30+ Tips for Coping Without Running Water

Every prepper worth their salt stores water and lots of it.  Not only that, they store one, two, three or more ways to purify water.  That is all well and good because you never know when a disaster or other disruptive event may occur and those water resources will be called upon for drinking, cleaning, hygiene, and sanitation purposes.

Recently, my number came up and I was the one without water during a short term, personal water apocalypse.  Now really, that may be a bit dramatic because I was simply without running water.  This was caused by a break in the line from the water main at the street to my home.  All told, I was without running water for 12 days.

To be honest, I was quite relaxed about the ordeal.  After all, I had cases of bottled water for drinking, a 55 gallon water barrel holding purified water, a source of raw, unfiltered water from a gravity pump right outside my house, and of course, my Berkey, LifeStraw Family, SolarBag, and pool shock for water purification.

Still, being without running water brought up issues I had not considered.  Albeit water-ready, the reality of not being able to turn on the tap and have fresh, and especially hot, water was a new experience.

Today I share tips for coping without running water so that you can be better prepared if something similar happens to you.

6 Tips [UPDATE: Now 31 Tips] for Coping Without Water

1. Fill the bathtub

With advance notice of a water shutoff, fill the bathtub and as many spare jugs and buckets as you can round up. In addition, fill the Berkey, if you have one and all of your sinks.

2. Double up on hand sanitation.

Fill a spray bottle with liquid castile soap, water, and a copious amount of tea tree or other anti-bacterial essential oil. To wash you hands, spray with a generous amount of your soap/tea tree mixture then rinse with water from a filled sink or a container of water set next to the sink.  Follow-up with commercial hand sanitizer.

3. Know the location of your preps!

In my case, I had two camp showers that could have been used for taking hot showers after heating water on the stove.  Could I find them?  Nope.

4. No matter how many buckets you have, you need more.

In addition, make sure the buckets you have are manageable, weight wise, when filled with water.  Remember, water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon.  My buckets were re-purposed 2-pound buckets obtained for free from a local café and were small enough for me to handle comfortably when filled.  A water filled 5 gallon bucket would have been a problem.

5. When using the toilet, flush liquids daily but solids upon each use.

I had two toilets in use so it was easy to abide by this formula.  I did not, however, flush TP (see below).

6. Dispose of toilet paper into a wastebasket and not into the toilet.

This will prevent your toilet from backing up because it is crammed with paper!  Been there, done that.  Do, however, be mindful of the smell and dispose of the contents of your wastebasket daily.  Baking soda helps control odors if you can not dispose of soiled TP often enough.

7. When it comes time to flush, fill the tank with water and use the handle on the toilet to flush.

This uses less water than dumping water into the bowl.

8. Stock up on disposable plates, cups, and eating utensils.

Cleaning up after meals will be a challenge and will use a lot of water.  Save the water you have for cooking utensils and use disposables for everything else.

9. Clean with cloths and rags not sponges.

Without proper cleaning, sponges will become very unsanitary quickly.  Gross even.  Use microfiber cloths or cleaning rags made from discarded tee shirts or towels.  They can be washed using a Mobile Washer, tossed in the garbage, or laundered when things return to normal.

10. Learn to take “sponge baths” using a washcloth and soap.

Your spray bottle of castile soap will come in handy for this.  Better yet, lay in a supply of No-Rinse Bath Wipes (my favorite), homemade wipes (something I still need to learn to do), or baby wipes.

11. Have at least one way to filter and purify watered gathered from the outdoors.

12. Learn to hook a hose up to your water heater so that you can use its water in an emergency.

It is a good idea to turn off the electrical breaker or turn off the pilot light first.

13.  Plumbers may not always be available so learn minor plumbing repairs yourself.

When the water came back on, one of our toilets failed, probably due to the backflow of gunk.  Repairs were easy with a backup tank repair kit.

14. Get to know which neighbors have what home repair and handyman skills.

Let them know about your own skill-set so that there is reciprocity and you can help each other out when something goes wrong and needs fixing.  Everyone knows how to do something, right?

15. Keep basic tools on hand, including shovels, axes, saws, hatchets, and other manly-man items.

Just because you are a woman does not mean you should not have basic tools!

16. Maintain a good sense of humor.

Treat the experience and a learning experience as well as a grand adventure in self-reliance.

17. Minimize the dishes

Assign everyone a plate, bowl, cup, and silverware and maybe a coffee cup. That means only that many dishes can be dirty at any given time. This is a trick my husband and I learned when living in a camper with no indoor running water for 18 months and then living in the shell of our house for awhile after that before we had actual indoor plumbing. Sure disposables are great for short term use but using them every day for over a year didn’t seem practical at all so we did not do it. Plus they do cost money and you have to burn them or haul them off in the garbage.

