Considering the likelihood of another pandemic, what are some good things to prep?......other than toilet roll?

Hey Reddit, lurker here posting for the first time. I'm needing help on how to filter hard water that has sediment in it. Our city flushes the system every 3 months and the stuff comes out ORANGE with specks/residue. We want to fill up our water bricks, but we don't want sediment in it. The previous owners had a water system but the sediment build up reduced its effectiveness/lifespan, so we don't filter through it. We use bottled water for cooking/drinking, but don't want to buy a ton of it to fill up the bricks. Thinking of throwing a faucet filter on but be enough to keep the sediment out of our bricks?

I know to put it in the bottom with an insulator and then put the food like rice on top. I know to leave it cracked open for air to escape. But how do i know when to close the lid?

Seems like a decent gig especially for those off grid or considering it.

Or just to lower your electric bill. Not that this part has much of an ROI but I’m curious how much it would offset cost of the trailer.

Stumbled on this looking for EVs to tow my current trailer.

There’s 2 versions coming to market.

One has a 40kw battery -$100k Other has 80kw battery and electric drive motors to “tow itself” so it doesn’t impact range of your tow vehicle at all. -$120k or so.

Called the Lightship L1.

https://youtu.be/RVsjy9q5YLE

There's been some concerning discoveries about an H5N1 case in Canada suggesting some mutations that improve binding in Humans have occurred. But despite the consequences of human-to-human H5N1 potentially being much worse than COVID-19, my Husband and I have found we are way less worried than we were about COVID because of changes we made. I'm curious how your individual situation has changed, if at all, after the lessons learned from the COVID pandemic.

After COVID we went pedal to the metal in our careers, securing higher level positions and significant salary increases. We're now in positions that in the event of a Pandemic, we can work remotely from home which itself is a huge advantage. After COVID we did all the usual Prepper 101 stuff, building a deep pantry and stocking water, medicine, fuel, and household essentials. We practiced a wide variety of skills to improve our outcomes in the event essential items and services become unavailable. We also saw how disproportionately COVID-19 impacted people in poor health. At the outbreak of COVID my husband and I were like the average person. Slightly overweight, "office bodied", no strength or endurance, shit diet and bad sleep habits. We shifted to strict sleep schedules, whole foods, removing processed carbs, and limiting complex carbs. We do weight training, calisthenics and endurance training 5 days a week. In our 30s we're more healthy, energetic and strong than we've ever been.

How has your situation changed since COVID-19? Do you feel more or less prepared in the event of a new (potentially worse) pandemic?

This bundle is on sale for $1339, is that a good price for 2048Wh generator and 220W panel?

Hey folks, thought you might like to hear whether Jackery portable power stations are worth the money. So we bought one during the pandemic so that I could work from my car (I used to work on the road and stop in coffee shops so this way I could set up a chair and use my trunk as a table between meetings.) it was perfect for this. The battery lasts forever and there are ports for everything.

Then, last year, I was at my dentist and there was a neighborhood power outage right before my appointment. This dentist specializes in mouthguards for snoring and apnea and TMJ. Anyway, he came in and said he would have to cancel all appointments because he could not use his tools. I said ‘one sec’ and ran out to my car. I lent him my Jackery for the day and he was able to plug in his dremel and complete everyone’s mouthguards.

This has bought me a lot of brownie points with this dentist, as you can imagine. :)

Anyway it’s a great thing to have and you could charge cell phones a bunch of times off of it. Highly recommend.

The go to seems to be Scepter but it's hard to tell if that's just because the overlander nerds have hard ons for them. I've seen discussion of them being overpriced for what they are.

There are other vendors making gov't issue MWCs for less. For instance, LCI.

The cost per on the Scepter is $40.20. The LCI is $35.99.

Is one better than the other? Are there other brands worth looking at?

Heya, In my bag is missing some heavy equipement

My knives are good ... for fire-starter wood, but certainly not to get a branch down.

