GOT SOME, HAVEN'T USED IT YERT….
http://survivalupdate.com/preppers-love-diatomaceous-earth/?listab_list=listab_listPreppers Love Diatomaceous Earth
Survivalists love hacks that can help out in many different situations. That's why preppers stock up on diatomaceous earth (DE). This organic product keeps animals – including us humans – healthy, protects food storage, gardens, and living quarters, and can help filter water.
You say you've never heard of this miracle stuff, much less how to pronounce it? Take heart, you are not alone.
First off, say "die-uh-tuh-MAY-shous" a few times to get the hang of it. Or use its short handle DE.
Diatomaceous earth is completely natural. It's made from the fossilized remains of tiny algae-like organisms called diatoms ("DI-a-tomz") that lived in ancient lakes, rivers, and oceans. Today, diatoms are mined to manufacture the soft white or off-white powder that has slightly abrasive properties.
Silica (or silicon dioxide) occurs is one of the two most abundant elements found in the Earth's crust. Silica sand is used to make concrete and mortar. It is also used as a fine grinding polish for glass and stone, in foundry molds, and in glass-making.
Silica gel is often used as a desiccant, something that removes moisture.
The silica powder made from DE feels soft to our fingers but, in fact, is like microscopic concertina wire for insects. Tiny razor-sharp edges cut down any small-scaled intruder that attempts to cross a perimeter.
It might surprise you to know that diatomaceous earth comes in a food grade form that is safe and healthy for human consumption. [CAUTION: Non-food grade diatomaceous earth is NOT SAFE to be inhaled or ingested.]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) strictly regulates food grade DE, for obvious reasons. Lives are at stake. Products must be clean, uncontaminated, and safe for internal bodily use. Non-food grade DE is used mostly as an agricultural and household insecticide.
Preppers get food grade DE and the good news is that it doesn't cost that much more than the non-USDA approved products. A 4-pound bag of garden DE costs about $8.50 as compared to about $13 for the same size bag of food grade DE. Both products are available at hardware stores and online.
Just look at all the things that DE can do, as we hope for the best while planning for the worst:
1. Food Storage
Keeping and well-stocked and regularly rotated emergency food pantry will count for nothing if moisture and bugs get to the goods before you do. DE acts very much like the small silica gel packs you find in some foodstuffs – sort of like the toy surprise inside a box of Cracker Jacks, except that this isn't a toy, junior.
The weird thing about DE is that it's safe for us to eat – in fact, it's a great health supplement. But no insect, not even grain weevils, can stand up to the dicing and slicing injuries that diatomaceous earth delivers.
To keep a container of something dry like wheat or oats moisture-free and pest-free, just sprinkle in a thin layer of DE every few inches starting with the bottom layer.
2. Health
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is heel-dragging on studying diatomaceous earth for its health benefits. However, many people rave about the results they have gotten from intaking DE.
Consuming diatomaceous earth is child's play: just dump one teaspoon into a glass of water and drink. The DE won't dissolve but it will stay in suspension long enough for you to polish it off. Best results come from taking DE one hour before meals or two hours afterward.Animals use the mineral silica in nearly every vital organ. Scientists believe it contributes to bone, tendon, joint, and muscle health. Ingesting diatomaceous earth not only provides a natural source of silica but also detoxifies and removes heavy metals from the body through natural elimination.
DE kills the bugs inside you as effectively as it nails them in the pantry. Eliminating intestinal parasites is critical in a survival situation. We pick them up from handling dirt, drinking untreated water, and regular contact with livestock.
3. Hygiene
Good hygiene (notably cleanliness) promotes good health. Diatomaceous earth is a survival hack for DIY toothpaste, shampoo, or skin scrub. Imagine the scrubbing ability of DE toothpaste as it literally lacerates tea and coffee stains. Don't overdo it, though – practitioners advise brushing with DE no more than once a week or so.
DE makes a great skin scrub because it exfoliates (removes dead skin from the top layers) and cleans out pores.
Hair lice and mites have no chance against shampoo laced with DE. As an added bonus, dry skin, dirt, oils, and grease are all cleansed away.
4. Livestock
Protect your herds and flocks by adding diatomaceous earth to their water or feed. Bye-bye, intestinal parasites. Treat for lice, mites, and fleas by rubbing DE into animal fur or feathers. Also dust pens, nest boxes, coops, stall floors, and pet beds to prevent infestations.
Be sure to apply DE externally to animals only in places with good ventilation. Many animals are harmed by inhaling large amounts of fine powder or dust. Wait for DE dust to settle in a stall or other enclosed area before re-introducing the animal.
5. Household
Diatomaceous earth is very handy around the house. It can be used as a polishing scrub for floors, shelves, counters – you name it. Used as a scouring powder, DE cleans away burned-on grime from pots and pans. Sprinkled on the toilet brush, its abrasive powers help clean the bowl.
