got lazy once and left my kayak next to the house and we had a quick moderate rain shower. Went out to take my licks and move it after the rain to realize the roof runoff had completely overflowed the kayak, probably 50 gallons or so easily.
Great video! I'm glad we have people such as yourself who think about situations such as loss of city water during some kind of disaster and how we can deal with it. I would rather be without gas or electricity than water. My suggestion is not for everyone. I call it my water bank. I have a water bed. I know flash back to the 1970's. Maybe, but I have a very large supply of fresh water made safer by the use of a very good water filtration system. In addition, I can easily protect it and it's very convenient. Something to think about.
Another reason to avoid a diet high in refined carbohydrates, which requires copious amounts of water consumption. Btw, as a separate matter, during previous grand solar minima, people fasted at least 21/24.
Keep in mind some ares have a high water table so you may be able to dig down a few feet to obtain water and or have water slowly leech into the hole from the surrounding ground. From there you can filter it. Obviously not near a septic field etc.
I guess... in emergency situation, if I physically will not be able to dig deep enough hole to reach underground waters, at least I will be able to collect some water , if I place a polyethylene sheet on top of the hole... 🤔
It's a good idea to flush out your water heater to keep it clean, you don't want to depend on your water heater only to learn that when you need the water the drain is clogged up with sediment or the remains of a corroded anode rod.
There are oddly only a handful of water heater maintenance vids on TH-cam, but after decades of living in houses with water heaters, I've never heard of replacing the sacrificial anode. They don't even stock them in bigboxhardware store close by.
many urban areas have some type of agency that deals with water reclamation. they often have maps which show where underground aquifer systems are. usually open to public. not a bad idea to avail oneself. digging for water is a timeless skill.
Due harvesting in the mornings. Take a dry sheet and drag it over a field of glass. Ring out the water and treat it. For those of us in rural communities you can do this on a hike by tying your shirt on to your leg while walking through an area with due.
Thank you and all the others who came together to create this comprehensive list of water supply options. You’ve made it obvious to me I need to get myself educated if I’m going to even attempt to make it through when the SHTF. Bless you all. Bless all the rest of you too, you never know, we may see one another down the road if the SHTF.
My friend Billy had a ten foot willy, he showed it to the girl nextdoor, she hit it with a rake, because she thought it was a snake 🐍 and now it's only four foot four.
@@jeaniejbutler4911 we have regular barrels as well. The pickle will be used for more than drinking. However I do not have a sense of smell so I personally would not be bothered by the pickle smell or taste.
My pickle barrel contained spiced stewed apples, so that’s what our water will taste like! I’ve set it up inside my garden shed, filled with mains water. No prying eyes or drones will know it’s there in an emergency situation. LouiseAustralia
We live in a Hurricane Prone location. We have “bags” that fit in the bath tub we fill that. I also found “straws” that purify water, in addition to digging a well. You can also use swimming pool ours is a salt based pool, use it for toilets and showers. We also have a solar shower bag.
I’m glad you added a brief note about those of us who live in the desert. I wish you would expand more. As the desert is a large part of the United States and so is the rural areas that surround these part of the US
This pandemic has made my partner think I am not crazy with my canning and growing small crops. He bought two 50gallon water storage tanks (5 year storage), and upped our monthly water order (we dont drink the tap) to 50 gallons. We do not use this much water in a month, but we now have over 200 gallons of water, safe to drink, stored.
@@Eyes0penNoFear yup. 5 year storage. at the end of the 5 years, if shtf hasnt happened, i plan to use it to water the garden and refill and retreat. and so on, and so on.
Place a sheet steel panel on a wood (or whatever) frame about 6 inches above the ground on a slight angle. Place a container or diy gutter at the low end to gather dew every morning. I've seen this method create wildlife water stations in West Texas desert. Also keep some pure silver bar or bullion in your stored water. Will keep it from going sour as fast. That's what settlers did way back.
heres a couple tricks i learned not mentioned. Number one. in the morning when dew is everywhere take a sock or a shirt and run it along the very wet grass. You can absorb water and wring it out. Number two: keep a small squeegee on you and in the same fashin when dew or rain is on car windows run that along the windows and collect the water.
I would not bleed the pressure off from the water heater at the pressure and relief valve. I would use the drain valve to help blow out the scale build up.
I am an "expert" in this field. That means I don't know everything and I should never stop learning until a few days after I am dead and buried. Good review.
Thank you for a great video on water collection. This comes on the heels of the disasters from hurricane Ida. Also, to remember the disasters continue with the fires out west. This grand solar minimum and the solar flares are wreaking havoc on the land. Be blessed you and your family and stay safe.
@@contradictorycrow4327 it might freshen your breath to suck on the tank cakes, I would dissuade you from sucking on a urinal cake, but it is your choice! 👍
After our last hurricane, I had a very hard time even remembering where our preps were, and what we had, simply because I was completely overwhelmed. I just didn't know what to do! So now I'm in the process of logging everything we have and where it is, and also how to use everything. I'm putting it in a clearly labeled notebook and placing it in a conspicuous place in my bookshelf.
That’s my situation now. I am in Hammond La and Ida has us totally off grid. It’s Armageddon out here. Can’t find my lanterns. Can’t locate my siphon. Should have bought more gas cans and batteries. Ugh! It’s bad.
@@loriegordon5227 I am sending up continuous prayers for you, your family and your community. I've lived through every hurricane since Camille, and it's always, always awful.
I have a Doulton water filter that I use daily. I bought a Grayl for my bug out bag. There is a creek running through the city a block from my apartment. I keep a few gallons of bottled water in my studio apartment.
8:58 Someone needs to learn the difference between "stealing" and "salvaging". Like now. Additionally, if you're THAT concerned, consider buying a share of stock in the companies that own the commercial buildings around you, and keep the certificates. As a part owner, you're entitled to the assets. In an SHTF situation, none of this will matter, but you'll likely sleep better.
That water is gross. If you either let the tank fill or let it drain with the hose there is bacteria and mold in there. Especially if you don’t clean it out very regularly.
You should also take a sheet of clear plastic stretch it out preferably suspended off the ground leave a little slack where you can take fish hook or a rock put a hole in the middle so it is funnel shape, put a jar under it plastic attracts morning dew in any environment even on the ocean.
