*** Post-Harvey/Pre-Irma 2017 Update: This post has been getting a lot of traffic as people get ready for the upcoming storm. You are thinking ahead, and that is smart. The Aquapodkit is still my best recommendation for hurricane prep that doesn’t take up your entire storage area. The WaterBob is rising in price as the demand spike. I’m watching for alternatives.
Things you can do if you are sheltering in place. Keep your ice maker running non-stop. Bag the ice and shove it into any unused portion of your freezer. Not only does this let you store more ice (and water) you’re also extending the time your freezer can go without power. See this post on what to eat and when after the power goes out and this one “Someone left the freezer door open, now what” both deal with cooking after the freezer has been compromised.
Important: Any food-grade container can be used to store water. Use your plastic storage containers. Fill those most of the way with water and freeze. If you’re out of freezer room, cover it tightly and set it on the counter. You can use plain chlorine bleach to ensure stored tap water is drinkable: add 8 drops of unscented bleach to 1 gallon of water, stir and wait 30 minutes. This is very handy when boiling isn’t an option.
Pro-Tip: Tape a dropper to the container of bleach, so you aren’t guessing.
Fill your tubs to use for flushing and sponge bathing. Alternately, if you’re on friendly terms with a neighbor who has a swimming pool, you are in luck. To clarify, you’re hauling the water from their pool to your toilet, not using their pool. We’re not monsters.
I hope all of you in the potential path of the storm stay safe. Those of you recovering from Harvey, I hope your lives return to normal as soon as possible.
<3
Heather
***
This year, after doing my annual Hurricane Preparedness Reminder, I was contacted by David Dodgen of AquaStorage, the Aquapod Kit creators. The Aquapod Kit is a water storage solution to the whole, “But I don’t have enough space to store a two week supply of water for my family of six.” (Quick math will tell you that’s 84 gallons of water)
Water storage has always been one of the more obnoxious pain points of hurricane preparedness in my household. Yes, I do have about 30 gallons of water, but it’s distributed throughout the house in a closet, in the garage, under the stairs. Remembering to rotate the jugs doesn’t always happen. (Oh yeah, we’re back to that whole fallible human thing, aren’t we?)
The Aquapodkit holds up to 65 gallons of potable water and doesn’t take up more than a square foot of storage space until you need it. Brilliant!
The Aquapodkit is a straightforward solution to an obnoxious problem. It’s a food-grade hygienic liner for your bathtub that comes with a pump. While the liners are not reusable, you can purchase refills rather than an entirely new kit. Frigging awesome, if you ask me.
Toss the kit into a closet until a hurricane looms and then follow the instructions.
The Aquapodkit now has the Home-Ec101.com Seal of Approval.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks I must mention. The Aquapodkit is only useful for situations in which you have adequate warning. It’s not a great water storage solution for those who deal with emergencies where there may only be a few moments of warning or no warning at all. And as I mentioned, the plastic liners themselves are not reusable -the pump is. You should still keep some water on hand for emergencies other than hurricanes.
A few other quick notes about the product from the representative who took the initiative to contact me (Hey, I’m also an entrepreneur, I like people who take appropriate initiative.)
1. This water storage solution product is made here in the USA.
2. We support local organizations – our kits are put together at the Austin State School of the Aged and Disabled – we love them and have been working with them for years.
3. We are the only product that offers replacement liners/refills – a great value to the consumer.
4. My parents tested and used the product during Hurricane Katrina.
You can purchase the kits through the website directly or purchase the Aquapod Kit from Amazon.
*NOTE 9/3/2017 The Aquapod Kit was currently unavailable on Amazon. This Water Bob is a very similar item and is currently available.
I was sent an Aquapod Kit for review purposes. I opened up the box, took one look at it, and said, “Brilliant.” I closed the box and put it with my emergency preparedness supplies. I may be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one. All opinions are my own, including that one.
That is seriously cool – speaking as someone who, as you are, is in the direct path of hurricanes every year. Going to check out the link now. I guess it could double as a water bed for the cat if you don’t need the water. And a word of warning – those jugs of water you have stored in the back of the cabinet? They are not meant to be stored back there forever. Eventually they will spring a leak. Been there, done that.
carnellm yep and it’s a heinous mess to clean up.
that’s pretty genius. i remember filling the tub for my first hurricane near-miss after i first moved here, but i noticed the water slowly leaking out because the stopper thing didn’t have a good seal
imabug I remember the same thing from Hugo. Even at 11 I was concerned about what normally goes into the tub that we were storing water for drinking / hygiene.
very clever!
I like the idea, but not being able to check it out up close, my question is, how easy is it to get water OUT of it, while maintaining the integrity of the remaining water?I like the small (5 year shelf life) water “pouches” we picked up because if you have a problem with one bag… you toss it. Here you are putting all your eggs (water) in one basket (or tub as it were).Not saying it is a bad idea, but I still have questions, and might think of it as an “additional” source rather than relying on it as a primary source.
JayMonster those are fair (and excellent questions). The kit uses a siphon pump so you aren’t risking the integrity of the water contained in the kit. The bag is 4mm food grade plastic, so it would take some serious effort to puncture.And as I noted, you should definitely still keep water on hand, because you can’t predict some emergencies.
The problem I have is I don’t have storage space for lots of water nor can I fill up my tub (we have a big jacuzzi) w/ water from a system like this. My suggestion is the simple solution- we have several collapsible water jugs which we stash. We fill a couple before a storm comes, but the rest we leave empty. To fill them post storm we have several Sawyer water filters (gives 99.999% bacteria/virus free water from any fresh water source) which we can use after the storm to fill the collapsible water carriers. the absolute best thing is that two 2-gallon jugs and a filter fit nicely under the car seat so if we have to abandon, we have more space in the vehicle for clothes, food, etc instead of gallons and gallons of water…
Oops- forgot to add i got both the jugs and water filters at http://www.hurricanecamping.com/ out of Tampa, FL
They are truly a great idea, and having a pump is a great necessity, but why in the world would you leave that sharp point on the siphon end of the hose that goes into a plastic bag?? I realize you probably designed the threads on the bag to use an existing pump, but for your orders, have them cut off that spear head, or all could go down the drain literally.