Nuclear war survival kit for a UK home: what's useful and what isn't

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Do this now

1. Check what you already have. Most of a nuclear kit is the ordinary Be Ready 3-day kit.
2. Water first: 3 litres per person per day for 3 days.
3. A radio that doesn't need mains power, and spare batteries.
4. A clean-off bag: bin bags, a spare set of clothes for each person, plain soap and shampoo.
5. Tape for gaps around windows and vents.
6. A toilet kit: bucket, strong bin bags, ties.
7. Put it all in your shelter room, not the garage or shed.

Start with what the advice asks you to do

A kit only helps if it matches what you'll actually be told to do. In a radiation emergency, the UK advice from UKHSA is:

• Go in: get inside, close doors and windows, keep away from outside walls.
• Stay in: turn off fans, close vents. "You may need to stay indoors for one to two days" (Be Ready).
• Tune in: follow official advice on the radio, TV, GOV.UK or from the police.

US guidance for a nuclear explosion (Ready.gov, FEMA) says the same: get inside, stay inside, stay tuned, for at least 24 hours.

So a nuclear kit is mostly a stay-in kit, plus the things you'd need to clean off if you were outside. It isn't a backpack for running to the hills. UKHSA says don't evacuate unless the authorities tell you to, because leaving shelter can increase your exposure.

Layer 1: the 3-day base kit (Be Ready)

This is the official UK list. If you have nothing else, have this.

• Water: 3 litres per person per day for drinking, for 3 days. More for babies, pets and medical devices.
• Food: 3 days of food that needs no fridge or cooking, that you normally eat.
• Light: torch and spare batteries. Be Ready says torches are safer than candles.
• News: a battery or wind-up FM radio, with your news station frequencies written down.
• Power: a charged power bank.
• Health: first-aid kit, your medicines, and a written list of medicines and doses.
• Money and papers: cash in coins and notes, copies of ID and key documents, a written contacts list.
• Warmth: blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothes.
• Hygiene: hand sanitiser, wet wipes, toiletries.
• Babies and pets: ready-to-feed formula your baby already uses, nappies, pet food and water.

Layer 2: the nuclear extras

These are the items that match the extra steps in radiation advice. Each is cheap or free.

Layer 3: going further (optional)

• A week instead of 3 days. Sweden asks every household to manage on its own for at least one week, with at least 3 litres of water per person per day. If you have the space, this is the next step up.
• Water containers with lids. Sweden says keep containers or buckets with lids, and store water somewhere dark and cool.
• A low-power way to charge phones, such as a larger power bank or a small power station.

Our two-week supplies guide covers longer stores.

What you don't need

• Iodine tablets you've bought yourself. UKHSA says take stable iodine only when the authorities tell you to, at the time and dose they give, and only tablets they provide. It protects only the thyroid, not the rest of the body. Iodised salt is not a substitute. Finland does advise people aged 40 or under to keep tablets at home, but that's a Finnish national programme; UK advice is different. We don't sell, link or give doses for iodine.
• A gas mask. None of the official guidance we read, from UKHSA, Be Ready, Ready.gov, Sweden or Finland, asks households to buy one for a nuclear emergency. Getting inside and closing up is the advice. Ready.gov's general kit lists a simple dust mask, which is not the same thing.
• A Geiger counter. No official UK source asks households to own one. Officials measure and tell the public. Nuclear War Survival Skills (1987) explained how to build a homemade fallout meter, but it was written for a large US war with no outside help expected. Read it as history.
• A bunker. No official UK source asks households to build one. FEMA's guidance says basements and the middle of large brick or concrete buildings already cut fallout radiation by 10 times or more. See can bunkers survive nukes.
• Anything sold with a countdown, a 'last chance' or a promise that it will keep you safe.

Where to keep it

• In or next to your shelter room, not in a garage, shed or car. You won't want to go outside for it.
• Water at the bottom, radio and torch at the top.
• Check it every six months (Be Ready): dates, batteries, power bank charge, children's clothes sizes.

If you were outside: using the clean-off bag

1. At the door, take off your outer layer carefully, without shaking it. UKHSA says this can remove around 90% of contamination.
2. Put it in a bin bag, tie it, leave it away from people and pets.
3. Shower or wash with soap or mild shampoo. No conditioner.
4. Put on the spare clothes.
5. Can't wash? Wipe bare skin and hair with a clean wet cloth (Ready.gov).

Printable checklist: nuclear emergency kit

Water and food

• Drinking water: 3 litres per person per day for 3 days
• Extra water for babies, pets, medical devices
• 3 days of food that needs no cooking
• Manual tin opener

News, light and power

• Battery or wind-up FM radio, frequencies written down
• Spare batteries for the radio
• Torch each, spare batteries
• Charged power bank

Health

• First-aid kit
• Medicines, plus a written list with doses
• Glasses, hearing aid batteries, medical equipment chargers

Clean-off bag

• Spare set of clothes for each person
• Bin bags and ties
• Plain soap, mild shampoo (no conditioner)
• Clean cloths, a bowl, towel
• Waterproof gloves

Closing up

• Tape
• Cling film or plastic sheet
• We know how to close trickle vents and switch off fans

Toilet

• Bucket, strong bin bags, ties, toilet roll
• Soap and a bowl for hand washing

Papers and money

• Cash in coins and notes
• Copies of ID and documents in a waterproof bag
• Paper list of phone numbers

Comfort

• Sleeping bags or blankets
• Something for children to do
• Pet food and water

What official advice doesn't cover

• A UK nuclear-attack kit list. UK public advice is written for radiation emergencies in general. We built this list from what that advice asks you to do.
• How long beyond a few days. UKHSA says possibly longer than two days if a release goes on. Officials decide when it's safe.
• Which places are at risk. We don't publish target lists. The kit is the same wherever you live.

No kit can promise safety. Water, a radio, a way to clean off and a room to stay in match what every official source we checked asks you to do.

Related guides

• Radiation emergency in the UK: what official advice says (go in, stay in, tune in)
• Worried about war? How UK households can prepare — calmly
• The 72-hour emergency kit for UK households
• Two weeks of emergency supplies: a sensible extended plan

Free tools

• Emergency supplies calculator (water and food for your household)
• Stay-in room shopping list (2 adults)
• Be Ready kit: every item on the official list as a tick list

We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.

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