If the town water goes down and everyone is frantically prowling, all of our rain tanks/barrels etc will be easy pickings for them. I have set up a 200Lt water barrel INSIDE my garden shed, and filled it from the hose. (It is not plumbed to the gutter.) Also, I’ve hidden another 200Lt one in the garden, wrapping it in a matchstick blind, with all pot plants on/around it. It just looks like part of an ornamental display. Both are filled by the hose and sealed, not by rain. No drones, or snooping eyes will see them.
Collect water from a dehumidifier if you can power it through solar or another alternative power source. Canadian Prepper mentioned it in one of his videos.
I do that now, instead of letting the water drain - collect it in a 5 gallon bucket to be poured into the commode. I use a (actually 2) number 10 can to catch the draining water behind the dehumidifier so I can swap out one can for the other without stopping the machine. It takes 35 amps from solar energy to power my dehumidifier. A necessary evil when your home is an underground nuclear bunker.
If people are still unsure on the quality of natural water even though it looks good , you should make a video on natural filters such as charcoal and sand/moss filters. Free and easily accessible filters and can be filtered using something as simple as a large fan leaf or even a smoked hollow tree branch. Happy prepping!
The house I live in has a functional well, all it needs is one part to be replaced! It's cheap and relatively easy, and I've been asking for help from my brother for around 6 months. I'm asking about it around daily because it's such a huge thing for me! All of our water already comes from there, but that needs electricity. All I need is our well to be hand pumpable! We also have our country's biggest river around 5km from us, and a relatively big lake to the opposite side, around 4km from our place!
We have water everywhere, but most of it is loaded with pesticides and other lawn care products. While I have several different filters (Katadin, sawyer etc), I am still looking at what I should use to insure all chemicals are removed.
I don't have alot of money, and storage can be a problem, but i bought several life straw filters to keep handy. Cheap to have 2-3 per person in the family, and living near a river helps.
Even if the water isn't drinkable, it might be good for watering plants, or flushing the toilet. When our water has been shut off, we fill the bathtub. Tina
Therr are 3 taps at out village cemetery In the spare room put orange and peach spare bottled water and in garage put bottles of still water and yes rain put a container out and let rain pour into it etc
Something that many are unaware of is that buildings with sprinkler systems typically have a tank at the top to ensure that the system doesn't run out if and when the utilities fair during a fire. There should be 100's if not 1000's of gallons there. Former NFPA fireman here.
@@Faithfulfamily What's interesting is that on many buildings you can still see the platform where the tank used to be. All buildings here are simple fed by the city water supply, supplemented by a fire pump when necessary. Maybe in rural areas with no municipal water supply? That would just make sense. But in reality, a tank of water on the roof isn't going to help much, start figuring quantity, pressure, etc.
Most fire hydrants are designed to be all the way on or all the way off. I'm not saying you have to open it all the way to get a bucket of water, but please make sure it is all the way off when you're done. Otherwise it will allow the flow of water beneath it underground. Not only a waste of the water still in the line, BUT when water is restored it can turn your neighborhood (or maybe just the road in front of your house) into a sinkhole.
How would it cause a sinkhole unless the underground pipe that the hydrant is bolted to is broken...which at that point it wouldn't matter if you turned it all the way off it would still leak, which would have happened before you even got to it. Water merely dripping doesn't cause enough cavitation to be able to do what you're stating. Btw, ex road worker here that's had to remove and set hydrants.
@@NickP42069 - Then you know most fire hydrants in the US are of the dry barrel type, with a valve in the bottom to allow water to drain out to prevent freezing in Winter. There is a point when both opening and closing the hydrant at which the drain valve is open as water is flowing into the hydrant. (It has to do with expelling air from the hydrant when putting it into operation, and probably some other technical reasons.) So there is a point at which if it isn't closed all the way after use, water can be flowing into the barrel, and out the drain (under pressure) underneath. Of course different manufacturers are different, and if you're in a part of the country that doesn't freeze they may use a type of hydrant that doesn't have the drain underneath. My statement was intended as a general warning without trying to confuse people with too much detail about what type hydrant they're likely to find.
Some portable AC devices have dehumidifier capabilities. You would of course need power to run it but if you have a way to run it you can pull water out of thin air.
In countries where city water is intermittent and of low pressure, every home has a large water tank with a float valve and a pump for the house. I've often thought about installing a pair of these in my own home. Such places also have large backup generators for the equally unreliable power grid. Again, redundancy is key. Once I have a whole house generator, still going to keep the portable generator.
1. Don't try to hack into and eat a Saguaro cactus for water. The interior of the cactus contains a strong wooden spine, and trying to hack through it with something other than a powered saw will result in hard physical labor and massive personal water loss by perspiration. Additionally, once you do succeed in cutting through the wooden spine, the fleshy bit inside may contain some water, but it is contaminated with potent alkaloids and other compounds that will give you the runs and may also have a diuretic effect. Basically, eating any meaningful amount of the watery part of the cactus in the center will presumably make you sick and subsequently even more dehydrated. 2. Be wary of water contaminated with algae. Some types of algaes are effectively harmless, but others (like some kinds of cyanobacteria and some kinds of "red tide" algae) produce neurotoxins that leach into the surrounding water. In large enough quantities, these toxins will make a person sick and in extreme cases can kill both humans and animals alike. Simple carbon filters (like the type used in the "Big Berkey" water filter) and other types of mechanical filters like used in "personal water filters" (such as the Sawyer mini), have pores that are small enough to catch bioorganic substrates ("floaties") that may be laden with harmful microbes, but the pores are too large to filter out the neurotoxins produced by hazardous algaes. Only reverse osmosis filters, full distillation, or a properly constructed "activated carbon" filter can successfully remove the neurotoxins produced by hazardous algaes. It should be noted that "activated carbon" is not equivalent to to a charcoal filter, nor is it equivalent to a mechanical carbon filter like used in the Big Berkey. These are separate products. In normal/civilized times, regular lake and river water is commonly free of harmful algaes. However, during apocalyptic times, it is likely that desperate and unprepared humans will contaminate rivers and lakes by various methods (ex: direct bathing in rivers/lakes, using rivers/lakes as their personal bathroom, and/or sending sewage into municipal sewage treatment facilities, which during a grid down situation may be offline and may result in overflow of untreated sewage into rivers). This contamination will likely result in massive increases in nutrients (ex: nitrates, phosphates, and possible other substances) needed for algae growth, leading to explosions in agae growth in the various lakes and rivers. Many of these algae explosions may be of the hazardous neurotoxin producing agae types, leading to dangerously contaminated water, which people will not be able to treat by way of boiling, adding chemicals like bleach, or even passing it through basic carbon filters like the Big Berkey. Basically, if you want safe and clean water in the apocalypse, you either need a local and clean water source under your control (ex: a well and solar power system sufficient to run the well pump), or you need to get a reverse osmosis unit for properly purifying water that may get collected from likely algae and sewage polluted rivers and streams. However, reverse osmosis units normally require pressurized water input to function, and to generate this in a grid down situation, you need to also acquire a diaphragm pump (like used in RVs, and normally run from 12V DC), a battery (ex: a 12V deep cycle lead acid battery would typically be used), a small solar panel (ex: 100W or higher), and a small solar charge controller (to go between the solar panel and battery, to avoid overcharging the battery). For good measure, you can also add a UV water sanitizer (and also power that from your solar system), although this likely isn't essential, as the carbon pre-filter(s) and the reverse osmosis membrane filters should both successfully be able to remove any biological pathogens from the water.
