GO-3.0/tools/qortino-knowledge/docs/survival/heat-light-sanitation.md

Heat, Light, and Sanitation Without the Grid

Educational preparedness information. Carbon monoxide and fire are the two killers in blackout winters — every combustion warning here is serious.

Staying warm when heating fails

Heat the person, then a room, then (maybe) the house:

• Person: wool or synthetic base layers (never cotton against skin when cold — it holds moisture and chills you), insulated hat and socks indoors, a hot water bottle in the sleeping bag, warm drinks and fatty food. A quality sleeping bag rated to your climate's extremes is a heating system that never needs fuel.
• One warm room: pick the smallest room on the sheltered side, close all doors, hang blankets over doorways and windows (most heat leaves through glass), get everyone + candles/lamp in it. Body heat alone keeps a small sealed room several degrees above the rest of the house.
• Safe heat sources: a wood stove is the gold standard. Portable paraffin/kerosene heaters and catalytic propane heaters rated for indoor use need a cracked window for oxygen and a working carbon-monoxide alarm with fresh batteries. NEVER heat with a barbecue, camp stove, oven left open (gas), or generator indoors — these kill quietly every winter.
• Protect the house: if freezing is prolonged, drip taps or shut off and drain water lines to prevent burst pipes; pour a cup of salt water or antifreeze rated for plumbing into toilet bowls and traps.

Recognize hypothermia early: intense shivering, clumsy hands, slurred speech, apathy — treat with dry insulation, warm sweet drinks if fully conscious, skin-to-skin or heat packs to the torso (not extremities first), and gentle handling.

Light

Priority order: LED headlamps (hands-free, efficient — a good one runs 50-150 hours on low), LED lanterns for room light, then flame (candles, oil lamps) as ambience-plus-backup with hard rules — stable holders, away from curtains, never asleep or unattended, one fire extinguisher and a smoke alarm per level. Lithium primary AA/AAA cells store 10-20 years without leaking; alkalines leak and ruin devices in storage. Rechargeables + a small solar panel make light self-sustaining. Glow sticks are child-safe night lights with zero fire risk.

Sanitation: the underrated lifesaver

Disease follows failed sanitation within days. If the toilet won't flush because the power or water is out, you still have options:

• If sewer lines are intact (power out, pipes fine): flush manually by pouring 6-8 L of any non-potable water (rain, pool, ditch) directly into the bowl in one confident pour.
• If sewage may back up or water is too precious: the twin-bucket system — one bucket for urine (low hazard, dilute and dispose away from water sources), one lined with heavy bags for feces, covered after each use with sawdust, ash, dry soil, or shredded paper to control odor and flies. Seal, store away from living areas, dispose per authorities later or bury 20+ cm deep, 60+ m from any water.
• Handwashing is non-negotiable: set up a station — jug with tap or bottle with pierced cap, soap, towel — beside the toilet bucket and kitchen. Alcohol gel (60%+) backs it up. Most "disaster diseases" are fecal-oral and stop at clean hands.
• Stock: toilet paper depth, heavy trash bags, soap in quantity, bleach (rotate yearly), moist wipes, feminine hygiene supplies, and diapers where relevant.

Washing and waste

Dish hygiene without running water: three-basin method — hot soapy wash, hot rinse, sanitizing rinse (capful of bleach per few litres), air dry. Body: a 2-3 L "bucket bath" or pressurized garden sprayer with warmed water keeps a person genuinely clean. Laundry: soak-agitate-wring in buckets (a clean toilet plunger makes an effective agitator); wool clothing needs washing far less often than cotton. Burnable trash reduces volume; food waste attracts animals — bury or seal it.