Editorial Policy

Preparedness advice can hurt people when it is wrong. A bad bleach ratio, a generator in the garage or a fridge kept too long can make someone sick or worse. This page explains how we try to get it right.

Sources we rely on

Safety-critical numbers (water treatment, food safety, carbon monoxide, generators, cold exposure) come from official sources first:

• Ready.gov and FEMA
• CDC and EPA
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and FoodSafety.gov
• NOAA and the National Weather Service
• The American Red Cross, university extension services and manufacturer manuals

Where research or surveys are involved, we link the study and say who funded it when that matters.

What we will not do

• Invent statistics, experts, quotes or personal stories.
• Recommend anything that contradicts official safety guidance without explaining why and citing evidence.
• Accept payment to include or rank products. We do not currently use affiliate links. If that changes, we will disclose it on every page that has them.

Rules of thumb

Some useful numbers have no official source, like how many cans a person eats in a day. We still include them when they help, and we label them as rules of thumb.

Updates and corrections

Each guide shows the date it was last updated. We review guides when official guidance changes and at least once a year. If you find an error, tell us through the contact page. We fix confirmed errors quickly and update the date.