Long term water storage

I hate the way that these survival gurus all forget that we have water stored in our HOT WATER HEATERS! Just kill the power, attach a hose, filter, and drink.

I have 55 gallons of water stored in my tank 24/7. Most people have at least 30 gallons on hand and don't think about it.

Oh, and I second the 2-liter soda bottle suggestion in the article. The are really good for any extra water storage you may want to have in your house. Durable, refillable and stackable.
 
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I hate the way that these survival gurus all forget that we have water stored in our HOT WATER HEATERS! Just kill the power, attach a hose, filter, and drink.

I have 55 gallons of water stored in my tank 24/7. Most people have at least 30 gallons on hand and don't think about it.

Oh, and I second the 2-liter soda bottle suggestion in the article. The are really good for any extra water storage you may want to have in your house. Durable, refillable and stackable.

Tell that to people in West Virginia when they found out their water supply was contaminated. If you ran ANY hot water between the supply getting contaminated and finding out, your reserve got ruined. A $20 barrel with $0.08 worth of bleach is a pretty good backup plan.
 
So, you always need a plan B. I have one too. But for the disasters given in the article, they should have considered the HW tank. And, we don't live in WV (and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not).

Sent from the Warlock Command Center (in my basement).
 
I hate the way that these survival gurus all forget that we have water stored in our HOT WATER HEATERS! Just kill the power, attach a hose, filter, and drink.

I have 55 gallons of water stored in my tank 24/7. Most people have at least 30 gallons on hand and don't think about it.

Oh, and I second the 2-liter soda bottle suggestion in the article. The are really good for any extra water storage you may want to have in your house. Durable, refillable and stackable.


Some of us don't have hot water heaters. I'm one of them.
 
Some of us don't have hot water heaters. I'm one of them.

Most of us do and it is often overlooked. You have another plan. That is good.

Worst-case for me would be to use the 32 gallon rubbermaid trash can lined with a plastic liner to collect rainwater. Or I could walk over to the pool and fill 2-liter bottles. Either way, I would need to filter the water before we drank it.

I also prefer tincture of iodine to bleach for preserving water. See here for more on using this alternative.
 
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Keep in mind that bleach loses it's potency when stored.

A way to make enough bleach to last a long time is to buy pool shock and mix your own. There are many articles on the interweb on how to mix your own. http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/ogwdw/upload/2006_09_14_faq_fs_emergency-disinfection-drinkingwater-2006.pdf

The crappy thinner plastic on drinking water bottles makes them poor candidates for longer term storage in small bottles, but powerade, gatorade or cranberry juice bottles haven't been plastic downsized (yet)

Keep in mind that the sun is an effective disinfectant as well, if you have the time and sun exposure: http://www.sodis.ch/methode/index_EN

The bottles come in very handy if you want to use that method.

Unless you're doing a cistern, it probably isn't a bad idea to rotate your storage out every year.

FWIW, besides the 70 gallons in my superstore hot water heater, and the 20,000 plus in my swimming pool, I picked up a few food grade storage barrels for short money. One smells like vinegar (still), but it keeps the water clean and safe. If you run the water through a RODI filter and get it down to 0 TDS before you store it, there is no medium for any algae or bacteria to grow......
 
Keep in mind that bleach loses it's potency when stored.

A way to make enough bleach to last a long time is to buy pool shock and mix your own. There are many articles on the interweb on how to mix your own. http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/ogwdw/upload/2006_09_14_faq_fs_emergency-disinfection-drinkingwater-2006.pdf

Good to know regarding bleach losing its potency. I wasnt aware of that.[thumbsup]


The crappy thinner plastic on drinking water bottles makes them poor candidates for longer term storage in small bottles, but powerade, gatorade or cranberry juice bottles haven't been plastic downsized (yet)

ALso, due to them being rectangular(ish) rather than round, they store more easily and efficiently. Stackable and take up less room. The juice bottles at least, sports drinks tend to be round.

Keep in mind that the sun is an effective disinfectant as well, if you have the time and sun exposure: http://www.sodis.ch/methode/index_EN

The bottles come in very handy if you want to use that method.

Unless you're doing a cistern, it probably isn't a bad idea to rotate your storage out every year.

FWIW, besides the 70 gallons in my superstore hot water heater, and the 20,000 plus in my swimming pool, I picked up a few food grade storage barrels for short money. One smells like vinegar (still), but it keeps the water clean and safe. If you run the water through a RODI filter and get it down to 0 TDS before you store it, there is no medium for any algae or bacteria to grow......

All good stuff. Thanks
 
I have a Big Berkey with 2 sets of filters....I have tested it out with "dirty" water and it works great.....I realize it is pricey but good piece of mind.....I believe making sure you have clean water is just as important as the water itself....
 
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