We have a little creek on our property. It does have some sulfur in it, but that can be boiled. Also, I've thought if the electric is off for more than two days to definitely feel up the tub and sinks, especially the tub. Lots of great tips, thanks.
When I was a kid in Minnesota and we were on lake Millelacs fishing all day, we would take our pop bottles and skim the top of the lake as we were moving to another spot to fish. We were told by the old folks the water was safe to drink.I am a testament to that fact as I am still alive and kicking 60 years later!
Check out these YT prepper channels:
Suttons Daze: th-cam.com/users/SuttonsDaze
Prepper Potpourri: th-cam.com/users/PrepperPotp...
The Urban Prepper: th-cam.com/users/TheUrbanPre...
Reality Survival: th-cam.com/users/RealitySurv...
Magic Prepper: th-cam.com/users/MagicPrepper
Provident Preppers: th-cam.com/users/KyleneAnne
Rogue Preparedness: th-cam.com/users/ArmedRogue
Ethical Preparedness: th-cam.com/users/EthicalPrep...
Southwest Prepper Group: th-cam.com/channels/Ag5.html...
Praxis Prepper: th-cam.com/users/PraxisPrepper
Irridium 242: th-cam.com/users/Iridium242
Pinball Preparedness: th-cam.com/channels/hLK.html...
Alaska Prepper: th-cam.com/users/AlaskaPrepper
Thank you for the list that are putting out preparedness videos during this month of preparedness.
Very good content. One very important, un-limited source of water is an air conditioner unit. Central a/c, window are portable are all appliances that generate water constantly. I've been through situations where water is cut off after a disaster or accident, but there is still electric power. Even with a generator, you can operate a window a/c and have a source of several gallons of water per day -specially in humid places. Of course, dehumidifiers are an excellent source of clean water, as well as making the area more pleasant and breathable in humid places
LOVE a LOT of you on this list and watch regularly! I can't wait to check out the other channels, thank you guys so much for putting out these videos. Much love!
Great video. When you were talking about water treatment I was reminded of the fact the water treatment, sewage and sanitation workers save more lives than doctors.
@@salvationbygracethroughfaith true. Best to learn your own system in advance. We recommended your yard, not a public system.
Actually remembered the water heater trick and used it this past week. I live in mississippi and the day before hurricane ida hit i got our old 53 gallon tank water heater (swapped to a tankless water heater earlier this year), put it up on 2 cinder blocks, and filled it up. Had 53 gallons of water stored for whatever purpose. Thankfully we didnt need it but id rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
That’s the stuff! Good work.
That's smart. I was watching the news about Ida and saw some people standing in a line to get water the day after. I was wondering why so many people don't prepare, even when they know in advance it's coming. It's better to try and avoid needing to rely on government or charity to survive in a disaster.
Stay well and safe.
How do you get the water out of hwh
@@Eyota567 drain valve at the bottom.
I have literally just arrived at my new home in the countryside. My friend questioned why I still ran my water through a Berkey water filter since the town got its water from a pristine water source. I just asked him if my water pipes were copper, lead, or plastic, and if the supplier chlorinated the water. He didn't know, and neither do I.
Thank you for this video. Water is life.
You don’t live in the actual country if your water comes from other people messing with it
Bella Evans . Time to move...
@@bellaevans4488 Yeah... It's called rural water. Not all of us have a well.
@@bellaevans4488 .... the sheep disagree with you Bella
@@triplehornsheep2419 Agreed mate. Here in the UK there are very few properties that are entirely "off grid". Unless you build a log cabin in the forest or something like that.
As far as municipal water lines being 'stealing', in an SHTF situation, if I'm tapping a hydrant so the old couple next door can have water without using any of my preps, that's just me making use of my taxpayer dollars.
I'd categorize that as the positive way to reap what we have already sown especially if it's to help somebody out that wasn't able to do for themselves
@Timothy Mckee ...awesome information Timothy! Thanks Very Much...
I would say it is salvaging the water. Same as an abandoned pool.
We used to bust open hydrants all the time growing up. Easy peasy
@Timothy Mckee Not every jurisdiction has adopted NFPA....or keeps up with it! LOL
I subscribed a month ago, I thought I was a good prepper. Ran through 15-20 of your videos and realized…. learning to learn from others will probably be the biggest asset we all NEED to learn. You’ve taught me a lot bro, appreciate it. Keep the awesome “eye opening” content coming.
Skill transfer. You teach me how to can food and I teach you how to rebuild a carburetor. Only makes us stronger when SHTF. Blessings 🙏.
I agree ! 🙏
...Spot On Joe...😉...stay safe brother!
You are right. Community is the smartest prep. Build and strong supportive one on and off line.
Take care~eh
Cooperation is what it's all about.
We as humans dont do well alone
I'm glad I live in the Appalachian Mountains where we have springs, streams, rivers, and wells everywhere.
Cool
Same in most of Missouri. We have two wells, a spring, a year-round creek, and a river fairly close. Then we installed a rain catchment system. When leaving the property for any reason we carry Grayl's and water straws. Water is life!
@@GeckoHiker Lucky. How long did it took to buy some land in that territory? I would like to buy some land in that kind of territory.
@@maniwatson5503 We paid cash for 20 acres about forty years ago...$500 an acre for undeveloped land nobody wanted.
@@GeckoHiker your property is paradise now!
check abandoned workplaces, offices, construction job shacks, employee break rooms, etc. for 5 gallon water coolers.
