Sorry for the lack of posting. Things continue to be amost-as-hectic as last week at Church as we celebrate Bright Week, and life has been a bit hectic as well. Good, but hectic.
First, this comment brings up a good discussion. Why not use plastic food jars and such? First, we will be getting into plastic containers here soon, rather into plastic containers that work for Long Term Storage (LTS). As for your usual plastic jars from foods and such, they can be quite useful but NOT for long-term storage.
A few quick points. First, the average plastic jar or container often contains interesting compounds that will leach out. That why even with food-safe plastic containers it is advisable to use mylar bags to isolate. Second, the use-life of your average plastic container is often limited. As the chemicals within leach, oxidize, etc., the plastic often turns quite brittle. They may be good for a year or two, but after that all bets are off. There are some that may last longer, but they are a rarity given that they are often more expensive to produce. Third, the porosity of you lower-grade plastics is higher. Keep in mind that even metal is not truly solid. There is a fair bit of space between molecules, and your denser plastics, glass, and metal do a fair job of keeping most things in or out. And I do mean most things: hydrogen is small and slippery and one of the things keeping us from a hydrogen economy is devising a reliable and safe means of storage. Zeolites were investigated for that, not sure where that research is these days. Your cheaper plastics are more porous, which is why good food-safe plastic containers, which are denser, cost more. Also, I focus more on glass than “typical” plastic containers for LTS both for lifespan and for the fact that the glass containers can be re-used for canning multiple times if you have sufficient lids tucked away. Again, we will be getting to food-safe plastic containers here soon.
Second, this comment points out a good option for sewing in the face of emergencies or disasters. I’m sure there are other brands similar, so take a look around. The more you can do for yourself, the better off you will be.
More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Plastic is especially not recommended for long term storage as people have complained about ‘forever chemicals’ and how plastic stuff would never decay. So now they’re making plastic stuff that decays faster…
I’d like to add a wrinkle to consider with modern, biodegradable plastics. they are made from soy or corn, and end up being snacks for rats. I can speak from experience in having to twice this year have the engine harness in my car replaced because when I had to travel to assist family members (hip replacement surgeries), rats made nests in the engine bay and chewed up the wiring. in both cases the car sat less than 2wks. I would not depend on modern plastics at all.
that said – honda makes an anti-rodent tape that is essentially capsaicin infused electric tape. supposed to work wonders. I have some of my wiring done up in it now – need to find the time to complete that task. keep that in mind for modern vehicles.
This deserves a rant all of it’s own, especially the folly of forcing critical military and emergency systems to use this dreck. A good bit of recent donations to Ukraine are unusable because of this type of wiring, and the love the local rodents and wildlife have for it. It wasn’t a good idea at the start, and the people behind it have not only never served, but clearly have never gone camping or dealt with the harsher realities of urban life. More soon.
I shared that news with my Wife to relieve some of the exasperation we were feeling – in context our woes are minor and were overcome relatively easily. it all sure is a good case of lessons in unintended consequences and no good deed goes unpunished. the intent behind biodegradable plastics is laudable, but so far the execution is sub-optimal
Sub-optimal is very diplomatic. 🙂 I’m leaning towards disaster or even unmitigated disaster myself. 🙂