The Hurricane has passed through. We lost power at 12:45 a.m. this morning with a big explosion of a power transformer that got knocked out as a feeder band of wind came through. The transformer that blew was unusually loud and many of our neighbors started coming out of their doors with flashlights to see what happened we were doing the same. Our power came back on but the other side of our neighborhood did not. Then it happened again, we have power now.
Thankfully it did not get as bad as first predicted for us because the hurricane shifted more east. I feel very concerned for everyone that was and still are in the path, this was and is a dangerous storm.
We had a concern this morning when our son and daughter in law lost contact with our Granddaughter and her husband that lives in Valdosta Georgia which was right in the path of the hurricane. Our granddaughter is 7 months pregnant and so it was concerning. Then we got a text from our son that said that they were just on the phone with them and they are okay but waiting for daylight and concerned that they had lost part of their roof. We have not heard back from them about damage at the time I am typing this but we know they are physically okay.
Above is coco coir bricks
We have two rain gages and here in our location, we got 8 and 1/2 inches of rain in the past 34 hours.
The only thing we can do is be prepared our best that we can afford to be ready for storms. Over time we build up supplies and put them away and be ready. We keep coco coir bricks on hand (shown above) in case of water and sewer problems, we also keep camping supplies.
The coco coir bricks are used for making a cover matter for a portable toilet. We have a 5 gallon bucket with a snap on toilet seat to use as a camping toilet and if there is a situation where you do not need to flush a toilet, we are prepared to go waterless.
What we do is put a coco coir brick in a regular bucket and gradually wet the brick and the brick will expand and become fluffy and similar to damp peat moss. Keep this set aside for use as a topping.
We put some of the fluffy coco coir in the bottom of the #2 poop bucket. When we use the bucket toilet to do #2 (poop) we take some of the slightly damp coco coir and place it over the #2. This will cover the poop and prevent odor.
The coco coir is clean and sanitary. For urine (#1) you can pee in a separate bucket or portable toilet and when you get to where you can flush then flush that or dispose according to what your state laws are. Do not flush the coco coir. I will explain more.
We are talking about an emergency situation so do what is needed to do, this is how we prepare.
I do not have a picture of the five gallon bucket with a snap lid, it is up at Madge's house. It costs the least of all portable toilets, just get a five gallon bucket from walmart or lowes etc. You can buy toilet seats for the buckets in the camping section at walmart or they have them on Amazon.
As we have gotten older we wanted something more stable that would not tip over when we sit down.
This is above portable toilet that we purchased on Amazon a few years ago. We used this when we were working on the tiny house we call Myrtle which is not completely finished. It is about the height of a regular toilet and more stable than the bucket. Since we are older we prefer this type.
It comes with a portable toilet bucket inside with a lid. These are also good if someone is elderly or has an injury and cannot get to the bathroom easily and could be put at bedside. Also can be used in a basement bedroom and the bucket can be carried to a regular bathroom upstairs and emptied.
This is not a sturdy medical equipment toilet you can buy at health care places. This is just a camping toilet.
The bucket inside has two handles on each side to life out. We actually have two of these, one for #1 (pee) and 1 for #2 (poop) when the coconut coir needs to be used. You can use just one and do both pee and poop but it can get stinky if done that way.
If you are young enough and flexible enough, you can use a vintage slop jar they call them (enamel bucket) , They are also called chamber pots and some are small with a handle that slides under the bed and ready for use. These were used before toilets, if they used them then they can still be used today.
But we need to be sanitary so when preparing to use one for poop, we garbage liner inside the bucket and when the bucket is full of #2 and coco coir layered, remove the bag and double bag it and then tie it tight. Replace a new bag and start over and when the emergency is over or camping trip is over discard the bag in appropriate garbage collection. This would be no difference than disposing baby diapers, adult diapers, dirty cat litter etc.
The urine can be poured into a regular working toilet and flushed and there are other ways that you can read about how to dilute the urine and use it on certain landscaping but read your state rules.
The name of this toilet that we purchased on Amazon is called a VINGLI Portable Toilet, I am not suggesting this one but just showing what we use. It is not as expensive as other portable toilets and it makes a bit of a squeak when sitting on it but that is okay.
We will remain storm ready, and this weekend we are going to do some storm bracing to our hallway to hopefully help make us safer in storms or at least make us feel we are safer. We still have a couple of possible hurricanes that brewing now.
I hope that those of you that were in the path of the storm are okay. You can post here in the forum if you can read this and have communication or send me an email.
What do you do to be storm ready?
Thank you for your prayers, Grandma Donna