I'll just say this. Office spaces maybe completely ignored ... at first. But office buildings will be a gold mine for AA batteries, snack foods, and bottle water.
1. Every clock, every wireless mouse, every desk doodad will have at least one AA battery in it.
2. If you have office workers, you have food snacks. The two go hand and hand. The receptionist is going to have a candy jar. It is one of the tedious jobs in the office and keeping your mouth occupied with hard candy is one way to stay alert and help occupy your mind during the day. Minimal calories to boot.
3. 5 gallon water drums will likely be the norm in the cubicle farms, but older buildings without open floor plans are all going to be individual offices. And each office is going to likely have a stash. Nobody trust community frigs. Nobody.
I see we've all learned from watching TWD series LOL, good stuff! At least we won't have zombies in our way on supply runs...hopefully!
@@davidhaley5597 Yes We Will!!! The VA xx Ed!!🧟♀️🧟♂️🧟♀️😬🧟♂️🧟♀️🧟♂️😆
It's not really an extra source, but I recomened getting a bath blader for however many tubs you have. If you know a big storm or something is coming, fill them up before you lose power. That will give you up to 50 gallons of water per bathtub.
Planning to give these bathtub bladders as Christmas gifts this year.
very good idea.
About the bathtub bladders: most of them hold 100 gallons. Water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon. That's 830 lbs, full! Modern bathtubs will crack and break with that weight, unless they have proper support under them. This wud be built under when the tub was installed. If your tub is newer than 20+ years, don't count it.
Just keep that in mind. Give those instructions with the tub bladder. You can set it up outdoors with a homemade support system, if need be.
My 1970's tub can handle that weight. My newer one cracked with 250 lbs in it!
@@patryott2468 your bladder will only hold as much as your tub holds. If you've ever taken a bath in it, you're gonna be just fine.
@@patryott2468 that's good info. Thank you.
Another good place that I usually look for is that if you come across a dried riverbed. Look for the inside bends of the river curves. It's easy to identify them because they have green foliage growing near. Just start digging with a trowel and you will most likely come across some fresh water.
gonna have to dig pretty deep if you live in the desert but you will eventually find water.
8:18 if we need to tap fire hydrants for water for surviving, breaking that law would be the least of your worries.
I've noticed my wheelbarrow collects a huge amount of water when parked in the garden. Dirty water can still be used for flushing toilets, etc.
Your comment is true BUT ONLY if the sewage system is working? maybe You are lucky and live in the country with a private septic tank?
One thing to remember: plan for sanitation at the same time you plan for water sources. Sanitation takes up a ton of your free water supplies. We recently had a water issue with the city water shut down. Testing, I found it takes a good couple gallons to properly flush your toilet. It wasn’t a SHTF moment so I didn’t mind using my backup water supply, but if you actually have to save your water for survival you need other options for the toilet such as the 5 gallon bucket/water doodle/trash bag trick.
Compost toilet. Separate solids from liquids to minimize or eliminate bad odors. Saves 100% of your water.
I love the kitty kitty cat! :3
You can cut the top off of a two liter bottle and fill it up to pour into the toilet bowl from a height of a couple feet and it will flush. It isn’t ideal but it works.
If it’s a SHTF moment, pee outside and dig a hole to take a dump.
Bury your fecal matter no less than 100 feet away from your water source, if that source is from the ground. (well water being pulled by generator, garden hand pump etc.
Another water source: Hand well pumps. These will have a large handle at the top. If it has not been used in a while, you may need to prime it. Tale a small amount of water with you when you go the pump. Pour some of that water into the top of the pump, where the handle is attached to a shaft which goes down into the pump. Work the handle and pour more water at the same time. When primed, the pump will draw water from the well up to he spigot and out into a bucket or other container that you had placed to catch the pumped water.
You gotta have water to make water lol
If the water pump has not been used for a long while, the leathers maybe dried out. The leathers are soft and create a vacuum to pull the water up from the well. Sometimes pouring hot water into the top of the pump will help soften the leathers up. Sometimes they need to be replaced due to age and condition.
@fred McMurray Almost any source of water needs filtering at a minimum, and purification is preferred, distillation is the best.
Called priming the pump- Grew up that way-
I went a year and a half without running water. I collected rain water for flushing. That was when I realized you don't need clean water in your toilet.
We used the creek water to flush ours
I use a chamber pot (empty milk gallon) to gather my urine and dump it when full. Sometimes in the comode, sometimes outside. It usually takes 5-6 times to fill it.
You can also collect shower/bath water to flush.
Good points! Thank you. I have a few caveats.
1. Be very careful about cactus as a water source--many cacti are toxic! Know what you're tapping into before trying.
2. Rain seems pure as it falls from the sky, but if it drips off your roof, you need to purify it before drinking it. Birds poop on that roof.
3. Don't just drape a tarp on the ground in the rain--much of the water will run off. Elevate the sides. (I know, obvious when sitting in our armchairs. Not obvious when Gehenna's breaking loose.)
4. Just saying, as a person of color, while White preppers, seen as "scavenging", might get away with stealing water from commercial buildings in an emergency, the rest of us would be shot for "looting". Weigh the risks carefully.
5. After draining the potable water from the back of the toilet, you can then refill it with unpotable water for flushing.
I got two silcocks after hearing about them here and at Sensible Prepping then went down to the nearest two main streets of modestly sized towns near me in the DFW metroplex and tested them.
I found so many sources of water in a state with only one, single natural lake. It really opened my eyes. I keep one in a Get-Home bag and one in my toolkit now. Went 7 days without clean water and 3 without any at all but what was in the pipes this past Feb. I knew to prepare months before, but many people here didn’t, and had to go by churches for 80 500ml bottles per household.
Also, keep a bottle of iodine tablets and an iodine taste remover in my Get Home. Got a few of each in the main stash.
Love the current focus on water. Please keep it up!
Interesting. What is an iodine taste remover? Is it a thing or just a flavour to mask the iodine? What works best? Include electrolytes too.
@@jonahtwhale1779
I’ve only used Potable Aqua PA+ Remover tablets on top of the iodine ones. They worked well enough that when Fort Worth’s water reservoirs lost processing capability that we could drink using the pills as directed.
Always been squeamish about using bleach, and the taste isnt great, but iodine and the taste remover make a good combo. Even so, always have a few months of bottled water on hand.
Agree 100%. Drinkable water will be worth it’s weight in platinum when rabbit rich people are beyond starving.