DE also acts like baking soda and traps odors. It absorbs moisture, preventing mold and mildew.
Dust pillows, mattresses, blankets, and sleeping quarters with DE to thwart bed bugs and other unwanted, disease-carrying creepy-crawlies.
In the garden, added diatomaceous earth to the soil. The ground retains water better and holds onto nutrients while draining freely. It is commonly found in potting soils as a soil conditioner.
Low-cost, effective, multi-tasking food grade diatomaceous earth is a must-have for serious preppers. What other product do you know that can deliver so much good during a bad time?
8 Creative Reasons Why Every Prepper Needs PVC Pipe
This article was originally published by Jeremiah Johnson at Tess Pennington's ReadyNutrition.com
Tess is the author of The Prepper's Blueprint: How To Survive ANY Disaster
PVC is actually some pretty versatile stuff. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride, and it can be found both in rigid or in flexible forms. There are also different uses as per the variance in capabilities.
PVC pipe can have a heat-resistance ranging from about 212 degrees F all the way up to 500 degrees F. Just be on the safe side: take the product number, make, and model, and find out directly from the manufacturer what the temperature range/rating is. PVC can hold up to a pretty good beating from a slew of different chemicals, such as salt, acids, strong bases (alkaline, such as fertilizer), liquid fats, alcohol, and other strong solvents. For this reason, it is used in plumbing for sewage, as well as outflow transport for other noxious wastes and chemicals.
Putting it to use will depend on you researching the types available in your local hardware stores and performing an accurate assessment of them for what you intend. Let's explore some of those "thinking-outside-the-box" uses for PVC pipe.
- Cache tubes: Yes, PVC pipe (especially the type known as uPVC, or unplasticized PVC) resists solvents and things such as salts and alkaline substances that you find in the soil. You can find some "biggies," believe me, if you go to a pipe or plumbing warehouse that specializes in large-diameter pipes. You can cache all sorts of things, such as firearms, freeze-dried foods, or anything you wish to hide from the IHM (Incredible Human Mob) that will come "hunter-gathering" through your neighborhood when it hits the fan. Always good to have a surplus stashed away to fall back on, akin to the squirrel and his acorns. Ensure anything that has moving parts is properly coated with oil, grease, etc, and then packed away. There are "pop-on" end caps that you can place on the ends of sections you cut that will stay without needing threading. Here the only thing to limit you is your imagination. As mentioned in earlier caching articles, learn and remember your frost-line. Here in Montana, it's about 5 feet. Unless you have one that's about 1-2 feet, you may have to build an "in-ground" passage or aperture to get to your stashed supplies in the wintertime.
- Protective tubing: With end-caps, just as mentioned before. Squirrel away fishing rods, long poles for things such as chimney brushes or tent-frame poles in these guys…strong against impact, weather-resistant, and not too heavy to carry with you.
- For a frame/structure: with "corner-caps," and "three-way" pieces for where the structure connects, you can make a portable shower point, or even a latrine-shield for yourself out of these, out of (8) 4' pieces, (4) 6' pieces, and (8) of those tri-attachments for the corners. Then you can cover/shield the structure with something as simple as some ponchos, small tarps, or (if push came to shove) dark trash bags that you slit open…attach these with either clamps or clothespins. The objective is to make it light and portable.
- Water transport: If you load about a dozen 8 footers (especially the plumbing types that have a sort of "funnel" end that permits them to be attached together), you can make a small sluice to channel water toward your camp…to fill up water cans, or even a small cistern that you can create by digging a "pond-shaped" depression and lining it to prevent water loss.
- Clothes Drying apparatus: can be built of its own using connection pieces, or just simply by lashing a horizontal pipe between a couple of trees. Hey, in "The Day After Doomsday," your washing machine and dryer are no longer going to be used.
- Greenhouses: This will take some extra planning on your part, but it can be done. You will also need UV resistant rolls of plastic to cover this greenhouse frame. Once again, its main "selling point" will be that you can break down the greenhouse at a moment's notice and set up shop somewhere else. You could even use it to create an aquaponics system. Use your imagination and experiment with models that can fit your needs. Here are some other ideas for using plastic sheeting.
- Field-Expedient Raft: If you have them thick enough (preferably a big pile of about 3 dozen, with a diameter of about 4 to 6 inches, and (2) end caps for each), you can make a raft by lashing them together after capping the ends. The air inside will make them buoyant. You probably won't make it that far…but for a short distance, it may be just what you need…to feasibly tow a whole bunch of gear with you…while it's tethered to your rowboat or kayak. If there's no rowboat or kayak, it may be what you need to cross a river or small body of water.
- Miscellaneous Uses: Just to have a good supply of it around the house cannot hurt, and it certainly won't break your bank to buy different sizes a little at a time. This is a visualize and construct type-of-thing. It may be that you just need it to make an emergency repair on some existing plumbing in your home, or to provide some measure of protection or insulation for an outdoor electrical cord, or such.