Monday, August 4, 2014

Sinks, Faucets and Toilets - And Emergency #WaterStorage Tips

Most of us living in the U.S. and UK and even around the world have water and toilets in the home.  It's something we really don't think about.  As long as the brown goes down, and the water comes out clean for drinking, we're fine!  I've seen a home built from start to finish when I was in Virginia.  I saw the toilets and sinks installed.  They were standard grade, purchased from a "big box" store like Home Depot or Lowe's.  I just took them for granted and remember having a few issues over the years with the flushing and the finish in the tubs and sinks. But that's par for the course, right?
   Last week I went to a blog invitational open house of MountainLand Supply Company Showroom.  Located in an Industrial Park in Orem, UT,  it is rather out of the way.  I know I had heard of the name before but had never really had a grasp on what they do there.
   I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they are a supplier to contractors, designers and upscale interior furnishers.  They have a showroom that showcases their high end faucets, basins, tubs and even toilets.  It was obviously much higher quality than your normal toilets and sinks...
   I learned that one of the better brands, lifetime guaranteed from fit, function to finish is the danze brand.  Instead of different kinds of plastics throughout the traps, drains and faucets like the big box brands,  these are made from brass and ceramic, with no plastic finishes!  And they were beautiful!

   The nice thing about MountainLands Supply is that you can actually go there, hand pick your high end-sink model and tell your builder which one you want.  They will sell it for a factory direct price and poof, you have amazing high-end sinks, tubs, faucets and toilets. 
   But all the nice fixtures in the world aren't sufficient if you don't have good, clean water coming out of them, safe for bathing and drinking.  It was quite a scare for the folks in Toledo over the weekend.  Because of the unsafe drinking water in Lake Erie, they had to drive for miles and wait in lines for hours just to get some drinking water.  Not cool!  But apparently Ohio is just a warning for the rest of us.  If there is no testing required on the water we drink, who is to say that water in another state won't come up toxic as well?  
   It may be wise to get your own supply of water so that you can have it when things go awry.  Here are some tips I think are helpful:

STORE BOILED OR BOTTLED WATER:  The recommended storage amount is one gallon drinking water per person per day.  So if you have 5 people in your family and would like drinking water for 5 days, it's 5 gallons.  Don't forget your pets!  Remember to store more for cooking, toilet flushing and bathing.  Bottled water is the safest method.

STORAGE METHOD:  Store water in lines rather than stacks.  Stacking could cause leaking.  Also, a cool dry place is best to store water.  You can buy water barrels for industrial purposes.  They come with spickets for output.  

HAND WASHING:  Store some sanitary wipes for hand washing in place of the water used for that purpose.  It's also good to have some sprayers for water in case  the air-conditioning goes off.  You can spray water on the skin to lower body temperature by several degrees!

Disclosure:  I didn't receive compensation for this post and all thoughts are my own! 


10 comments:

Debra @ A Frugal Friend said...

I hate to think about emergencies but these are great tips for storing water! Thank you!

Ascending Butterfly said...

Great post, hurricane season is upon us. And our power company is notorious for 'conserving power' at this time of the year. Roaming Power outages are the norm, and it's important to have an emergency kit and water!!

Lindsay said...

Thanks for the tips on emergency water storage. I agree that I hate to think about needing it, but it's always better to be prepared!

Unknown said...

I am really into prepping and these are really great tips to follow. Being prepared is always a good thing for yourself... and your family. Thanks for sharing :)

Crystal Green said...

I can't say I'd be prepared for an emergency if there were to be one. Thank you for these tips to help us be prepared. (Plus the reminder.)

Ronda said...

Gosh, living in FL I don't even want to think about this, but it's so important to plan ahead. Great tips!

JewelWood said...

Great emergency water tips to know in case I have an emergency. I will need to get the water put aside. I never know when I will need it. Great tips!!

freddie said...

I am so unprepared. I didn't realize it was a gallon of water per person per day. But now I know. Thanks for the great tips.

dd said...

We are really in the water saving mode with this water drought in Cali. Good tips.

Unknown said...

Great tips x