In my area the high temperatures are consistently in the 90s and the lows are in the mid-70s. The heat index can easily add another 10 degrees. Point being, it’s hot outside. I work outside and have a very physical job, lawn care and fencing. I am self-employed and I work alone. It is very important that I stay hydrated. I face risks such as dehydration and heat-stroke. There is no-one around to help me if I have either of these issues. That being the case, I keep a fairly large supply of water nearby at all times. I keep an ice chest in my truck with roughly 15-20 bottles of water and 3-4 Gatorades either on ice or very cool water.
It’s my understanding that even a relatively inactive person should drink one half gallon of water every day, minimum. Add in some moderate exercise and that number should increase to closer to a full gallon. The more active a person is, the more water is required to stay hydrated.
Many prepping sources suggest that you keep one gallon of water for each member of your household for three days. Count the members of your household, multiply by three, and that’s how many gallons of water you should have on-hand. That is not how much you should drink from until it is gone and then refill. This supply is to be kept in reserve in case there is some interruption in supply. This could be caused by anything from the much-feared End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It to a simple breakage of a water main that supplies your home. Keeping a supply of water is just a good idea. My personal system is to keep several cases of bottled water stacked in my home. While I would like to have a nice filtration system, for now, this is the best I can do. I get 45 count cases of 16-ounce bottles of water from the local Sam’s Club for $0.08 per bottle after taxes. That’s really not that bad of a price. Each case of water holds roughly 6 gallons of water. That’s nearly one week’s worth of water for one person in each case for about $4.00. the cases stack nicely as well.
As for your day to day though, what can you do to stay hydrated? As for me, part of my morning routine is to rink 16 ounces of water with my morning vitamins. That’s 1/8 of a gallon already in my system. Throughout the remainder of the day, drink about a cup of water an hour and by the time you get off of work you will have drunk ¾ of a gallon of water. Get into the habit of carrying a water bottle with you and you’ll always have some water on-hand. Many different companies make plastic bottles that will last for years and can be refilled throughout the day. Some even come with a carabiner clip if you want to be able to attach the bottle to a bag or pack. It’s really not that complicated. Be careful keeping water in your vehicle on hot days as that can not only heat up the water but also release BPAs from some bottles into the water. I’m no scientist, but from what I’ve read, it’s not good for you. Keep a small cooler in your vehicle and you’ll have cold water wherever you go. If you work in an office, keep a small supply (a few bottles) tucked under your desk or in a drawer. As I said before, I keep several bottles in an ice chest in my truck at all times.
In a future post, I’ll cover a few ice chests and my thoughts. For now, stay cool and hydrated.
We had a little 24 watt chiller in our car and it significantly drained the battery when I forgot it was plugged in and left if for 18 hours. So we went old school after that, a metal bottle in a wide top flask with crushed ice.
Curiously it worked way better than the high-tech chiller.
As for the leeching of chemicals?
We gave up on plastic a long time ago and only use glass storage in the house and stainless steel (drop proof) when out and about. Having said that, our emergency supply is fed, filtered, into three large plastic water butts. Definitely not BPA or whatever BUT in an emergency, (and a very old phrase from me), would you rather worry about what could happen in years to come, or die today?
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