Another major system that you need to have in place is your water, both for drinking and for cleaning. You need to be able to have a source that is safe to drink from and that you don't have to rely on buying. Drinking water from plastic jugs is not healthy and contains many chemicals and toxins. Even if the jugs contain “spring water” the chemicals that leach from the plastic during its storage time is not a healthy choice and this doesn't ensure that it IS spring water that hasn't been processed at a municipal water supply. Many tap waters are full of chemicals, like fluoride and chlorine and even pharmaceutical drugs. If you have municipal water, you are then reliant on the fact that there is power to run the whole system and clean and pump water to you... but what if there is a power outage that causes a disruption in this water system? How long can you go?
If you live in the country, you can put in a hand pump and carry water which is a great source that is not reliant on a system. This works by manually pumping water up out of the ground and then carrying it to where it is needed. What if that waters integrity is compromised? With many farms using chemicals, such as glyphosate in round up, even well water may be clean, but not be healthy for your body.
Water is one of the most important things to ensure you and your family stay healthy and hydrated. Drinking tainted water can make you sick very quickly and can cause serious health problems including death. I started to look into the options to ensure that if a need arises, I can know that I have a way to filter water for safe drinking.
Life straw is a great product that is meant for single person use during a hike or camping. It is small though and will not filter a lot of water when used for daily use. Many filters will filter some particles and toxins, but in my research, I have found one that filters an incredible amount of chemicals, toxin and even viruses and bacteria. These are the Berkey water filters. They are tested to filter out 99.9% viruses, inorganic minerals, heavy metals, Pharmaceutical Drug Contaminants, Pathogenic Bacteria, Pesticides & Volatile Organic Compounds to Below Lab Detectable Limits and much more. Below I will put a link to the filtration specification page for reference. Under normal conditions and clear water, the filters last 3000 gallons per filter. Most filters take 2 filters at a time which means they will filter 6000 gallons before they need to be changed. These filters cost $150 for 2 filters and that sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Let's look at the math. If you are buying 1 gallon of water at $1 each, or spend $149 for filters and compare, your cost would be $149 (filters) vs $6000 (gallon jugs) for the same amount of water AND the Berkey water will be a much superior water. That is a huge savings and something that you can feel prepared if there is an emergency! The filters won't last as long because they are filtering more, but you could filter pond or mud puddle water and it would be the top quality!
If you google and search you can even buy just the filters and make your own filter using 2 – 5-gallon pails and a spicket. It is much cheaper than buying one and you would end up with the same result.
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