Grid-Down Sanitation and Hygiene Plan
What to do when the toilet will not flush: a lined toilet or bucket, clean hands with little water, trash, and one sanitation tote that holds it all.
By Randall R. Russell, USMC Veteran
Health note: This is general information, not medical advice. Follow product labels and your doctor or pharmacist.
Nobody likes this topic, which is why it is easy to skip. If the toilet won't flush, you have no water to flush with, or the sewer isn't working, you need another way to go to the bathroom. A bucket, some bags and a plan, set up ahead of time, give you one.
This page covers the emergency toilet, handwashing with little water, and trash, with a short supply list you can put in one tote. The free printable has the setup steps and the supply checklist.
Step 1: When the Toilet Will Not Work
The Washington State Department of Health gives three options if your toilet won't flush, you have no water to flush with, or your sewage system isn't working:
- Use someone else's toilet if it is working: a neighbor, friend, relative or local business.
- Turn your own toilet into a collector. Turn off the water valve to the toilet. Flush out any water still in the bowl (with the valve off, it should not refill). Line the bowl, under the seat, with a plastic kitchen garbage bag inside another kitchen garbage bag. Put kitty litter, peat moss, lime or something similar in the inner bag to absorb liquid and cut odor.
- Use a five-gallon bucket, with a toilet seat if you have one, set up the same way.
When the inner bag is full, tie it up and put in a new one with fresh absorbent. Store the used bags away from kids, pets and wildlife, for example in a garbage can in the garage, until trash pickup is back.
Step 2: Clean Hands With Little Water
The CDC says to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially at the key times when germs spread, like after using the bathroom and before eating. If clean tap water is not available, it suggests setting up a temporary handwashing station using a large water jug. If you do not have soap and water, it says to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Set the handwashing station right next to the emergency toilet: a jug with a spout, a bar of soap, paper towels, and a bucket underneath to catch the water. Keep the toilet away from where you cook and eat. Water planning for all of this is in our Water Filter Chooser, and Ready.gov counts sanitation in the one gallon per person per day it says to store.
Step 3: Trash
When pickup stops, trash piles up fast. Keep it bagged, tied and outside the living space, away from food and water and out of reach of pets and animals. Keep the toilet bags separate from the kitchen trash.
Step 4: The Sanitation Tote
One lidded tote holds everything. Ready.gov's basic kit list includes moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation, and suggests soap, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, plus feminine supplies and personal hygiene items.
- ☐ Five-gallon bucket with a lid, and a snap-on toilet seat
- ☐ Heavy kitchen garbage bags and ties (plenty)
- ☐ Kitty litter, peat moss or similar absorbent
- ☐ Toilet paper
- ☐ Soap, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes
- ☐ Moist towelettes
- ☐ Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
- ☐ A water jug with a spout for handwashing, and paper towels
- ☐ Disposable gloves
Check the tote twice a year, when you check your first aid kits.
Gear for This Plan
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For Cleanup Dust
3M Aura Particulate Respirator 9205+ (N95) (paid link). Ready.gov's kit list includes a dust mask to help filter contaminated air, and this is a genuine N95 that folds flat. Honest downside: it only protects with a good seal against your face, and it filters particles, not gases or vapors.
Still on the List, No Pick Yet
A bucket toilet seat, heavy bags, absorbent and a handwashing jug. Look for them at hardware or camping stores. We will add picks once we have ones we are willing to stand behind.
Get the Printable Plan
The free printable has the toilet setup steps, the handwashing station, the tote checklist and a check log. Tape the setup steps inside the tote lid. See all of our free printable guides.
Where This Advice Comes From
- Washington State Department of Health: Toilet Use During an Emergency
- CDC: Guidelines for Personal Hygiene During an Emergency
- Ready.gov: Build a Kit
- Product details: as on our gear page
Last checked: October 11, 2026 (Washington State DOH, CDC, Ready.gov). Product details as on our gear page.
Your free printable plan
3 pages with lines to write on. No store links and no prices inside.
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