Emergency Supply Checklist

[Weedygarden]

As far as drinking sterile water. I really don't see the point. As soon as it touches your lips, it's no longer sterile. Plus, your gut is one of the most bacteria laden environments there is. Adding sterile water to it won't change that.

If someone has a stomach bug, drinking water that is not sterile can add to the problems. I am thinking of the idea of finding pedialyte for a sick infant or child. My daughter drinks it when she has been gluten poisoned. Sterile water with hydrating additives can help a person who is vomiting and has diarrhea. This would be better than drinking water out of a stream, lake or pond if there is a stomach bug. In my genealogical research, I saw many infants and young children who died of something like a stomach bug. Would this be 100%? Probably not, but it could help.

 

[angie_nrs]

If someone has a stomach bug, drinking water that is not sterile can add to the problems. I am thinking of the idea of finding pedialyte for a sick infant or child. My daughter drinks it when she has been gluten poisoned. Sterile water with hydrating additives can help a person who is vomiting and has diarrhea. This would be better than drinking water out of a stream, lake or pond if there is a stomach bug. In my genealogical research, I saw many infants and young children who died of something like a stomach bug. Would this be 100%? Probably not, but it could help.

I think you are conflating sterile with clean. There is a big differnce, medically speaking. I'm just saying drinking sterile water is overkill (so to speak) b/c as soon as it touches your lips it's no longer sterile, so in essence, there's no way someone can drink sterile water. Clean water (meaning water without pathogens) is the best you can do as far as drinking is concerned and much easier to achieve.

 

[Caribou]

I don't worry about sterile water. Having said that, I would imagine that sterile water would keep much longer without something growing in it. Sterile water might not help but it wouldn't hurt. Some people use jars of water to fill up the empty space in a canner. This gets you some free sterile water and prevents the other jars from falling over. The hospitals use sterile saline to wash out wounds. That would be my first choice but sterile water would be my second. I'd use clean water to clean a wound if there were no better option. The emergency water in lifeboats is sterile and that is meant for drinking.

If you have the jars and the space and the inclination, by all means, make yourself some sterile water.

 

[hiwall]

I sterilize all my drinking water with alcohol

 

[Terri9630]

THIS! From a previous post!

I just put tap water in a jar and add it to the canner whenever its not full. I prefer to pressure can it though.

 

[Terri9630]

In order to use sterile water for something like a wound packing or cleaning, you'd also have to have a sterile field to do the dressing change with. You'd need sterile gloves, sterile gauze, sterile syringes, etc. If you had all of that, you likely had sterile saline to use as well. However, in a SHTF situation, you're probably going to aim for clean conditions vs. sterile conditions just b/c a sterile environment is going to be nearly impossible out in the field.

As far as drinking sterile water. I really don't see the point. As soon as it touches your lips, it's no longer sterile. Plus, your gut is one of the most bacteria laden environments there is. Adding sterile water to it won't change that.

I do it mostly because we are on a well, no power, no water. This way I have water on the shelf.

 

[SheepDog]

algae and mold can't grow in sterile water until it is exposed to a non-sterile environment. It will store indefinitely.
Retort cleaning/sterilization is jus like using a pot still. There is no pressure in a retort. A retort is a spherical or cone shaped vessel with a long tubular spout that extends from the top of the vessel parallel to the ground or at a slight angle down. It it basically a small distillation apparatus similar in construction to a pot still.

 

[Caribou]

algae and mold can't grow in sterile water until it is exposed to a non-sterile environment. It will store indefinitely.
Retort cleaning/sterilization is jus like using a pot still. There is no pressure in a retort. A retort is a spherical or cone shaped vessel with a long tubular spout that extends from the top of the vessel parallel to the ground or at a slight angle down. It it basically a small distillation apparatus similar in construction to a pot still.

In chemistry that is correct. Crematories are called retorts. Pressure cookers are also called retorts especially if used in medical practices or commercial canneries. This site is also replete with witty retorts.

 

[Weedygarden]

algae and mold can't grow in sterile water until it is exposed to a non-sterile environment. It will store indefinitely.
Retort cleaning/sterilization is just like using a pot still. There is no pressure in a retort. A retort is a spherical or cone shaped vessel with a long tubular spout that extends from the top of the vessel parallel to the ground or at a slight angle down. It it basically a small distillation apparatus similar in construction to a pot still.

I use glass bottles from Santa Cruz lemonade. I wash them well and rinse them with hot water. Then I fill them with filtered water. None of this is like the article by Lily from Survivalist Blog. This is not advised nor the best way to go. I have notice that once in a while the water in these can get something growing in it. I don't think they can be canned by reusing the same lid that came with them. These are not canning jars or lids. A
Also, the plastic 6 and 7 gallon jugs that are used for camping cannot be sterilized, just cleaned well and filled as best as possible with clean water. It sure could be boiled to help purify it.

 

[Terri9630]

I have used YooHoo jars to take up the extra room when I was out of pints. They sealed up just fine. I wouldn't use them for food but they were fine for water.