18. Remember to mark water clearly

You don’t want to mix up treated and untreated water so have some way of labeling containers. Duct tape is sturdy but can be hard to apply if something is too wet or sweaty. Just have some way to tell so you can avoid getting everyone sick by drinking unsanitary water.

19. Keep a list of what would have made it easier

There is nothing like a crisis to make it clear that you don’t have what you need on hand to deal with a situation. Rather than forgetting the experience, you need to write down what you discover that you didn’t have on hand.

20. Plan for the kids and elderly

Doing without water is one thing if you are just one or two people for a day or two, however when it comes to kids and the elderly you need to take some other steps. Disposable diapers, wipes, and making sure that you have some extra clothing on hand can be helpful.

21. Plan meals that require less prep and water

If you can get to the grocery store, stock up on items that will get everyone by until you can get your water on. If you already have preps that you can use then good for you but at the same time the water being out briefly is not necessarily a reason to get into those nice freeze dried meals you have gathered up. Just use your own judgment on the severity of the situation.

22. Utilize your freezer

When it comes down to cooking fast, having some meals in your freezer that you can throw together quickly can be a big help when the water is out or acting up. There has been a lot written on how you can buy basic ingredients and chop up and prep several weeks worth of dinners and store them in your freezer. Just throw then in a Crock Pot, Roasting Pan, Or Stir Fry them and you can have a meal in minutes that is much healthier and less expensive than premade frozen foods.

23. If you don’t have a few large stock pots then you should get a few right away.

Large stock pots are great for boiling water so you can clean things and do dishes if needed. While you are going to want to limit having to do this as much as you can, if an outage goes on for a few days or if it happens when you just happened to have not did the dishes the night before then you might feel the need for some quick hot water.

24. Sweep and Vacuum More

Without water, the sanitation of your home can definitely suffer. Sweeping or vacuuming more often can help control some of the dirt and debris that you may encounter. If you have pets the problem can become worse quite quickly. The less dirt and debris on your floor the less dust in the air and settling on other things in your home.

25. Reuse your clothing

Don’t change everything you wear each day. Jeans can often be worn for 2-3 days if you are not doing work that gets them very dirty. If you have items that are easy to hand wash and dry out quickly then you may want to wear those until you get your water working reliably once more.

26. Have a small drum washer for washing what is absolutely needed

I mentioned these washers in the post about off grid laundry because they are amazing and less than $50. While it may be cumbersome for some to spin the handle for the few minutes it takes to do a pair of jeans or a few shirts, it is better than nothing at all. If you are living remotely this is an excellent back up to have. Laundromats are not as common as they once were and very expensive and time consuming to use since you have to be right there the whole time. In that case you would be better off giving your kids a bonus on their allowance for stepping up and helping out with the wash!

27. Consider bathing in the great out doors

If you have a pond or stream on your property that is not too dirty then you might consider using a mild soap and bathing in it if is the right time of year. Running water is going to be cleaner than ponds generally speaking. It also might be a good time to load up and go to your favorite swimming hole.

28. Shower at the gym

While it may not be ideal, if you have a gym membership or a community health club then you may have shower privileges that you can use. In my area during a water outage that effected a lot of people in town, the fitness centers welcomed those affected to come and clean up there.

29. Keep toilet cleaner or vinegar on hand for odors

If you are using your toilet during the outage than the result of you trying to reduce the amount you flush can lead to a smellier and dirtier toilet than you are used to. A spray bottle of vinegar or biodegradable toilet cleaner can help keep things fresher and a lot more pleasant for everyone in the family. Just remember that eventually your water is going to be back on and you don’t want to use anything that will kill off the good bacteria in your septic tank.

30. Have a lot of extra socks and underwear

While you may have some favorite socks, during a water outage, having just good ole’ cheap white athletic socks that come in 6-12 pks is going to help out with stretching out how long it is before you feel you have to do laundry. Having a weeks worth of extra socks and underwear is not a bad plan for any emergency.

31. Sports Drink Dispensers Help A Lot

For the occasional or long term outage, the Rubbermaid 3 gallon water coolers with a spicket are a blessing to have. These coolers are easy to clean and you can label them if needed with just a Sharpie marker. There are many different brands out there but Rubbermaids seem to be the way to go because that is what you see a lot of landscaping crews and other heavy duty workers using for their water when out on a job.

The Final Word

Regardless of how much you drill for disruptive events, having something happen for real will open your eyes to considerations that were unplanned.  With camping, backpacking, and boating, you know in advance you will not have running water and can plan accordingly.

No running water at the drop of a hat is another story completely.