Question on water storage

[obie123]

Sorry if this is a dupe but I did a search and did not come up with an answer...My DH and I just switched
out our 55 gallon drums of water yesterday and prior
to this we used chlorine as a water purity agent. We
have a well so no city water to worry about treating
but I was thinking it should be okay if we don't treat
it at all and just switch it out every 6 months. Does
anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

from still snowbound in north idaho!

[obie123]

Just read survivalblog.com today and got the answer
I needed---no need to reply (not that anyone has anyway) water will be important for everyone--best
to have some stored!~

[LoveWins]

Yes I'm trying to get my husband to find something to store water in. I have no ideas. I'm going to go and look at what you referred to . Thanks for bringing this up.

[just me]

I am going to reply for the benefit of others that might have the same question.

Yes you should treat the water every time you store it. First off, your well could get contaminated and you might not know it. Second, even city water gets contaminated.

[3eagles]

I found a place that sells recycled food grade barrells .. can get them in various sizes.

want to treat with a little bit of Choline... non-sudsy bleach.
cap it tightly so make sure what you get has the caps with it

we also have a berky water filter and.. we need to get more filters

I trust that filter with untreated water.. have used it all summer at get away cabin with water right out of a river...

I saw reference in suvival blogs and other places that if things are getting close... get a small pool, fill it, treat with the bleach solutions not pool chemicals.. keep it covered.

on the other hand a regular pool for swimming is good for general washing or tiolet flushing

[patticakes]

I found a place that sells recycled food grade barrells .. can get them in various sizes.

where did you find these barrells? i wanted to grab a few to put under the downspouts on the house. i looked on-line and they want like $70 bucks for (basically) big plastic tupperware.

[Southwind]

where did you find these barrells? i wanted to grab a few to put under the downspouts on the house. i looked on-line and they want like $70 bucks for (basically) big plastic tupperware.

Patticakes, there is a guy in Loganville right on 78, corner of 78 and Lee Byrd Rd, who sells those barrels. Don't know the price, but last time I bought them in FL, I paid 15 bux a piece for them.

[patticakes]

Patticakes, there is a guy in Loganville right on 78, corner of 78 and Lee Byrd Rd, who sells those barrels. Don't know the price, but last time I bought them in FL, I paid 15 bux a piece for them.

OMG! you're joking! i'm headed that way tomorrow!!! thank you so, SO much!

[momof23goats]

Sorry if this is a dupe but I did a search and did not come up with an answer...My DH and I just switched
out our 55 gallon drums of water yesterday and prior
to this we used chlorine as a water purity agent. We
have a well so no city water to worry about treating
but I was thinking it should be okay if we don't treat
it at all and just switch it out every 6 months. Does
anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

from still snowbound in north idaho!

A long AS you scrub out your barrles, with good hot soapy water, with just a tad of vleach, and rinse them every well, then refill your fine. you knowthat water you buy in the store isn't treated, and it is god for a year.think about it.

[Anna]

...want to treat with a little bit of Choline... non-sudsy bleach.

Isn't it unhealthy to drink chlorinated water??

[greensman]

some of you may not be able to, but i clean my barrels with a pressure washer. it sure makes the process go faster. i wash with soap, rinse, fill and add some bleach. let that stand for a day-usually a warm sunny day and then rinse again. i may be going overboard, but i want them clean. i have found most of mine in the iwanna paper. its a weekly classified paper for our area. i have seen listings in our state ag newsletter. ask at a local farm store. i picked up some 300+ gal totes at a local farm store for $30 ea. it may take some time and effort to find them but they are around. make sure you know what was in them. in our case old carwash soap barrels are used for garden water and food grade from a bottling plant are for cooking/drinking. i have 2 black barrels in my small greenhouse to act as a heat sink. i store animal fees in some metal barrels that had apple juice in them.

[momof23goats]

all of you adding bleach to yourwater ,do realize it is hard on your kidneys, and your entire body. only use it , if you have to after TSHIF. for now, wash out your things, really good with soapy water, and rinse well, now you can add a small amount to your wash water if you are inclioned to do so. then rinse it like there is no tomorrow. really well, then refill, and put on clean top. done. you do realize tha bottled water doesn't have bleach in it, and how long does it last? read the exp date on a bottle of water.

[DreadPirate]

If you don't want to use bleach the boil it for 2 minutes then seal in container.

Personally We use 5 gal water containers that we rinse with bleach water then do a quick rinse then fill with water from the hot water tank. That way you have a slight bleach residue the will help get rid of any nasties that have escaped the hot water tank.

[Southwind]

Bleach will evaporate once you open up those barrels. May take a week or so, but it will.

[therosery]

patticakes, I've been very concerned whenever I hear someone talking about putting a barrel under their downspouts to collect water for drinking or cooking purposes. From all I've read, and maybe it's just more BS, but from what I've read about this, unless you have a METAL OR TILE ROOF, you cannot use that water for anything but flushing toilets, rinsing your hair (my grandmother used it all the time) or washing hands. The particulates in composite roofs practically poison that water, so you're not supposed to even use it to water your garden or pets. However, one solution, can get around this problem, if you have a composite roof and can't afford to put on a metal roof, is putting a tarp over that side of the roof where most of the rain comes from. I would, however, make sure to clean out the eves and gutters, etc to insure clean water. So, please be careful. :idea:

[Powder]

I still keep chlorine bleach, calcium hypochlorite granules, iodine, etc., on hand for purifying water, but buy one of these (http://www.berkeyfilters.com/) and you'll never have to worry about unhealthy water again. Just stock up on filters...

[Desertrat]

Anna, the reason we don't have outbreaks of typhoid in the U.S. is because we chlorinate our water supplies. Keeps the water from passing along a dose of E. coli, as well.

[ActionJackson]

I still keep chlorine bleach, calcium hypochlorite granules, iodine, etc., on hand for purifying water, but buy one of these (http://www.berkeyfilters.com/) and you'll never have to worry about unhealthy water again. Just stock up on filters...

Yeah. My wife and I filter the tap water before we drink it or cook with it. The Berkeys have been used by the Red Cross and the Peace Corp on missions to various bush country around the world. It's a must in my list of survival equipment.