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There’s a reason why each shopping cart contains at least a bottle of bleach – this stuff’s good for a lot of odd jobs around the house, and some of them don’t have anything to do with cleaning. I being a computer geek have always kept an ample supply of bleach because it works wonders on yellow computer cases.

Anyway, ever since it became commercially available, bleach has been held in high regards, especially by those who had a rough time cleaning nearly-impossible to remove stains and for keeping germs away. In it’s watered down form, bleach can also be used as a room freshener and for giving shine to grandmamma’s white porcelain collection.

Beyond the mere household, bleach can also be successfully employed in survival-type situations. Hence today’s piece which will deal in the many uses and faces of survival bleach, this Jack-of-all-trades of the pantry.

Because I had time to look up more stuff while doing research on my pleasure rubber in SHTF article, I’ve somehow managed to stumble upon a treasure trove of info about the over glorified Clorox bleach. So, fellow preppers, prepare yourselves and feast your eye on the wonders of bleach in just about any SHTF situation.

  1. General sterilization

Of course, one would be very inconsiderate if not stating, well, the obvious – bleach is the ultimate germ buster, being successfully employed in virtually every cleaning job. Grime? No problem! Scale? Who cares? Smears? I have 99 problems, but Clorox makes all of them go away. The stuff is very handy for disinfecting tools used in minor surgery (a pair of pickup scissors or needle with surgical thread) when you don’t have other means of removing the germs. If you water it down a little, you can also remove stain and bacteria from small objects.

For instance, a solution containing one-part Clorox and three parts water may be used to clean and sterilize LED displays (always water down the bleach before using it). My grandma had the habit of spraying all the rugs and upholstery with a diluted bleach solution.

Apparently, this is the best way to remove bacteria, revive colors, and prevent warping. If you’re a fan of second-hand shopping, the above-mentioned bleach mix will help you get rid of lingering germs, while removing that old, musty smell that tends to follow every object bought from these sorts of establishments.

If you have a kid on the way, you may use spraying bleach to disinfect every item the kid may come in contact with – cradle, toys, clothes.

In the field, it may be possible to use trace amounts of chlorine bleach to purify water. Sure, it won’t have the same taste, but at least you won’t come down with dysentery, enterocolitis or any other tummy diseases.

Pet owners can use spray-based chlorine to remove animal smells from the furniture. I being the proud owner of two cats (a boy and a girl), I found relief in the fact that bleach’s able to remove that nasty odor tomcats tend to leave behind when establishing boundaries.

  1. Crafting an anchor

Though the idea of becoming adrift is akin to pure dread, there’s no reason why you can’t anchor down your raft if you have a bottle of bleach nearby. If the situation calls for immediate action, use the remaining bleach to sterilize your gear and water supplies, and salvage the bottle.

Wrap paracords or any dental floss around the bottle’s neck and fill it with anything heavy (concrete, sand, tiny rocks). Congrats! You’ve just made yourself an anchor worthy of any ship on its maiden voyage.

  1. Cleaning your veggies and fruits

Water’s the best way to clean fruits and veggies, isn’t that right? In most cases, yes, but there are some cases when using just purified water just won’t cut. Enters bleach, a marvelous disinfectant that can be used in case of an emergency to clean your veggies and fruits. Just be sure to use a watered-down mix. Otherwise, you will end up with bleach-soaked food, a thing which does not agree with your esophagus and stomach.

By the way – be very careful around the stuff, because the thing can burn through your skin like acid. In case you accidentally spilled some on your hands, or other parts of the body (I don’t judge) go and wash the area with plenty of soap and lukewarm water. As for the drinking part, don’t try to induce vomiting. Instead, dial CDC’s accidental poisoning hotline and await further instructions. In the meantime, drink water or a glass of milk. You should stop in case you’re experiencing convulsions or other changes.

  1. Weed-whacking

Without a doubt, every prepper’s turned gardener waking nightmare is seeing his crops wilting or, worse, eaten away by pests or overtaken by weed. Sure, you can try out all kind of artificial weed-whackers and whatnots, but you’ll probably end up poisoning the soil and making bad veggies.

A great and safe way of getting rid of pests and weeds is to spray your plants with a mixture of water and chlorine bleach. Like always, the recipe calls for one-part chlorine bleach and three parts water. Cover your garden using a hose with a fine mist. For the best results, you should do this at least once a week. Be careful about weed-whacking the wrong kind of weeds (see my article on healing herbs and weeds that grow around the house).

  1. Anti-rad countermeasure

Although it’s highly unlikely that we would have to deal with a nuclear detonation any time soon, it’s good to know that household bleach can be used for decontamination. Hypothetically speaking, if you find yourself stranded in an area with high radiation, take off your clothes and soak them in a tub filled with water and chlorine bleach.

As for body decon, wash all body parts with water and soap first, then used a watered-down bleach solution to rinse your body. Be careful when preparing the mix – for body decon, it should be one unit of bleach to 100 units of purified water.