Should I go for a machete or an axe for light work plus an axe for heavy wood plus an axe for ... and a shovel for digging and a shovel for carriing, and a pick or pickaxe (or just a crowbar)

That's a lot of weight

Or a 99-in-1 tools, a shovel that can transfor in an axe that can transfor in a fishing pole that can transfor in a piolet, that can transfor in a knife, that can transfor in a tent, etc... you got the idea

These don't seems heavy-duty reliable.

Just purchased my first home this summer, we get occasional power outages that last a second or two. I currently have UPS on several important devices (wife is WFH so our internet router, her work computer and our toddlers sound machines/nightlights). I would eventually like to invest in some sort of home battery/UPS/generator. From reading on r/preppers it seems like my best option would be a generator/solar panel that can be used to top off a battery? Is this a good route? Are there better alternatives? I would rather do it right/go big to prep my house for longer unexpected outages in the future as well as solving the ‘current’ problem.

Been working on a plastic to fuel pyrolysis reactor for some 3-4 years in my spare time...
so far so good, all test runs and prototypes look quite promising.
much has been learned and i (and few friends who help with specialised stuff )
decided its about time to make this thing available for the normal enduser.
The approach is/will be very open source and information will be made public as usual.

For that purpose i am finishing up the design to make it "user friendly" over winter
and plan to throw out a few of them.. sort of a croudfunding ..

PyrolOil MK I

A Plastic to Fuel device to make OffGrid more viable.
Remove plastic trash and reduce microplastic pollution of the plant.

more info and a wall of text:

https://offgridenclave.com/pyrolysis/

My utube videos about the prototype/concept and such
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyk0pfNIqIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ-HaKRkD_k

I'm looking for a firearm for hunting and defense and I'd love some advice.

My biggest priorities are reliability, portability, and functional accuracy inside 500 yards. Think "scout rifle."

I'm considering the bolt action Mossberg MVP Scout and the Ruger SFAR, which is a semi automatic AR-10.

Both are at our under 7 lbs, get very good reviews, and reasonably priced. Though the MVP is cheapest.

I would love to hear thoughts on the pros and cons of each for hunting, defense, and shtf contexts. In particular, thoughts about how they might compare in terms of reliability, durability, accuracy, defense capability, repairability, etc.

My bias is towards the bolt action for its simplicity, accuracy, and robustness. But how much worse on those is a modern semi-auto inside 500 yards? What are the other tradeoffs? How much slower is a bolt action really (w little practice)?

Personal experiences are welcome and I would also appreciate replies with relevant studies, articles, reports, etc... when possible.

Thanks in advance for any insights that can help me choose.

Do you guys believe civil unrest is likely to come? I’m also thinking possible escalation overseas.

I was without power for 3 days early this week. A few lessons learned.

1: Battery powered faux candles are AMAZING! They have a very long battery life, provide enough light for most tasks, are generally very cheap, are available in a wide variety of sizes, and do not carry the fire risk of regular candles. Especially important with pets/children. Flashlights/headlamps were only needed as supplementation, and we only used our oil lamp for the vibes. My wife buys them for the aesthetics, but they turned out to be a fantastic prep item. They were our primary light source for the duration of the outtage.

2: A little single burner backpacking stove IS NOT ENOUGH. Yes, it will technically do the job of cooking meat, boiling water, etc, but it is a pain in the a$$. It's slow, inefficient, cooks poorly, and cannot effectively handle even two-people's food needs. We gave up on fiddle-f*cking with it after day 1 and just at MRE's. A large, (portable) dual-burner camping stove is now very high on my list.

Also, MRE's are you best friend for short term events like this. Even with a proper stove, if it's just a few days, the convenience of MRE's makes them superior to "beans and rice."

3: Cellphones. We have no analog alarm clocks. All of our alarms are on our phones, and we still had to be up for work in the morning on time. Keeping our phones charged was probably the biggest issue we faced. We have one small backpacking style solar panel, and just a couple of battery packs, and the solar panel was just barely enough to keep a single pack topped off and one phone running. A larger USB compatible solar panel, and additional battery packs would have been helpful.

