Ideas to improve drinkability of emergency water supply?

[MaxStravinsky]

I like in a town with crummy water, it usually smells bad and tastes funny. I've liver here for 25+ years and I always buy gallons of water at Market Basket. Even my dogs won't drink the tap water. Every one I know here has a filter on their tap (except me).

So for my emergency supply, what I've been doing is filling up my empty MB gallon jugs with tap water. It must be safe, just not very tastey. Any one have any suggestions to make it more palatable should I ever need it?

 

[greencobra]

kool aid

 

[Boghog1]

lemon juice

 

[bob6180]

Powdered Gatorade

- - - Updated - - -

Also, beer

 

[the_shootist]

How do you know it's safe?

 

[Glockster30]

Bourbon

 

[dlarge]

You'll drink it if you're thirsty enough...

 

[Roy Rogers]

You could pick up a filter, like one of the models by Berkey, http://berkeyfiltersusa.com/?st-t=a...lter&vt-mt=p&gclid=CJy06su5-sgCFUiQHwod_ZcHbA.

I like in a town with crummy water, it usually smells bad and tastes funny. I've liver here for 25+ years and I always buy gallons of water at Market Basket. Even my dogs won't drink the tap water. Every one I know here has a filter on their tap (except me).

So for my emergency supply, what I've been doing is filling up my empty MB gallon jugs with tap water. It must be safe, just not very tastey. Any one have any suggestions to make it more palatable should I ever need it?

 

[atmay]

If it is indeed potable (which it hopefully is!), powdered drink mix of whatever flavor can help mask bad flavor, as can lemon juice.


Otherwise, you could always just buy an extra gallon or two every time you're at MB, and have like 800,000 extra gallons of GOOD water in no time.

 

[fbirdquik6]

Of you plan on filling multiple 55 gallon drums, or a big tank, buy one of the inline charcoal filters that attach inline to a garden hose. They are usually sold as camper/RV items

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40043-T...qid=1446770753&sr=8-1&keywords=hose+filter+rv

 

[Ranger007]

Correct!!!!

You'll drink it if you're thirsty enough...

 

[allen-1]

It won't make it taste any better, but if you're not already putting bleach in it, or prepared to put bleach in it when you use it - you might want to read up on that.

 

[FrugalFannie]

Powdered vitamin C


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cockpitbob]

Vodka. Duh.

 

[CTpatriot]

make your own large scale charcoal filter, but then again stop wasting time on the water and start producing some whiskey with it.

 

[fd1266]

On islands with little groundwater every house has a cistern and they filter or use chemicals. We were filling up our water jugs with marina water and it was so vile it was un drinkable. Tried Gatorade powder, bug juice ect didn't work. It had to be sickly sweet to mask the flavor. Asked the bartender at the marina what could be done he laughed and said drink beer instead. He told me he was used to it and usually drank bottled juice instead. On islands bottled water is expensive, for some reason bottled juice is cheaper. Ended up spending about $50 for 5 gallon jugs of water for the ride home. Other guys drank the refilled jugs and were miserable for 4 days. The best part is it even made instant noodles taste like chemicals.

 

[Chevy 2 65]

What you and tons off people in that town should do is, demand the corrupt criminals that run the town show a water report.

Send a sample of the water to a lab for testing. Water shouldn't have a bad smell.

 

[Robert J]

If you can be more specific on either the taste or smell and or the water report, what you have to do to clean the water is one or another type of chemistry, carbon will get a lot of things, but is not a magic bullet for some of the more offensive odors and tastes. Legally potable does not mean it can't still taste like butt.

 

[Imprezah]

Ceramic filters. Charcoal filters. Why don't you have a filter?

 

[todd c]

buy this http://www.amazon.com/LifeStraw-Fam...=1446813805&sr=8-1&keywords=life+straw+family

I have 2 one came damaged and they sent me another. I tried it with river water near my house and rain water i collected. works great and is good for 4000 gallons.

 

[Varmint]

Why don't you use a Brita filter?

 

[pj150]

Boil it off and distill it. Water will then keep for a much longer time without any smell or flavor.

 

[P-14]

Ceramic filters. Charcoal filters. Why don't you have a filter?

This. I had one of these under my sink at the previous house. Now, I LOVE my MWRA water. Odorless, tastless, and the analytical results that they report are good, too.

Get one of these for emergencies. They also have a carbon filter and are good for 500 gallons.

 

[CrackPot]

 

[Glockster30]

If there is a concern with bacteria in the water, a Steripen Adventurer works extremely well by using UV light to kill bacteria (same as what the MWRA uses to kill bacteria). An acquaintance of mine went to Tanzania last February with one of these, and everyone in her group, although using other types of filters, came down with stomach problems except for her. It is also excellent to add to your backpack for hiking/camping.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...03MvbXpANm363rOTQ&sig2=1T-acTYSA6xR08dVvbdDjw

 

[coastie]

Get a good filter for your house or tap now instead of paying for Market Basket water. They are inexpensive. THen store the filtered water.

 

[Prepper]

Why don't you use a Brita filter?

They are lousy and expensive.

I would recommend a Big Berkey filter. They have several kinds. I prefer the stainless steel models. Since your water is especially vile, don't only get the white ceramic filters with it. You would either want to black charcoal filters, or the white ones with the PF-2 screwed on. But, probably the black ones though.

Now, it is possible that the water tastes bad due to chemicals that just won't be fully removed even by the black charcoal filters.

 

[RImike]

What about a plastic hose and a pine branch?
http://www.popularmechanics.com/sci...-can-become-a-backyard-water-filter-16540288/

 

[tung tide]

We just got our Big Berkey two weeks ago and it has been nothing but a fail so far---the original order featured an upper chamber that had a pin hole, allowing the "contaminated" water to leak both onto the counter and into the lower, "clean water" chamber. The distributer was great about sending out a new upper, but the setup failed the red dye test. A second test after reassembly was worse.

I wish I had googled "berkey fail" before buying this system. I think it is salvagable with ceramic filters. Not what I intended, but I am not sure I trust those black berkey filters

 

[Chet0729]

A good charcoal filter will get rid of a lot of smells and bad tastes. They are fairly inexpensive and the charcoal lasts quite a while. If you are looking to make water for storage consider building a still. Doesn't have to be fancy for just water. Run the distilled water through a filter and you will be good to go.

I used to do work for a couple bottled water companies, and I will tell you if you could see what they do to the water they sell before bottling it you would never buy it