  1. Self-defense

Pray it won’t come it, but when the spam hits the ham, a bottle of chlorine makes a great weapon of self-defense and distractionary device. If your opponent gains ground, uncork a Clorox bottle and toss it in his face. The results won’t be pretty, I guarantee that, but saving your can is sometimes more important than thinking about the interaction between skin and bleach.

  1. Outliving a contagion

Hold on to your britches there, because I wasn’t referring to the next Black Plague or Ebola. Even the flu season is considered an outbreak, and it should not be taken lightly. One way to purify the air is by bleach and water.

Hygiene is very important but becomes crucial when dealing with a contagion. To minimize exposure to the virus, make a 50-50 bleach and water mix. Pour it inside an empty and clean spray. Use a fine mist on things like clothes, upholstery, pet beds, bathroom tiles or any place that may hoard bacteria and deadly viruses.

  1. Getting rid of mold and mildew

Probably the most annoying part of being a homeowner is finding ways of removing mold and mildew from various objects. Since my son has a slight allergy to mold, I and my wife always try our best to removing as much as the stuff as possible.

One of its nesting places are the gaps between bathroom tiles (yeah, I real back-buster when it comes to spring cleaning). It is possible to hack away any mold and mildew from your home by mixing bleach and water in a bucket. Take a clean rag, soak it in the mix, and wipe. Not only will the mold come off on its own but it takes less scrubbing compared to using special cleaning supplies.

  1. Removing grime and dirt from trashcans

As you know, in case of an emergency, trashcans, especially the big ones, can be converted into portable water carriers. Still, that they are somewhat challenging considering the amount of grime, dirt, and sludge festering at the bottom. A quick way of removing that filth in a sinch is by using bleach in addition to detergent. Prepare a 50-50 bleach mixture and add some detergent. Don’t forget to wear protective gloves while cleaning the trashcan. Word of warning – while preparing the mix, fumes might emerge from inside the container.

Don’t breathe in those fumes as they are highly toxic. If you do, immediately stop what you’re doing, wash your face with plenty of water, and wipe with a clean cloth. You can try to flush out any lingering bleach from your nostrils with blood serum (you can find those bottles in any drug store or pharmacy, and they’re perfectly over-the-counter).

Fill up a small syringe with blood serum, tilt your head a bit, and slowly inject the stuff into your nostrils. Don’t breathe in the stuff!  Blow your nose in the sink and rinse with plenty of water.

  1. Field-sanitization of food plates and eating utensils

Just because one finds himself in the middle of shit hits the fan situation, it doesn’t mean that one should disregard basic hygiene rules and eat from whatever plate, no matter how dirty it is. If you were planning on adding one or more items to your B.O.B, my advice to you is to toss in a small bottle of Clorox. Combined with purified water, bleach can be used to clean and sterilize everything from plastic plates to cutlery.

I myself like to use the stuff in order to clean and remove any grime from my portable stove. The mix also works wonders on other objects used for cooking like cast-iron pots, stoves, ovens, and knives. Careful about using too much bleach on your chopping implements as the substance is known to reduce the life of stainless steel blades.

That about wraps it on ingenious ways to use bleach in an SHTF situation. Instead of a conclusion, I will leave you with a question: to bleach or not to bleach? As always, if you figure out another great way of using this stuff in a survival-type situation, don’t be shy and hit the comment section.

There’s a reason why each shopping cart contains at least a bottle of bleach – this stuff’s good for a lot of odd jobs around the house, and some of

After the nuclear EMP was discovered in 1962 (US Starfish Prime Experiment) people have been searching for all kind of methods of protection (against electromagnetic pulses).

One of the solutions we came up with is storing important electronics in Faraday cages.

If you are not familiar with the destruction effects of an EMP, you should probably watch this short documentary and learn what the biggest threat to modern-day America is, and what you can do today to keep your family safe.

The Army is also preparing for this. Recently, NORAD has moved its communication equipment back to its nuclear Cold War-era bunker under the Cheyenne Mountain because this base is EMP hardened.

The government is also making small steps to harden the grid. Maine has become the first state in the nation to pass legislation ordering its grid to be hardened against an electromagnetic pulse.

Even the Police have some new small Faraday bags for confiscated cell phones – to preserve information.

Back in 2004, The Congressional Study EMP Report indicated potential casualty rates of 90%. Don’t expect Uncle Sam to protect you. We all have to be prepared.

To avoid a total collapse every American should have some EMP hardened equipment or at least a Faraday Cage to protect the most important survival electronics. (a radio, a small generator, electronic parts for cars, etc)

A Faraday cage is a sealed enclosure that has an electrically conductive outer layer and a non-conductive inner layer. The purpose of this box is to protect any electronics inside it in case of an EMP. I’ll also show you how to test your Faraday Cage (it’s easy).

Here are some Faraday Cages you can make at home in a couple of minutes:

1. From a Pasta – Fettuccine in this case – Box

8.5 inches high, 7.3 inches width and 3.3 inches deep

You can store in this box a small radio, a solar battery charger and some electronic parts (duplicates) for your car (like the PCM – Powertrain Control Module, the Anti-lock Braking System, the Electronic Fuel Injection, the Electronic Ignition, etc)

Wrap the box in heavy duty aluminum foil (at least two layers). When you do so… be careful to isolate it completely.

