A large deal of modern equipment relies on products like rubbers, plastics, and similar materials to function. Teflon ™, Kevlar, Nylon, butyl, and neoprene, are some of the space-era polymer/rubber materials that have made our life so comfortable (and safe), and we don't even notice they are there.

If you have a gas mask, half-face respirator, AR-15, a seal around your vehicle door, a nail gun, or any number of other modern tools and preps, you are heavily reliant on a type of material known as an elastomer.

Imagine you purchased a gas mask eight years ago, but you neglected to take care of it during this time. In the event of a biological attack, you wouldn't realize the errors of your procrastination until it was too late.

You have to know how to maintain elastomers if you want your gear to function properly for as long as possible.

(Keeping your gear maintained isn't the only prep you should consider. You also need to have plans for emergency evacuations. Check out our free QUICKSTART Guide on the subject to learn more.)