I’m all in for learning how to survive and fight off those trying to harm my family. This video was very helpful to find water sources!
I actually live in the suburbs. I mapped out all the hand pump wells at the old folks condos for watering flowers by the signs. They all work!
😂🙌👍💚
This is one of the best and most informative preparedness videos I have seen....and I watch alot of videos! Thank you for sharing this information.
One that i learnt from scouts;
Dig a pit, a sheet/tarp/plastic over the pit, with a rock in the middle and a pot directly underneath said rock. As the soil heats and cools, water will be collected on the fabric and drip down into the container. Esp useful in hotter climes/no plant life etc
solar still, or at least a variation of it - one of the drawbacks of the scouting program going away, i specialized in wilderness survival on my path to Eagle Scout, and learned a lot of such tricks...made survival training in the military a piece of cake!
Me too. Go scouts! We did it in Australia but Taste was crap. Did it once!
@@chookvalve my old scout group has changed :'(
when i volunteered as adult 15yrs ago, briefly, it was like a 2nd school, with a curriculum and everything. the only 'scouting' was the last half being half games n half basics id learnt at cubs -.- i was almost heart-broken n the politics was insane, so i didnt stick it out
You can also pee around the pit to add extra moisture. Just make sure you don't get it in your clean water.
@@Eyes0penNoFear i think that would be a job for the men lol
Last time i was forced to squat, i peed all over my leg lols :'D
Thank for the suggestion of the 4 way Silcock. I just ordered one.
What is a 4 way Silcock?
Get a spare (or two).
“Two is one, and one is none”
@@patparnell1933 it’s a tool used to access water at like restaurants or fast food places you can find them on the outside of the building
It is a crazy idea. If there is no water pressure, you won't get much, if any water.
Opening a faucet outside of a building, without an open tap inside creates a scenario that basically stops the water from draining.
Considering that if you are that desperate for water, then others are also and some might be willing to killy you to get at it.
So anything you plan on doing,to get water, better be very quick and easy.
@@patparnell1933 Plumbers, Heatng Engineers and others use single and double versions for servicing radiators and so on.
A four way is to ensure you have any 1 of the four standardized vavle, nut or key it might be needed to handle for example to release pressure from a water boiler system radiator.
i have a 16000 gal above ground pool for backup and a berkey to run it through
1 1/2 to 3 inches per day at 104 avg at 50+ dew point, with exposure area of 11.91 inches with depth of 14.5 inches. Lower volume of water=more evaporation?
I did the same thing ...our pool is above ground 18 ft round 4 ft tall...how many gallons it is I do not know ?!
Berkey? Is that a water filter? Project Farm just did a vijeo on water filters.
@@bellaellis2813 Roughly 7600 gallons when full. Pi(3.14)×radius²(in inches)×depth(in inches). Divide the result by 231(the number of cubic inches in a gallon). So, 3.14×108²×48=1,757,998.08. Which, divided by 231 = 7610.381 gallons.
I learned these formulae years ago working in an aquarium shop, and it's surprising how often it's come in handy.
Thank you so much for helping me ..7600 gallons 😊
just wanted to say thanks. i stumbled onto your channel a couple of months ago.
i too am in a urban environment. Thanks to you, I am learning how to "get ready" in the suburbs..
The rain barrel collection system is just about finished, My bob is ready to go, and I installed a spigot on the water heater. the toilet tanks have been scrubbed and no chemicals are used now.
This was an excellent teaching, alerting me to additional sources. i also have a source to pull water from the air, and the battery system to make that work is coming along. thanks
I’m only beginning the prepper journey (-perhaps too late.) But I’ve really learned a lot from your videos. Thank you for serving us with such good information.
Welcome aboard!
Maybe late, but its better than never
Yes, late in the game, but on campus - Welcome - you can always reach out with questions to me, my thing is seeds, so let me know your needs -
Just in time.
Never too late. By saying that, you are now aware!
Glad to see you were included in the 30 days of prepping collaboration! We're fairly rural but your videos still offer helpful hints for us. Thank you!
I got this list many years ago: Water in pipes, Water heater, Ice cube trays, Liquid in canned goods, Back of toilet tank, Ice Jugs in freezer (also bags of ice), Home-canned water, Purchased bottled water (freeze if possible)
You've never heard of an upper decker have you?
@@NotThisGuy12 🏆 🏆 🏆
Why would you freeze the bottled water?
I have water gallon jugs in my deep freeze . 1. to keep the food cold during power outage and 2 .to use the water after it thaws
@@Animalfarm4481 exactly...
This is life-saving information. I will write a list and thoroughly investigate each resource Within my home and community. I have a Berkey but I see that I must be prepared For possible on the move water harvesting. Thank you so much, The information is greatly appreciated ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We moved to a more rural location in March and discovered that we had a water purification system in our new home. It wasn't something that we realized that we had, but is a wonderful surprise. We thought that it was a water softener.
I've moved around a lot and I've been a home brewer for decades. It's pretty easy to find a local spring to procure GOOD water - that has no chloramine or fluorine. (used to be that municipal water used chlorine, which dissipated in time. Now municipalities use chloramine which does NOT dissipate, at all!)
Yes I cannot drink it
Modern life has made the vast majority of Us hopelessly helpless when modernity suddenly stops.
YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED
I'm the minority 😁
Hate to say the truth that the world is more uncertain now.. videos like this are helpful! Thank God 🙏 for good sources and tips like this from Good People!
In my area, sewer bills are calculated by using our water meter. I'm building a rainwater catchment system for flushing toilets. Using less city water, I'll save on my sewer bill. Also, bills are calculated based upon summertime usage. So it helps to have shade trees in the yard, keeping my grass green.
Same here they break it down into two different charges the first one is literally called water usage LOL the other one is called sewage and when I called and inquired about the difference because I gently explained that there was a difference I was told nope it's all the water that gets used by your house I said so water is not the clean water coming in and sewage is not what's going out like I don't know down the toilet or something and she said nope it's all from the same thing I said then why are you breaking it up into two categories she was dumbfounded
Great ideas, where I live the county has made it illegal to trap/gather rainwater. Honestly I dont see how they can even say they are the only ones with the right to use rainwater as long as you are getting it from your own property. Can anyone make this make sense to me?
It's a big issue here in Australia with most new homes having City & Recycled Water. People are encouraged to get rain tanks too. They run off different connections & the Purple Line (Recycled is meant for Gardens / Toilets).