Faraday box aluminum pasta

The Test: As you can see, I left a phone in it to test my Faraday cage. If you don’t wrap it completely in aluminum foil you’ll be able to call yourself from another phone. In this case, the box was perfect and I couldn’t call my phone because there was no signal in it. Anyway, the phone test is 99% accurate, because the phone signals are a bit higher in frequency than an EMP. If you want to be 100% sure that you made an EMP hardened Faraday cage then you should place a small turned on radio. If it stops… then you have an EMP hardened box.

Tip: if you can call your phone, then wrap the box in another layer of aluminum foil and try again.

2. From an Ammo Can

ammo can Faraday cage

11 x 5.5 x 6.75 inches (volume – two times larger than the pasta box, but because you’ll lose some space with the inner non-conductive layer… the volume will be quite similar to the previous one – pasta box)

“This 50 Cal ammo can from an army surplus store and some scrap foam for padding and insulation make an inexpensive, easy to carry means of protecting essential electronics gear.” 

3. From a Cardboard Box (from IKEA in this case)

8 inches high, 11 inches width and 13.3 inches deep (triple the volume of the Ammo can and 6 times larger than the pasta box)

Faraday Cage with Aluminum

The principle is the same (as Pasta box)… just that this one is larger and can be opened every time you want without tearing up the foil.

4. A Bird Cage

chiquita-dometop_bird_cage_l

Volume: Variable – depending on the cages.

There are two problems with these cages:

  • some have the bottom made of plastic (without any metal outer layer)
  • and some have too large holes to protect against high frequencies

But chances are that you have a normal bird cage, which will work as a Faraday cage if you place some foam (for example) in it.

If it does not work, it probably means that the holes are too big so you’ll have to wrap the cage in aluminium.

5. From a Trash Can

20.5 x 20.5 x 27 inches (31 Gallon) – 6 times larger than the cardboard box

Trash can Faraday Cage

Line the trash can with cardboard (or carpet padding), including the bottom, making sure there are no gaps.

You can fit here a lot more electronics including an old laptop with your survival books and maybe a very small generator or a small solar panel.

6. An Old Wooden Ammo Box Wrapped in Aluminum Foil

Volume: Variable – depending on the boxes.

Woon Ammo Box Faraday Cage

Similar to the cardboard box, but you have to pay attention to the nails.

You don’t want the nails (which the box already has) to connect the aluminum foil with the inside of the box.

7.  A Metal Storage Cabinet

metal Cabinet

This Faraday cage provides greater storage capacity and extreme protection. It has a lot more space. I know someone who stores in it a small dorm size refrigerator.

Remember that everything you store in this Faraday cage has to be in a non-conductive box.

Photo Source

8. With Wood and Aluminum Screen

Volume – variable – depending on how big you want to make it.

There are many “walk in Faraday cages”… so if you want to build a huge one to store even a large generator or some solar panels, this is the method you should use.

Faraday cage steps aluminum

Make a wooden frame and attach a wooden (frame) lid (using 1-2 hinges). Attach the screen mesh. Remember to isolate the bottom of the box (with wood, cardboard or plastic) and to keep away the electronics inside from the Aluminum Screen.

Tip: Instead of nailing the wood, try to glue it.

9. Using Cookie or Popcorn Tins

Faraday

Volume: variable – depending on the tins.

The lids on these tins are typically very tight, which make them ideal Faraday cages.

Just line the inside with cardboard (including the lid) and put in the electronics you wish to protect from EMP’s.

If you find it too hard to line the inside of the box, then try this: put your phone (for the test) in an anti-static drive bag (plastic) and then put it in the tin.

10. Keeping the Generators/Tools/Radios/Electronics in Their Original Boxes

Volume: Variable – depending on the boxes.

Faraday cage in boxes

This is the easiest way! Here is a video guide for this method. If you don’t use on a daily basis what you want to protect… just keep it in its original box and wrap it with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Some people may say that it’s crazy to prepare for an EMP. Well… I think that a solar storm is a real possibility. A terrorist EMP attack is also a real possibility. A nuclear war is also a real possibility. The probability: maybe 5% per year. But 5% is not crazy. Not even 1%. If your doctor says you have a 5% chance of dying … wouldn’t it be crazy not to do something about it?

Well… given the fact that it takes only 10 minutes (max. one hour) to build a Faraday cage, I consider this a well “invested” time.

On a national scale: It would be wise to follow Switzerland’s lead. According to Radasky, that country during the cold war hardened some of its critical infrastructure against EMPs, such as water works. “They felt that if there was high-altitude burst over Europe, they were going to be affected whether they were a combatant or not.”

After the nuclear EMP was discovered in 1962 (US Starfish Prime Experiment) people have been searching for all kind of methods of protection (against electromagnetic pulses). One of the solutions we came