Guides · Toilet and hygiene

A toilet plan for when the water's off

The toilet and periods are the things people forget, and the things that make a few days at home miserable if they're missing. Two buckets, a bag of sawdust and a pack of bags sort most of it.

If the water is off but the sewer still works

Pour a bucket of water (about 6 to 8 litres, 1.6 to 2.1 gal) quickly into the bowl to flush it. Use washing water or greywater, never drinking water.

If the toilet backs up, or you're told not to use the sewer: a bucket toilet

Follow official advice about when and how waste will be collected. Until then:

1. Line a 20 L (5 gal) lidded bucket, or a camping toilet, with two heavy-duty bags, one inside the other.
2. Put a handful of absorbent cover in the bottom: sawdust, clumping cat litter or shredded paper.
3. After each use, add a cup of cover. It stops smells and flies.
4. If you can, keep urine separate (a second bucket or a funnel). Solids stay much drier and smell less. Follow official advice on the urine; where there's a garden, it can usually be diluted and poured on an unused patch, away from vegetables and water.
5. When it's a third to half full, tie off the inner bag, then the outer bag, and keep it in a covered bin outdoors, away from water tanks, wells, streams and food gardens, and out of reach of children and pets, until collection.
6. Wash hands with soap, every time.
7. Tape the usual toilet shut so no one uses it by mistake.

The toilet kit

• 2 buckets of about 20 L (5 gal) with tight lids, or a camping toilet
• Heavy-duty bags: 6 or more
• Absorbent cover: about 3 kg (6.6 lb) of sawdust or clumping cat litter
• Toilet paper: about 1 roll per person every 4 days
• Disinfectant and disposable gloves
• A lidded outdoor bin for the sealed bags

Washing hands without running water

Stand a water container with a tap on a table or crate, so the tap is at hand height, with a bucket underneath to catch the water (it can flush the toilet later). Hang soap in an old stocking or on a string, and a towel on a hook. Put one by the toilet and one by the kitchen, and refill with clean water daily. Hand sanitiser (at least 60 percent alcohol) helps when water is short, but it doesn't work well on visibly dirty or greasy hands. Help young children use it so they don't swallow it.

Sanitary products

Count everyone in the house who has periods, and keep one period's supply of whatever each person normally uses, plus a spare pack each. That's about 20 pads or tampons a period for many people, anywhere between 10 and 30 depending on flow. Add period pain relief (ask your pharmacist), small bags for wrapping used products, and a lidded bin. If a child in the house could start their periods within the year, stock for them too, and talk about it beforehand.

Continence products

For anyone who uses pads, pull-ups or other continence products: their usual daily number for every day you're planning for (3 days at least), plus 20 percent extra. Add barrier cream, wipes and disposable bed pads.

Babies and toddlers

Multiply by the days you're planning for, and stock the next size up too (babies grow), with wipes and nappy rash cream.

If your baby uses formula, ready-to-feed formula is the safest choice in an emergency, because it needs no water or mixing. It matters most for babies under 2 months or born early. If you use powder, you also need bottled water, or a way to boil water (outdoors) and let it cool, plus clean bottles. Always follow the tin's directions exactly.

More guides

• What a 3-day home kit needs
• How much water to store at home
• Your fridge and freezer when the power goes