@@jeaniejbutler4911 I suggest a covert tapping of your downspouts. Tap them so that they empty to a barrel that is inside your garage. As long as they look normal from the outside, I doubt if anyone will hassle you.
@@jeaniejbutler4911 Get involved in local politics and CHANGE THAT REGULATION.
I'm in Australia, where evaporative air-conditioner are used in the outback. whilst it's not endorsed by health authorities, you can drink the water that runs off from the evaporative aircon
Anyone who looks down their nose at the prospect of pipe water, toilet water etc is blessed because desperation has not yet set in. Before desperation sets in, might as well be realistic and start just getting all the water from all the sources ready, without turning your nose up!
After decades of backpacking experience I have confidence that I can make any water potable using primitive technology, if necessary. Natural filtration, boiling, distilling...
People will find that out in desperate times.
I got lazy once and left my kayak next to the house and we had a quick moderate rain shower. Went out to take my licks and move it after the rain to realize the roof runoff had completely overflowed the kayak, probably 50 gallons or so easily.
Don’t put that kayak in the water. It’ll SINK!😂😂😂😂
Always good info
I watch a lot of survival videos. This is one of the most valuable and important videos I've seen on the topic. Ty!
If I lived on the 20th floor apt I'd stock up !
Lol imagine having to carry water up stairs when powers out !
Leg day bro
Excellent video!!!!! Thank you for the information 👍
Hi from Syracuse NY brother and thank you for sharing your thoughts and adventures and everyone else
Our pleasure!
Great video! I'm glad we have people such as yourself who think about situations such as loss of city water during some kind of disaster and how we can deal with it. I would rather be without gas or electricity than water. My suggestion is not for everyone. I call it my water bank. I have a water bed. I know flash back to the 1970's. Maybe, but I have a very large supply of fresh water made safer by the use of a very good water filtration system. In addition, I can easily protect it and it's very convenient. Something to think about.
Another reason to avoid a diet high in refined carbohydrates, which requires copious amounts of water consumption.
Btw, as a separate matter, during previous grand solar minima, people fasted at least 21/24.
Keep in mind some ares have a high water table so you may be able to dig down a few feet to obtain water and or have water slowly leech into the hole from the surrounding ground. From there you can filter it. Obviously not near a septic field etc.
1. Very good idea! 2. I am pleased to see how many women are here 🙋♀️💖🌏🕊
I guess... in emergency situation, if I physically will not be able to dig deep enough hole to reach underground waters, at least I will be able to collect some water , if I place a polyethylene sheet on top of the hole... 🤔
I'd drink it unfiltered. (That is if it was from a natural area. We used to do that in the mountains growing up)
@@happysunshine1988 what? No the water comes from the ground...
It's a good idea to flush out your water heater to keep it clean, you don't want to depend on your water heater only to learn that when you need the water the drain is clogged up with sediment or the remains of a corroded anode rod.
There are oddly only a handful of water heater maintenance vids on TH-cam, but after decades of living in houses with water heaters, I've never heard of replacing the sacrificial anode. They don't even stock them in bigboxhardware store close by.
Great List of Preppers you work with! Excellent resources all of them! Thank You For This - you all are doing A LOT of good out here!
many urban areas have some type of agency that deals with water reclamation. they often have maps which show where underground aquifer systems are. usually open to public. not a bad idea to avail oneself. digging for water is a timeless skill.
Best preparation channel on TH-cam.
Due harvesting in the mornings. Take a dry sheet and drag it over a field of glass. Ring out the water and treat it. For those of us in rural communities you can do this on a hike by tying your shirt on to your leg while walking through an area with due.
Good idea for dew harvesting.
Thank you and all the others who came together to create this comprehensive list of water supply options. You’ve made it obvious to me I need to get myself educated if I’m going to even attempt to make it through when the SHTF. Bless you all. Bless all the rest of you too, you never know, we may see one another down the road if the SHTF.
We bought some large pickle barrels-5 for $90. All we need to do is clean them, create a way to connect to down spouts on house.
My friend Billy had a ten foot willy, he showed it to the girl nextdoor, she hit it with a rake, because she thought it was a snake 🐍 and now it's only four foot four.
Good luck its a great idea however you will be so lucky to get that pickle smell/taste out of the barrels no matter what you clean them with.
@@jeaniejbutler4911 we have regular barrels as well. The pickle will be used for more than drinking. However I do not have a sense of smell so I personally would not be bothered by the pickle smell or taste.
My pickle barrel contained spiced stewed apples, so that’s what our water will taste like!
I’ve set it up inside my garden shed, filled with mains water. No prying eyes or drones will know it’s there in an emergency situation.
LouiseAustralia
Some of this stuff was definitely eye opening. Hadn't thought of the sprinkler system situation before.
We live in a Hurricane Prone location. We have “bags” that fit in the bath tub we fill that. I also found “straws” that purify water, in addition to digging a well. You can also use swimming pool ours is a salt based pool, use it for toilets and showers. We also have a solar shower bag.
I’m glad you added a brief note about those of us who live in the desert. I wish you would expand more. As the desert is a large part of the United States and so is the rural areas that surround these part of the US
This pandemic has made my partner think I am not crazy with my canning and growing small crops. He bought two 50gallon water storage tanks (5 year storage), and upped our monthly water order (we dont drink the tap) to 50 gallons. We do not use this much water in a month, but we now have over 200 gallons of water, safe to drink, stored.
You probably already know, but make sure you treat the water for long-term storage.
@@Eyes0penNoFear yup. 5 year storage. at the end of the 5 years, if shtf hasnt happened, i plan to use it to water the garden and refill and retreat. and so on, and so on.
our monthly water order..... have you tested it for PPM? And what is the name of the water supplier? brand?
@@mikearthut781 yes, and its local.
Storing water in plastic containers just causes Outgassing from exothermal temperature differentials...
Place a sheet steel panel on a wood (or whatever) frame about 6 inches above the ground on a slight angle. Place a container or diy gutter at the low end to gather dew every morning. I've seen this method create wildlife water stations in West Texas desert. Also keep some pure silver bar or bullion in your stored water. Will keep it from going sour as fast. That's what settlers did way back.
FYI for others watching this, intro is 2 minutes long, and info starts at 2:00. Really good info!