4: When the power goes out, stock your fridge/freezer with ice ASAP. We lost some food that we "might" have been able to save if I had stocked the fridge with ice sooner.

All in all, we did just fine. It was a fairly minor event to begin with, and we have most of the essentials on hand. Our issues were largely issues of convenience. Still, I definitely learned a few things, and found a couple of weaknesses to be addressed.

A while ago a prepper here suggested a great water-proofer. You use it n the laundry. It worked really well. I can’t remember the name!

So we have twins with ADHD and they at times can act recklessly without a whole lot of awareness about personal safety.

As a result, I took some ideas from here, I pulled together a first aid kit/trauma kit that I have in our cars and at home.

Well, turns out I needed it today. Although it was for our 3-year-old son. He had an incident that caused him to sever the top of his finger and let me tell you it was a bloody mess. Fortunately I had bleed stop and trauma pads and I was able to use that and get things under control. By the time the police and first aid squad came, there wasn't much they had to do.

A friend came over to her house to help with the kids and after my wife had left with our son and I was cleaning things up. I explained to him what I had in the first aid kit and and seeing how I used it, it really got him thinking that maybe he needs to think about things differently. Because you're not going to find many first aid kits that people have in their house with bleed stop.

I can't tell you how many times my preps have been used for day-to-day things that you would not have ever thought about or planned for.

So while I know a lot of people plan for SHTF scenarios, let me tell you prepping for Tuesday has been a lifesaver in our house.

While you're here, we'll gladly accept any prayers for our son that he does not lose part of his finger.

I watched this series a while back and it was scary accurate about ongoing climate change.

Now, about 8 years down the road, real world events are following a nearly identical path in regard to what's happening out there.

I highly recommend giving it a watch.

I stored tap water in two aquabricks 11 months ago. On a whim I tested the water using an aquarium test strip. I was mainly interested in the ph. I was surprised to find low levels of nitrate and nitrite in my stored water. Tap water has zero nitrate and nitrite. Where did the nitrate and nitrite come from? Does it even matter?

Numerous searches lead me in different directions but yielded no answers.

Edit: I tested three sceptor cans that were filled 18 months ago from the same source. Test strips showing no nitrate and no nitrite in those three cans. Going to invest in a better test kit and monitor this. Thanks for everyone's input.

I have to spend $800 before the end of this year from my HEalth Spending Account .

I was thinking about first aid kits but many are junk or too advanced?

Or shelf stable meds?

Or bandages?

Please share your ideas on what would be a good purchase.

Thanks

Looking at in-home (basement) swater torage for very long term, eventually hoping to install water catchment systems. Anyone have good or bad experiences with products/brands?

This trailer looks fairly realistic. Thoughts?

Homestead | Official Trailer | Angel Studios

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XURLw2XXHWA

A nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles, and the nation devolves into unprecedented chaos. Ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson and his family escape to The Homestead, an eccentric prepper’s fortress nestled in the mountains. As violent threats and apocalyptic conditions creep toward their borders, the residents of The Homestead are left to wonder: how long can a group of people resist both the dangers of human nature and the bloodshed at their doorstep?Homestead | Official Trailer | Angel Studios

Angel Studios

What would be your weapon of choice for a ranch defense scenario in a SHTF ?

I'm not from the US by the way, so where I live it's much more expensive and difficult to purchase a rifle than a PCC. It is legally allowed, but it costs 20 times the minimum wage and 5.56 ammo costs around 5 US dollars per single unit. In my case and in countries similar to mine, I believe PCCs are much more adequate for home defense. It's far cheaper to train, to purchase the gun itself and it's the same ammo you are already piling up for your handgun, which is usually a 9mm.

I know you can't even compare both calibers firepower, range, accuracy, ballistics, etc. But a 10" barrel 9mm carbine would be enough to engage on targets at 60 to 70 yards (maybe even more) with lethal capability and what is the actual probability that you see yourself engaged in a shootout more than 100, 200, 300 yards away ? I think rifles would be mandatory only if you were to fight raiders, looters, cartels and bad intentioned well armed trespassers, because they could have rifles themselves and then you would be on a serious disadvantage.

