I likely have enough bottled water and probably won't lose power for long, if at all. I am going to fill a few large glass mason jars with tap water from my well and put in fridge or on ice. What would I need to keep this water drinkable in a worst case scenario? Boil the water? Iodine? Thanks
Science Question - Drinking Water
- Thread starter TC Nole OX
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How long are you going to store it? Theoretically, if you sanitize the jars, rings, and caps, and boil the water and utensils immediately prior to filling the jars, it's going to be free of microbial contamination, meaning it should store pretty much forever.
Not sure why you'd need to do anything. You don't to the glass or the water if you fill one from the tap then drink it.
I pulled a couple of empty milk jugs from our recycl bin, rinsed them out, and filled them. I am not at all worried about drinking the water from them. Did that all the time when going camping as a kid, back in the days before companies made millions convincing America that they should pay $1.99 for a 12 ounce bottle of water that they could just as easily get from their faucet.
I pulled a couple of empty milk jugs from our recycl bin, rinsed them out, and filled them. I am not at all worried about drinking the water from them. Did that all the time when going camping as a kid, back in the days before companies made millions convincing America that they should pay $1.99 for a 12 ounce bottle of water that they could just as easily get from their faucet.
Better to not leave your health in the hands of tap water.
I've included a link to buy 12-packs of Voss from Amazon. It's Prime eligible, so you will have it before the hurricane gets to you. You're welcome!
Amazon product ASIN B01BYQX6QI
I've included a link to buy 12-packs of Voss from Amazon. It's Prime eligible, so you will have it before the hurricane gets to you. You're welcome!
Amazon product ASIN B01BYQX6QI
It's not necessarily the water itself...it's the cleanliness/sterility of the container. Milk residue in old milk jugs turns moldy (but probably fine for a few days).
But like @On_Iowa said, if done right, it would last indefinitely.
Don't know about your well water but tap water is often full of bacteria. I wouldn't keep it for more than a couple days.
The issue if you are on a well isn't contamination, it's access. If your power goes out and you don't have a generator, the pump doesn't run, so the well is inoperable.
I do have a few cattle rancher friends who have solar setups for the wells in isolated pastures. In an emergency, I might run the risk that a motivated, thirsty beancounter can outrun a bull.
Unless regulations have changed, public tap water has always had more stringent requirements than bottled when it comes to bacteria limits.
It's all safe to drink, I'm just saying I wouldn't store tap water for an extended period of time. Just my opinion.
You would need a really long straw, but perfectly safe to drink.
Unless there's "food" for the bacteria to eat, then even if there is bacteria, it probably would not survive too long.
Here's ECUA's 2016 WATER QUALITY REPORT
Make your own choice, but its odd to me that you'd hesitate to stock up on tap water due to bacteria, but not have the same concern over bottled water that most likely contains more bacteria than tap.
Sure, I'd imagine that if a container is very clean and sealed tight, and the water is truly "clean" and stored properly, then it'd probably be fine for a few months, if not longer.
Don't forget about plumbing contamination though. As an example, most shower heads are full of biofilm and other crap. Hospital water systems are notorious for being contaminated.
Do you drink tap water? I sure do and sometimes have it in one of my water bottles for weeks before drinking it. Bottled water is such an expense plus a landfill clogger.
I would suggest to OP to clean various vessels (milk jugs, juice bottles, etc...) very well and then to try to keep especially the plastic bottles as cool as possible once filled. Also, fill up pitchers, soup pots, kettles, and so on.
We have an old Coleman water cooler from my days working construction (2 gallons capacity I think) that is always on standby for events which might cause power outages as we have a well and therefore can't pump without power.
We also fill our second bathroom tub with water to use for flushing toilets, taking sink baths, watering pets, etc... and it can be boiled on our gas stove if needed for cooking, drinking, or other potable needs.
BTW, it is probably too late for most, but we have some of the goalzero.com gizmos for light and powering up various toys. They are good stuff. I have a little recharger for powering up a phone or an led light among other junk.
http://www.goalzero.com/
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Just go buy an atmospheric water generator on Amazon. The good ones are about $4,000. Problem solved. Oh yea, you might also need a generator or solar panels. Good luck.
Yup. Drives me frickin nuts with the paranoia about tap water. It's fine.
You've got a bathtub that can store 100 gallons in a sterile bladder with pump. I got three of these before Matthew and have two remaining. I paid less than $20 for them; now they're listed for $118 each, yikes.
waterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage (100 Gallons)"
waterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage (100 Gallons)"
Wasn't shopping, just looking on Amazon. But I'd be really careful about ordering on eBay from a private seller. You can't reuse these things cause there's no way to get the interior of the bladder completely dry before mildew / algae set in. We just threw ours away after use.
Yep, drink it all the time.
The question though was about storing tap water and I guess that's where I differ a bit from many here. That's ok - what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!
I am probably pretty cavalier about drinking water as opposed to many. I will finish off a glass of water that was left on my dresser or a counter top days earlier without any qualms. Likewise, I take reusable bottles with me to work and on routine trips practically daily...often these bottles sit around until I drink them days later.
This is typically water from our well, but often from other tap sources. When we stop on the road, I will take my bottle inside and fill it at whatever source is available, including a sink in the rest room.
So, I guess the original question about storage is that I would drink the tap water OP stores in a ball jar some months down the road without any qualms if it came from a tap he typically uses.
Our country is so blessed in the available water in comparison to so many other places...
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