Thank you
heres a couple tricks i learned not mentioned. Number one. in the morning when dew is everywhere take a sock or a shirt and run it along the very wet grass. You can absorb water and wring it out. Number two: keep a small squeegee on you and in the same fashin when dew or rain is on car windows run that along the windows and collect the water.
Nice vid. Never thought of the sprinklers. Learned something new. Always a plus. Thank you😊
office buildings. ours has up to 12 of those 5 gallon jugs next to the water machine depending on the day of the week
I would not bleed the pressure off from the water heater at the pressure and relief valve. I would use the drain valve to help blow out the scale build up.
Another great informative video Kris! I didn't know about the 4-way sillcock key, will order one today...again, Thank you!!
you can buy them at hdepot or lowes, ace hardware too
Thank you 🙏
These are my favorite types of videos
Bathtub bladder. All tubs in the house become a clean, safe reservoir. Of course, you have to anticipate trouble a little in advance.
I am an "expert" in this field. That means I don't know everything and I should never stop learning until a few days after I am dead and buried. Good review.
Hope you are doing well City Prepping!!
Thank you for a great video on water collection. This comes on the heels of the disasters from hurricane Ida. Also, to remember the disasters continue with the fires out west. This grand solar minimum and the solar flares are wreaking havoc on the land. Be blessed you and your family and stay safe.
Dont drink the toilet tank water if it is blue or smells like those disinfectant cakes !👍👍
But they're called cakes for a reason!
@@contradictorycrow4327 it might freshen your breath to suck on the tank cakes, I would dissuade you from sucking on a urinal cake, but it is your choice! 👍
After our last hurricane, I had a very hard time even remembering where our preps were, and what we had, simply because I was completely overwhelmed. I just didn't know what to do! So now I'm in the process of logging everything we have and where it is, and also how to use everything. I'm putting it in a clearly labeled notebook and placing it in a conspicuous place in my bookshelf.
Good idea. Might do that myself.
That’s my situation now. I am in Hammond La and Ida has us totally off grid. It’s Armageddon out here. Can’t find my lanterns. Can’t locate my siphon. Should have bought more gas cans and batteries. Ugh! It’s bad.
Lorie Gordon I’m so sorry you are going through this! Prayers for you and your family!
@@loriegordon5227 I am sending up continuous prayers for you, your family and your community. I've lived through every hurricane since Camille, and it's always, always awful.
I have a Doulton water filter that I use daily.
I bought a Grayl for my bug out bag.
There is a creek running through the city a block from my apartment.
I keep a few gallons of bottled water in my studio apartment.
8:58 Someone needs to learn the difference between "stealing" and "salvaging". Like now.
Additionally, if you're THAT concerned, consider buying a share of stock in the companies that own the commercial buildings around you, and keep the certificates. As a part owner, you're entitled to the assets. In an SHTF situation, none of this will matter, but you'll likely sleep better.
Thanks for the information
I get a lot of water every day from my dehumidifier.
Good idea!🌺
You got to have electricity for that
Gotta have electricity
That water is gross. If you either let the tank fill or let it drain with the hose there is bacteria and mold in there. Especially if you don’t clean it out very regularly.
You can flush with that
You should also take a sheet of clear plastic stretch it out preferably suspended off the ground leave a little slack where you can take fish hook or a rock put a hole in the middle so it is funnel shape, put a jar under it plastic attracts morning dew in any environment even on the ocean.
After water went out in February for 12 hours, my thoughts after that was what if it never came back on...... Interesting video.
If the town water goes down and everyone is frantically prowling, all of our rain tanks/barrels etc will be easy pickings for them.
I have set up a 200Lt water barrel INSIDE my garden shed, and filled it from the hose. (It is not plumbed to the gutter.)
Also, I’ve hidden another 200Lt one in the garden, wrapping it in a matchstick blind, with all pot plants on/around it. It just looks like part of an ornamental display.
Both are filled by the hose and sealed, not by rain.
No drones, or snooping eyes will see them.
Collect water from a dehumidifier if you can power it through solar or another alternative power source.
Canadian Prepper mentioned it in one of his videos.
i will check that out
I do that now, instead of letting the water drain - collect it in a 5 gallon bucket to be poured into the commode. I use a (actually 2) number 10 can to catch the draining water behind the dehumidifier so I can swap out one can for the other without stopping the machine. It takes 35 amps from solar energy to power my dehumidifier. A necessary evil when your home is an underground nuclear bunker.
Excellent! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
There's always a tap at a graveyard because people want to water the flowers.
Vegetable gardens most of the time have handpumps.
Absolutely right!
We have two springs that come out of a graveyard here
I was going to say that lol true graveyards have not all but most have hand pumps .
The sponge trick is amazing. Would have never thought.
If people are still unsure on the quality of natural water even though it looks good , you should make a video on natural filters such as charcoal and sand/moss filters. Free and easily accessible filters and can be filtered using something as simple as a large fan leaf or even a smoked hollow tree branch. Happy prepping!
The house I live in has a functional well, all it needs is one part to be replaced! It's cheap and relatively easy, and I've been asking for help from my brother for around 6 months. I'm asking about it around daily because it's such a huge thing for me!
All of our water already comes from there, but that needs electricity. All I need is our well to be hand pumpable!
We also have our country's biggest river around 5km from us, and a relatively big lake to the opposite side, around 4km from our place!
@@serenepeacefulrelaxingmusi3874 I'd love to, but since our well is super old, I don't think there's going to be any!
We have water everywhere, but most of it is loaded with pesticides and other lawn care products. While I have several different filters (Katadin, sawyer etc), I am still looking at what I should use to insure all chemicals are removed.
Running it through activated charcoal will take care of chemicals. Many water purifiers incorporate one in the system.
I don't have alot of money, and storage can be a problem, but i bought several life straw filters to keep handy. Cheap to have 2-3 per person in the family, and living near a river helps.
Even if the water isn't drinkable, it might be good for watering plants, or flushing the toilet. When our water has been shut off, we fill the bathtub. Tina
And the washing machine.
Therr are 3 taps at out village cemetery
In the spare room put orange and peach spare bottled water and in garage put bottles of still water and yes rain put a container out and let rain pour into it etc
Something that many are unaware of is that buildings with sprinkler systems typically have a tank at the top to ensure that the system doesn't run out if and when the utilities fair during a fire. There should be 100's if not 1000's of gallons there. Former NFPA fireman here.
FAR less common nowadays, in my city anyway. But a possibility.
@@asmith7876 strange. Fire code (used to) demand that buildings have their own supply to feed sprinklers.
