Things You'll Need:
- An emergency supply of bottled water (if you’re lucky)
- Unused food-grade plastic containers
- Bathtub
- Insulated cooler
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Step 1
Keep an emergency supply of bottled water on hand. Many authorities recommend a minimum of two quarts per person per day for a 72-hour period.
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Step 2
If after a hurricane, you don’t have an adequate supply of clean drinking water, you can boil and purify tap water if you have a gas stove. If you have an electric stove, you’ll be out of luck.
After Wilma, our electricity was off for two weeks.
With a gas stove, you can purify tap water by heating it to a rolling boil for one to three minutes. One authority, however, recommends 10 minutes at a rolling boil. I'd personally go with 10 minutes. -
Step 3
Normal household chlorine bleach may be used to disinfect tap water, but make sure that the bleach has no extra ingredients like whiteners, brighteners, and scents. To make sure of safety, buy bleach that has only one active ingredient: sodium hypochlorite.
The recommended measurement is ½ teaspoon for every five gallons of clear water. Use one full teaspoon for cloudy water. Then let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.