A well defended house with a decent alarm system, 360° perimeter view, guard dogs, lights, reinforced doors ans windows and an elevated platform (aka the roof) where you can go and set a shooting position against a invading force would also increase the possibility of successfully defending it with a PCC.

What do you guys think ? Considering these factors would you still go with a rifle ?

I got my Jase case recently. But I’m wondering what other OTC you guys stock on. Things like Sudafed etc.

Like the title says, "How much salt?" Dietary salt is a very small amount actually. I mean, seriously, how much salt can you eat in a day? But salt for other purposes adds up fast. Salt for preservation of food, for instance.

So what's the group wisdom on salt? 100 lbs? 500? Just keep buying you can never have enough?

I see a lot of people here asking how to survive independently for 2 weeks or a month or a year and I believe you will have a lot of blind spots if you prep this way.

Instead keep asking what if questions starting with the most likely scenarios, “what if the water stops running” I will buy as big of a water container as I can and fill it up, “what if I run out of that container” I will purchase chlorine based purification tablets to purify large amounts of water, “what if I run out of those tablets” I will buy pump filters to have at least a base level of drinkable water etc etc

Just keep asking what if until the scenario you have conjured is so far fetched that you don’t feel like it’s necessary to prepare for

I came down sick a few days ago and missed three days of work. Fortunately I had stocked up on cold and flu medicine, so I've slept pretty well in relative comfort instead of tossing and turning in misery for days. I've watched movies and played video games and browsed Reddit to pass the time quickly.

This morning, I remembered when COVID was in full force, and medicine was hard to get. Baby formula was hard to get. Spare parts were hard to get. You remember.

It made me wonder what the next worldwide situation will be like if there are trade difficulties with China, financial difficulties, supply chain difficulties, cyber difficulties, etc. If I had to go through what I'm going through now without lots of OTC medicine, life would be miserable, and if I had sick little kids to take care of on top of that, it would really suck. I don't want to get complacent and use up my stockpile of medicine in these relative good times and find myself without them when the next thing hits. My memories of the bad times and lessons learned fade quickly when times are good again, so I'm starting my shopping list now to replace what I've used and build up what was short.

Folks, I just returned from a convention overseas where I had the pleasure of meeting a couple from Texas that have the most brilliant and simple product. As we all know, the simplest preps are often the best. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever and wish them every succes. Simple, brillaint, and lifesaving. For kids.

Prepping for kids is something I don't see this community spend a lot of time posting about. But, we should. This helps empower our children in what might otherwise be a very scary and overwhelming situation.

I do hope that I get the back story correct. This gentleman had been in EMS for many years and he found that, often, it was the child that had called 911 on behalf on an injured adult, but was basically helpless and overwhelmed until the cavelry arrived.

The product is basically just a bandana, like you'd have in boy scouts, but sized to do the job better on an adult body. It is printed with graphics showing basic life saving first aid procedures. There's even a QR code printed on there that links to free training courses.

Not sure if I've ever originated a post on this forum, so I hope I'm not overstepping the rules. If I am, I hope the mods will reach out to help me stay in the lines. I think this is important to share.

Anyway, take a look at WarriorKidMedic(dot)com. The product can also be found on Amazon

Stay safe out there.

I have 2 small metal flight cases, and I am wondering if they would work as a Faraday cage. Is there anything I would need to do to modify?

This is the sort of box I am talking about:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PeakTech-7270-Universal-Aluminium-piece/dp/B00I1GP1RC

When I deployed they issued me a plastic sheet with common stuff so I could communicate through a language barrier. It's in my kit. But I just realized if you need to be quiet it is the perfect comms device. It has about 40 pictures of different situations.

Hadn't been a pepper really...panic buying of COVID got me by surprise, started some prepared actions, but with upcoming concerns with economic crashing, I am now looking to supplement my powder arms. Thoughts on PCP rifles, in the .22 range for hunting small game in metro areas, and as last resort for protection of property.