15 Emergency Essentials You Don’t Want to Be Without

Non-Potable Water

Natural disasters threaten public water supplies. Sometimes the water flowing from taps must be boiled before drinking or bathing with it, because of storm-runoff contamination, but at least it keeps a toilet working.

Far worse is a disaster bad enough to cut off water supplies altogether. Bottled water bought for drinking is too expensive to flush down the toilet.

Instead, fill the bathtub (make certain the plug does not leak) and store water in large pails or washtubs to shelter in place after a storm.

Add bleach to forestall microbial contamination, and use this water only for flushing, not drinking or bathing.