Make water safer
Store the Ready.gov gallon-a-day baseline, then use boiling, EPA bleach doses, filters, tablets, SODIS, and distillation - and know what each method cannot fix.
Read the water guide
The full household survival guide
90 Day Blackout Guide for Families and Renters
A 90 day blackout guide starts with official U.S. baselines - several days of supplies (Ready.gov) and a two-week home supply (American Red Cross) - then adds water treatment, food safety, carbon monoxide rules, sanitation, heat and cold, communication, and lawful home defense so a household can last longer if the lights stay off.
90 Days Without Power by Robert Smythe is the full guide to survival during a long blackout. It is written for regular families, roommates, and renters, not a doomsday manifesto.
What this 90 day blackout guide helps you do
Avoid carbon monoxide
Keep generators more than 20 feet from openings (CDC / CPSC), never heat with a grill or oven, and use battery CO alarms.
Read generator safetyKeep food and people safe
USDA times for a closed fridge and freezer, a first-aid and medicine plan, sanitation when the toilet will not flush, and a calm home-security chapter.
Read food safetyWhat’s inside the book
- Why some outages last hours and a few last weeks, using documented official reviews rather than invented customer counts
- A phase-by-phase timeline from the first hour through an uncommon 90-day disruption
- Household planning math, renter-friendly storage, and printable calculators
- Making any water safer to drink, including finding water already in the house
- Food safety using USDA / FoodSafety.gov times
- Power, light, fuel, and carbon monoxide
- Staying alive in extreme heat and extreme cold
- Medical care, medications, and powered devices
- Sanitation, communication, money and records
- Protecting your home and family: gray-man habits, door hardening, a safe room, and lawful defense
- The Top 50 items to have, with QR codes that open this website’s gear pages
- A verified Watch & Learn video library
- Pilot state editions for Arizona, Texas, California, Florida, and Minnesota
Sample pages
Pages from the current visual edition, including the water chapter, the home-defense chapter, and the Top 10 gear cards.
Free guides that answer the searches people actually type
How to prepare for a 90-day blackout
Stages from 72 hours to an optional 90-day cushion.
How much water to store for 90 days
A live calculator using the official one-gallon baseline.
Power outage preparedness checklist
A printable-style list aligned with Ready.gov and the Red Cross.
How to stay cool without power
An Arizona-aware heat plan that does not rely on a fan alone above about 90°F.
State editions
Five pilot editions add climate, grid notes, documented past outages, and a sourced self-defense statute note. A state index lists all 50 states; dedicated editions beyond the first five are marked coming soon.
Arizona · Texas · California · Florida · Minnesota
About the author
Frequently asked questions
Is a 90-day blackout likely?
No agency treats a 90-day nationwide blackout as the most likely Tuesday. Ready.gov starts with several days of supplies, and the American Red Cross recommends a two-week home supply. 90 Days Without Power treats those official baselines as the first steps and the 90-day layer as an optional cushion.
How much water should I store?
Ready.gov and the Red Cross use a baseline of one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation. Ready.gov notes that needs can double in very hot weather. For four people, two weeks is 56 gallons at the baseline; 90 days is 360 gallons, which few homes can store, so you also need a way to treat more.
What is the safest way to make water drinkable?
CDC says to bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet. EPA’s emergency disinfection page also lists bleach doses for microbial risk on otherwise drinkable water. Do not boil or bleach water that officials say is chemically contaminated.
Where should I run a generator?
CDC and CPSC say to run generators outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents, never in a garage even with the door open. Use a battery carbon monoxide alarm near sleeping areas.
Does the printed book include Amazon affiliate links?
No. Amazon Associates rules do not allow affiliate links inside e-books and similar paid digital files. QR codes in the book open pages on this site. Buy buttons on the gear pages here may be affiliate links.
Is this medical or legal advice?
No. The book and this site summarize public guidance from agencies such as CDC, EPA, USDA, and Ready.gov. Confirm medications with your clinician. Self-defense notes point at statutes; they are not legal advice.