@@Faithfulfamily What's interesting is that on many buildings you can still see the platform where the tank used to be. All buildings here are simple fed by the city water supply, supplemented by a fire pump when necessary. Maybe in rural areas with no municipal water supply? That would just make sense. But in reality, a tank of water on the roof isn't going to help much, start figuring quantity, pressure, etc.
Hotels have HUGE WATER TANKS!
Longer pipes.. 😁😏 preparedness plan comes BEFORE SHTF!
SO, Yes.. knowing your areas and highway is important!
Most fire hydrants are designed to be all the way on or all the way off. I'm not saying you have to open it all the way to get a bucket of water, but please make sure it is all the way off when you're done. Otherwise it will allow the flow of water beneath it underground. Not only a waste of the water still in the line, BUT when water is restored it can turn your neighborhood (or maybe just the road in front of your house) into a sinkhole.
How would it cause a sinkhole unless the underground pipe that the hydrant is bolted to is broken...which at that point it wouldn't matter if you turned it all the way off it would still leak, which would have happened before you even got to it. Water merely dripping doesn't cause enough cavitation to be able to do what you're stating. Btw, ex road worker here that's had to remove and set hydrants.
@@NickP42069 - Then you know most fire hydrants in the US are of the dry barrel type, with a valve in the bottom to allow water to drain out to prevent freezing in Winter. There is a point when both opening and closing the hydrant at which the drain valve is open as water is flowing into the hydrant. (It has to do with expelling air from the hydrant when putting it into operation, and probably some other technical reasons.) So there is a point at which if it isn't closed all the way after use, water can be flowing into the barrel, and out the drain (under pressure) underneath. Of course different manufacturers are different, and if you're in a part of the country that doesn't freeze they may use a type of hydrant that doesn't have the drain underneath. My statement was intended as a general warning without trying to confuse people with too much detail about what type hydrant they're likely to find.
@@dougearnest7590 Thanks for both the summary and extra details.
Some portable AC devices have dehumidifier capabilities. You would of course need power to run it but if you have a way to run it you can pull water out of thin air.
Some of the links don't exist, but that's okay because City Prepping Channel is the best. 👍🏻
I live in M.N. Water is a walk away from any where! Still, prepped and ready!
In countries where city water is intermittent and of low pressure, every home has a large water tank with a float valve and a pump for the house. I've often thought about installing a pair of these in my own home. Such places also have large backup generators for the equally unreliable power grid. Again, redundancy is key. Once I have a whole house generator, still going to keep the portable generator.
Great information! Thank you.
1. Don't try to hack into and eat a Saguaro cactus for water. The interior of the cactus contains a strong wooden spine, and trying to hack through it with something other than a powered saw will result in hard physical labor and massive personal water loss by perspiration. Additionally, once you do succeed in cutting through the wooden spine, the fleshy bit inside may contain some water, but it is contaminated with potent alkaloids and other compounds that will give you the runs and may also have a diuretic effect. Basically, eating any meaningful amount of the watery part of the cactus in the center will presumably make you sick and subsequently even more dehydrated.
2. Be wary of water contaminated with algae. Some types of algaes are effectively harmless, but others (like some kinds of cyanobacteria and some kinds of "red tide" algae) produce neurotoxins that leach into the surrounding water. In large enough quantities, these toxins will make a person sick and in extreme cases can kill both humans and animals alike. Simple carbon filters (like the type used in the "Big Berkey" water filter) and other types of mechanical filters like used in "personal water filters" (such as the Sawyer mini), have pores that are small enough to catch bioorganic substrates ("floaties") that may be laden with harmful microbes, but the pores are too large to filter out the neurotoxins produced by hazardous algaes. Only reverse osmosis filters, full distillation, or a properly constructed "activated carbon" filter can successfully remove the neurotoxins produced by hazardous algaes. It should be noted that "activated carbon" is not equivalent to to a charcoal filter, nor is it equivalent to a mechanical carbon filter like used in the Big Berkey. These are separate products.
In normal/civilized times, regular lake and river water is commonly free of harmful algaes. However, during apocalyptic times, it is likely that desperate and unprepared humans will contaminate rivers and lakes by various methods (ex: direct bathing in rivers/lakes, using rivers/lakes as their personal bathroom, and/or sending sewage into municipal sewage treatment facilities, which during a grid down situation may be offline and may result in overflow of untreated sewage into rivers). This contamination will likely result in massive increases in nutrients (ex: nitrates, phosphates, and possible other substances) needed for algae growth, leading to explosions in agae growth in the various lakes and rivers. Many of these algae explosions may be of the hazardous neurotoxin producing agae types, leading to dangerously contaminated water, which people will not be able to treat by way of boiling, adding chemicals like bleach, or even passing it through basic carbon filters like the Big Berkey.
Basically, if you want safe and clean water in the apocalypse, you either need a local and clean water source under your control (ex: a well and solar power system sufficient to run the well pump), or you need to get a reverse osmosis unit for properly purifying water that may get collected from likely algae and sewage polluted rivers and streams. However, reverse osmosis units normally require pressurized water input to function, and to generate this in a grid down situation, you need to also acquire a diaphragm pump (like used in RVs, and normally run from 12V DC), a battery (ex: a 12V deep cycle lead acid battery would typically be used), a small solar panel (ex: 100W or higher), and a small solar charge controller (to go between the solar panel and battery, to avoid overcharging the battery). For good measure, you can also add a UV water sanitizer (and also power that from your solar system), although this likely isn't essential, as the carbon pre-filter(s) and the reverse osmosis membrane filters should both successfully be able to remove any biological pathogens from the water.
Thank you so much.
So, basically, we would be F'd.
I hope your comment gets pinned.
Can we rip open fishtank filters for that carbon?
Wow thanks for this important information.
We have a little creek on our property. It does have some sulfur in it, but that can be boiled. Also, I've thought if the electric is off for more than two days to definitely feel up the tub and sinks, especially the tub. Lots of great tips, thanks.
With a condensator you can get water everywhere everyday out of thin air, and there are condensators that doesn't need electricity to work.
When I was a kid in Minnesota and we were on lake Millelacs fishing all day, we would take our pop bottles and skim the top of the lake as we were moving to another spot to fish. We were told by the old folks the water was safe to drink.I am a testament to that fact as I am still alive and kicking 60 years later!
Polluted today
Yes I've gotten a few things already for water. To be able to drink it. Great video