Keeping clean after SHTF
There are people who think that staying clean is simply a social nicety done to be accepted by the general public. However, practicing personal hygiene habits promote good health by keeping bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms away.
Many of your hygiene needs are normally handled by the conveniences available today like running water, heaters, working toilets and showers. But in an SHTF scenario, most, if not all, of these commodities will be scarce, or not even available at all. Because of this, knowing how to maintain proper hygiene and sanitation can significantly increase your chances of survival. Here are some things to keep in mind for maintaining personal hygiene when SHTF. (Related: Staying healthy after SHTF: Best hygiene practices.)
Stock up on supplies
Similar to stocking up on food and other necessary supplies needed to survive a disaster, you shouldn't shirk on gathering hygiene supplies for your survival stockpile. As previously mentioned, many of the luxuries you enjoy today wouldn't be available when SHTF and the stores will most likely be picked clean of supplies not too long after disaster strikes. Having your own supplies can go a long way in keeping yourself clean and healthy. Some of these include:
- Soap. A good bar of soap is cheap, long-lasting and small enough to fit in any bug-out bag. You can buy a bunch of them quite inexpensively for future use. Alternatively, you could try your hand at making your own soap.
- Clean rags. A good rag can keep yourself clean, but you can burn through them surprisingly fast, so stock up on a lot.
- Spray bottle. If you want to be stingy with your water use, you can pack a spray bottle for a spritz of water before scrubbing yourself down.
Bathing during a disaster
Whether you're bugging out or staying put in your own home, you don't really need a lot of things to help you bathe. At the very least, you will need a clean cloth and water. If you managed to stockpile or make your own soap, it should add to the effectiveness of your bathing.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that you should start washing your body in order, starting from the least dirty place to the dirtiest areas of your body. This is to prevent the spread of germs throughout your body and to help your cloth last much longer than it should. Further, if you have access to a fuel supply and enough water, you can even prepare a rejuvenating hot bath.
Budget bathing
For those who were lucky enough to find a supply of water, but are scared to run out too fast, you can make use of a spray bottle to mist yourself before lathering up with soap. You can even heat up the water by leaving it out in the sun or close to a fire. There are also jumbo sprayers similar to what farmers use to spray herbicide or pesticide as a makeshift portable shower.
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