Long term Water??

[Tim-g19]

Well I never paid much mind to the dates on bottled water.
I had a few cases left that expired in 2006, Man did they taste bad.

The only thing we could come up with was the plastics in the lid or bottles had started to break down. Very bad strong Chemical taste.


Would I drink it to live? Yes. But not refreshing while doing yard work.

So What are you guys doing for water needs long term?

I didn't pitch it yet, going to try some filtration techniques to see if it kills the horrible taste.

 

[melensdad]

I dug a well and pump my own water.

 

[karlsgunbunker]

I use the Jugs that Gatorade and Sam's Lemonade & fruit juice's come in.
Have a couple of the Aqua block blue plastic jugs from Wal-mart.
Dutch Mil-Surp 5 lt jugs from Sportsmans Guide and Major Surplus.
Bleach bottles work well as do 2 & 3 liter soda bottles.

 

[baldmax]

I found this emergency water purification calculator.

Emergency Water Purification Calculator

It shows the ratio bleach to water. It could help out in the long run.

 

[rhino]

I didn't pitch it yet, going to try some filtration techniques to see if it kills the horrible taste.

The best way to get rid of that taste would be carbon adsorption filter. You don't need anything fancy, just something like a Britta pitcher should do the trick.

You could also get rid of some of it by aerating the water. Put a few bottles into a blender and let it whirr for a little while, and whatever is volatile will tend to leave the water.

I'd go with a Britta pitcher.

Or, use it to water your lawn, and in the future, cycle through your store-bought bottled water more frequently.

I keep water in empty 2 liter soda bottles. The 2 L bottles are about the least likely to make your water taste bad over time (except for glass or polycarbonate), and their essentially "free" if you drink soda. You can either put a couple of drops of bleach in them before storage, or treat when you use it, or both. I just put tap water in them and I'll worry about treating or filtering if and when I need to use it. I've been lazy about cycling through it, though. Every year or so would be a good idea. I do write dates on the bottles with a Sharpie before filling.

 

[indyjoe]

I found this emergency water purification calculator.

Emergency Water Purification Calculator

It shows the ratio bleach to water. It could help out in the long run.

One thing I didn't realize until I started researching water purification, is that Bleach breaks down to half strength after a year. 1/4 after two. Eventually it becomes salt water. Here is a good article on SurvivalBlog.com about using powdered calcium hypochlorite to make bleach when needed. Then you use that to purify water. (calcium hypochlorite is also know as Pool Shock and very cheap compared to an equivalent amount of bleach and stores for a decade or more, with no degradation if kept dry. Just make sure to get pure calcium hypochlorite, with out other additives)

 

[mastery]

If you near one of the bottling plants, pick up some of the 30 or 55 gallon drums. One of my neighbors works at Pepsi, and I asked him to bring me several of the 55 gallon drums. Took me a few hours to wash them out of the syrup...but now they contain nice clean water.

 

[KDUBCR250]

I dug a well and pump my own water.

+1

 

[Lars]

If you near one of the bottling plants, pick up some of the 30 or 55 gallon drums. One of my neighbors works at Pepsi, and I asked him to bring me several of the 55 gallon drums. Took me a few hours to wash them out of the syrup...but now they contain nice clean water.

How frequently do you rotate supplies? Or do you intend to purify the water with bleach in an emergency? I'd imagine 110gallons (two drums, you may have more) take a while to drink.

 

[Fenway]

And where does the volatile stuff "go"? I didn't do well in science

You could also get rid of some of it by aerating the water. Put a few bottles into a blender and let it whirr for a little while, and whatever is volatile will tend to leave the water.

 

[mastery]

How frequently do you rotate supplies? Or do you intend to purify the water with bleach in an emergency? I'd imagine 110gallons (two drums, you may have more) take a while to drink.

Well, I'm on city water, even living out in the country. There is already chlorine in the water. When filling the barrels, I did put in about 1/2 cup of non-scented bleach in the 55 gallon drums.

I rotate each year. If worse came to worse, I have jugs of non-scented bleach available, and will boil the water for drinking/eating/washing purposes. I envision my water supply would last 30 days easily, and I'll use a Katadyn later to purify water from a couple of nearby water sources.

 

[Lars]

Well, I'm on city water, even living out in the country. There is already chlorine in the water. When filling the barrels, I did put in about 1/2 cup of non-scented bleach in the 55 gallon drums.

I rotate each year. If worse came to worse, I have jugs of non-scented bleach available, and will boil the water for drinking/eating/washing purposes. I envision my water supply would last 30 days easily, and I'll use a Katadyn later to purify water from a couple of nearby water sources.

That answered my question. Thanks Mastery.
I was just curious if it was something you drank from one barrel over the course of the month while storing 2 additional or something similar.

 

[mastery]

That answered my question. Thanks Mastery.
I was just curious if it was something you drank from one barrel over the course of the month while storing 2 additional or something similar.

No, just emergency supplies. We went through a SHTF in our family back in the 1980's. We've been prepared ever since for most contigencies. We have a big home now, so plenty of storage room. Probably never need to use any of it...but I'll not be one of the sheep standing in a long line at Meijer to get supplies during an emergency.

 

[Farmritch]

Main thing to do also with water storage is keep it out of the light
Light promotes bacteria growth

Farmritch

 

[PapaScout]

The family and I put aside some water in 1999 just in case. I opened one of them last year and they still taste great. Here's what we did:

Big plastic juice bottles (Juicy Juice, Welch's Grape, etc)
Three drops of bleach per bottle
Filtered water from the fridge
Stored in the basement away from sunlight

The trick when opening is to pour the water from back and forth to another container (to re-add oxygen?) and remove the stale taste.

 

[Electronrider]

I have started getting those water cubes from Wal-mart, theya re a 7 gallon cube that you can stack pretty easily. We are going to get about 4 of them, and call it good at that. I am on a well, and have a hand pump for it, if I need to convert, as well as a generator that can be hooked to the pump. This really is the way to go.

If you are in a suburban area, where you can't have a well, why would you want more than a week or so worth of water? If the situation is going to get that bad, shouldn't you be bugging out to the retreat? NBC/Tornado shelter aside, why store more than that?

 

[Lefty 21]

Homepage - KATADYN International - the global Number One in individualized water purification systems and water purification products

Just get a hiker pro for $200-250, filter from the creek or ditch and have approx. 5000-10,000 gallons available at all times, from anywhere for half the work.

Just my opinion. Happy Independance Day!

 

[rhino]

Main thing to do also with water storage is keep it out of the light
Light promotes bacteria growth

Farmritch

Do you mean algae growth? You can actually sanitize water with sunlight in some cases (i.e. kill bacteria).

 

[rhino]

If you are in a suburban area, where you can't have a well, why would you want more than a week or so worth of water? If the situation is going to get that bad, shouldn't you be bugging out to the retreat? NBC/Tornado shelter aside, why store more than that?

For a lot of people (maybe most), trying to "bug out" would do more harm than good. If your situation dictates that staying put is your best option, then plenty of water is indicated.