The hottest commodities during a zombie apocalypse may not be guns and ammo, but water and toilet paper! Read on for tips on how to find, clean and keep drinkable water in a zombie apocalypse (or, more likely, a natural disaster).
WHEN do you need to start worrying about it – IMMEDIATELY! While the undead do not need water (they merely crave brains), humans can only survive without water for three days. While modern conveniences have made water easy to come by and cheap, after only 4-6 days your city’s water system will shut down. Without employees to operate the machines that ensure safe, drinkable water flows through our pipes, the chemicals that clean our water will run low and eventually out. Without those chemicals, the water is not clean or drinkable. Additionally, city sewer systems usually have only a seven-day backup power supply. After seven days, the sewers will overflow and drinkable water and waste water will mix and cross-contaminate.
WHERE to find water
- Outside: Survivalists offer multiple suggestions for procuring water in nature. Dew, rock crevices, bamboo and animal behaviors can all indicate, lead to or produce water.
- Inside: Extreme survivalists recommend going inside homes and buildings to find water in water heaters (usually hold 30-90 gallons) or toilet tanks (usually holds a gallon and a half) for clean, drinkable water. While busting open a water heater may seem difficult or drinking from your toilet tank (totally clean water) may be gross, one must take extreme measures to survive extreme conditions.
HOW to keep water – Bottled is the best suggestion. Beware as water can become stagnant. Keep out of reach of contaminants or contaminated people.
WHAT cleans water – Various killers lurk in drinking water without a widespread outbreak. Purifying water, after you procure it, is a must. If water is milky, sticky, smelly or bitter, DO NOT DRINK. Purifying water is a process and has a few steps. You must first boil the water to kill any initial bacteria. However, if the zombie outbreak is a virus, boiling the water will not kill the virus. Distilling water, while effective, can take a great deal of time and effort. Distilling compresses steam produced by boiling water and the contraption used to do this can be highly complicated and hard to find/build. The best and most realistic suggestion comes from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), which recommends adding 1/8 a teaspoon of white, unscented, household bleach to one gallon of water and let sit for at least 30 minutes before using or drinking.
While the thought of a zombie apocalypse is a bit silly and improbable, natural disasters are a real possibility, no matter where you reside in the world. Create a disaster plan for your family and office. You never know…
