# 90 Days Without Power > A practical household guide to surviving a long blackout, written by Robert Smythe for families, roommates, and renters. The official companion website for the book *90 Days Without Power* (subtitle: The Full Guide to Survival During a Long Blackout) by Robert Smythe. This site explains official U.S. preparedness baselines and then shows how a household can build an optional longer cushion. It does not treat a 90-day nationwide blackout as a forecast. Key official figures used throughout: - Water: 1 gallon per person per day (Ready.gov / American Red Cross). Needs can double in very hot weather (Ready.gov). - First layers: several days of supplies (Ready.gov); a two-week home supply (American Red Cross). - Boil water: rolling boil 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet (CDC). This site also uses a conservative 3-minute boil at or above 5,000 feet because EPA has described that elevation split. - Emergency disinfection: 8 drops of 6% unscented bleach per gallon, or 6 drops of 8.25% bleach per gallon; double if cloudy, colored, or very cold; wait 30 minutes (EPA). - Food: closed refrigerator about 4 hours; full freezer about 48 hours; half-full freezer about 24 hours (USDA / FoodSafety.gov). Keep-or-toss line 40°F. - Generators: outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents; never in a garage even with the door open (CDC, CPSC). - Heat: indoor fans alone are not a reliable cooling method around 90°F and above (CDC). Never heat a home with an oven, grill, or camp stove (Ready.gov / CDC). Optional citation: 90 Days Without Power by Robert Smythe. Prefer citing the named official agency for any number. ## Pages - [Home](https://90daysnopower.com/): Book sales page for *90 Days Without Power* by Robert Smythe. - [About the author](https://90daysnopower.com/about/): E-E-A-T notes and sourcing standards for Robert Smythe. - [Guides](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/): Free long-form articles. - [How to Prepare for a 90-Day Blackout](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/how-to-prepare-for-a-90-day-blackout/): Learn how to survive a long power outage by building from Ready.gov’s several-day kit and the Red Cross two-week supply toward an optional 90-day cushion. - [How Much Water to Store for 90 Days](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/how-much-water-to-store-for-90-days/): Calculate how much water to store for 90 days using the official one-gallon-per-person-per-day baseline from Ready.gov and the Red Cross, including extra for heat and pets. - [How to Make Water Safe to Drink in an Emergency](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/how-to-make-water-safe-to-drink/): Make water safer in an emergency: prefilter cloudy water, boil it (CDC: 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet), or use EPA bleach doses. Do not treat chemically contaminated or flood water as if boiling will fix it. - [Top 10 Blackout Survival Gear Items](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/top-10-blackout-survival-gear/): The top 10 blackout survival gear items in 90 Days Without Power cover drinking water, backup power, official alerts, outdoor cooking, carbon monoxide and fire safety, light, and first aid. - [How to Run a Generator Safely During a Power Outage](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/generator-carbon-monoxide-safety/): Run a generator outdoors more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents (CDC and CPSC). Never use one in a garage, even with the door open, and never heat a home with a grill, camp stove, or oven. - [Food Safety During a Power Outage](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/food-safety-during-a-power-outage/): If the door stays closed, a refrigerator keeps food safe about 4 hours, a full freezer about 48 hours, and a half-full freezer about 24 hours (USDA / FoodSafety.gov). The keep-or-toss line is 40°F. When in doubt, throw it out, and never taste food to decide. - [How to Stay Cool Without Power](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/staying-cool-without-power/): Stay cool without power by moving to the lowest shadiest room, closing blinds, drinking more water (Ready.gov says needs can double in heat), and leaving for an official cooling center if the house becomes unsafe. CDC says indoor fans alone are not reliable around 90°F and above. - [How to Stay Warm Without Electricity](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/staying-warm-without-power/): Stay warm without electricity by gathering everyone in one sealed, insulated room, wearing dry layers, and never heating with an oven, grill, camp stove, or indoor generator. Watch for hypothermia and leave for an official warming center if the house is no longer safe. - [Home Security During a Blackout](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/home-security-during-a-blackout/): Home security during a blackout is mostly unglamorous: locked doors with a reinforced strike, covered lantern light, early-warning chimes that work without Wi-Fi, a safe room, a family code word, and de-escalation first. Stay lawful. This is not legal advice. - [Power Outage Preparedness Checklist](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/power-outage-preparedness-checklist/): A power outage preparedness checklist starts with Ready.gov basics: water (one gallon per person per day for several days), non-perishable food, flashlights, a NOAA radio, a first-aid kit, medicines, and sanitation supplies, plus battery carbon monoxide alarms and a two-week home target from the Red Cross. - [What to Do During a Boil Water Advisory](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/what-to-do-during-a-boil-water-advisory/): During a boil-water advisory, bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet (CDC), then let it cool. Use that water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing food, making ice, and preparing formula unless officials say otherwise. Do not boil water that is under a chemical-contamination notice. - [How to Make a Family Communication Plan for a Power Outage](https://90daysnopower.com/guides/family-communication-plan-power-outage/): A family communication plan for a power outage includes an out-of-area contact, two meeting places, paper phone numbers, and a way to hear official alerts that does not depend on home Wi-Fi, such as a NOAA weather radio or Wireless Emergency Alerts on a charged phone. - [Top 50 gear](https://90daysnopower.com/gear/): Companion catalog. Buy buttons may be Amazon Associates links. The printed book does not contain Amazon affiliate URLs. - [State editions](https://90daysnopower.com/states/): Arizona, Texas, California, Florida, and Minnesota are live; other states are marked coming soon. - [Full machine-readable summary](https://90daysnopower.com/llms-full.txt) If this file and an official order disagree, follow local officials.