Can we talk about storing water?

[PJsmomma]

I mentioned it on the storing food thread but it got lost in the shuffle.

What is the best/easiest/ cheap way to save water?

I have put a few containers in the freezer. I just don't want to save water and have it be slimy.

[Denvergirlie]

Saving water... as in storing drinakable water correct? Not saving water by reducing your consumption.

Storing water.... we have 6 gallon jugs in our deep freezer, helps fill up the space, thus making it work less to keep things frozen, and will provide cooling if the freezer is without power for a few days.

We also have a few cases of bottled single use water, stacked up next to the dryer. We rarely drink it ourselves, but keep on hand for "emergencies" / grab and go from poor planning on our part when we are running out the door.

Other than that, we don't store any additional water. If city water stopped working there is a good sized creek/ small river a few blocks away. We could haul water from there and filter with our Berkey water filter.

The Berkey is our back up plan. We could also set up a water catchment system with a bit of work and wait for rain and then filter that.

The Berkey is great! Love it, we've even taken it camping and pulled water from our creek side river and filtered it. The Berkey was created for missionaries traveling 3rd world countries back in the late 1800's. It get out everything! We have both black filters (standard - parasites, bacterial, etc) as well as the white filters (additional order - take out floride, cloramine and all the "modern" water additions the gov't puts in).

I know some folks keep "oil drums" of water in the basement and rotate them. A drop of bleach will keep them "fresh". Also, don't forget that if you've got a water heater in your residence, there is another 40 gallons of water just waiting to be drained.

Plan on each family member needing a gallon a day, not all of that would be for drinking, but also washing hands, etc.

[JaneSmith1010]

we have a water dispenser and just have a lot of 5 gallon jugs that we fill for it. that keeps us with about 40-50 gallons of water free at any given time. I try to buy one more jug every month. we also have emergency packs that we will be buying filters and/or sterilizing pens and tablets for.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie

Storing water.... we have 6 gallon jugs in our deep freezer, helps fill up the space, thus making it work less to keep things frozen, and will provide cooling if the freezer is without power for a few days.

We have done this as well, and we lost power for 4 days while we were away in December, and the temperatures got pretty warm for December, (40s and 50s) so there was concern about it, but when we returned we saw that some of the containers which were on their side and the caps weren't tight hadn't even dripped or melted at all. It saved my christmas turkey for sure! So that's a bonus to storing water that way.

[tightwaderin]

A cheap route is to use 2 ltr. pop bottles or plastic juice bottles. Don't use milk jugs or the 1 gal. water jugs as they can break down fairly quickly. Wash them well, fill with water (we use RO water), and date the bottle with a Sharpie. You may add a tsp. or 2 of bleach if you want. I try to change mine out about every 6 months and water outside plants with it.

I also store water in plastic water containers meant for camping. I found six 6-gal. glass carboys (used for wine making) on Craiglist that I store water in too. They are way heavy when filled and hard to move but I feel good about having water in glass.

I'll soon be setting up 2 rain barrels for watering the garden. I just have to have DH put up some gutters in the right places.

[PJsmomma]

So you just put water in glass containers and leave it as is for 6 months? It's ok to use for that long?

The Berkey--I've been looking at that--are all of the models non-electric?
I decided if I'm going to spend a fair amount of money to get pure water, I'd want something that I can use if there's no electricity
Thanks for your answers.

[PJsmomma]

Just bumping for the Berkey question! Thanks

[spring978]

We have 2 50 gallon rain barrels one additional barrel I want to set up and then I use 2 liter pop bottles I change my water every year

We also keep 6 2liters in the freezer for keeping the fridge cold when we loose power.

These are great to have just in case and are far cheaper than a berkley and is what we keep on hand.
http://shop.monolithic.com/products/...ic-drip-filter

[MPsSweetie]

We have 8 3-gallon jugs that we fill and use regularly. We try to keep them full as much as possible. Does that count?

[PJsmomma]

I'm still trying to figure out something--if I put water in glass containers or hard plastic and just put the cap on I can leave them sit for 6 months?

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by PJsmomma

The Berkey--I've been looking at that--are all of the models non-electric?
I decided if I'm going to spend a fair amount of money to get pure water, I'd want something that I can use if there's no electricity
Thanks for your answers.

Yes, no electricity. It's just a stainless resivour up top and it drips into another stainless steel resivour below. It works off of gravity flow. Not much has changed with the design since they were created some 100+ years ago.

We love ours, water is awesome to drink. We like the fact that we can take it with us when we move, we even took it camping once and hauled water from the river and filtered in our campsite. Plus it gets out everything.

[avendesora]

I read recently that the hot water heater is a terrific source of drinking water in an emergency. You'd have to drain it from the bottom, since without water pressure from behind, it won't pump out the top the way it normally does. But there's a good many gallons of water that's available in a pinch! Just remember to turn off the heating element before draining, and make sure the water supply has returned to normal before turning the element back on.

Aven

[tightwaderin]

Originally Posted by PJsmomma

I'm still trying to figure out something--if I put water in glass containers or hard plastic and just put the cap on I can leave them sit for 6 months?

Here's what FEMA says:


If You are Preparing Your Own Containers of Water

It is recommended you purchase food-grade water storage containers from surplus or camping supplies stores to use for water storage. Before filling with water, thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Follow directions below on filling the container with water.

If you choose to use your own storage containers, choose two-liter plastic soft drink bottles – not plastic jugs or cardboard containers that have had milk or fruit juice in them. Milk protein and fruit sugars cannot be adequately removed from these containers and provide an environment for bacterial growth when water is stored in them. Cardboard containers also leak easily and are not designed for long-term storage of liquids. Also, do not use glass containers, because they can break and are heavy.

If storing water in plastic soda bottles, follow these steps
Thoroughly clean the bottles with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.Sanitize the bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Swish the sanitizing solution in the bottle so that it touches all surfaces. After sanitizing the bottle, thoroughly rinse out the sanitizing solution with clean water.

Filling Water Containers

Fill the bottle to the top with regular tap water. If the tap water has been commercially treated from a water utility with chlorine, you do not need to add anything else to the water to keep it clean. If the water you are using comes from a well or water source that is not treated with chlorine, add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water.Tightly close the container using the original cap. Be careful not to contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it with your finger. Place a date on the outside of the container so that you know when you filled it. Store in a cool, dark place.Replace the water every six months if not using commercially bottled water.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/water.shtm