Cheap Or Free Water Storage

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ReadyMom said:
Milk jugs are NOT a good plastic jug for water storage, for a couple of reasons:
  • The plastic wasn't made for LONG-term storage & water that comes in gallons or the milk is in a plastic that eventually sports 'pin holes. The plastic degrades over time. When I first started my water storage, I used those gallon jugs & I put my gallons in totes. I could fit 6 gallon jugs in a tote, but it really took up a lot of room, but I didn't want my jugs sitting loose. THEN .. when I checked my totes there were a LOT of gallons that had leaked into the totes!
  • I also saved a LOT of jugs & stored them empty, in our garage. These were easier to store overhead, in a garage attic, without being too heavy on the floor of the attic/ceiling of our garage. Plan was to fill them all up, with advanced notice of a SHtF event and deal with the enormous number of gallon jugs then. Upon inspecting the jugs a couple of years later, I found them ALL brittle & breaking easily. Again ... proof the plastic is NOT made for long-term storage.
  • The bacteria from the milk can leach into to the plastic & is hard to remove, when washing. It can then contaminate your drinking water. If you are going to rotate your water jugs, then by all means, as mentioned above consider using those pin-hole-prone milk jugs only for SHORT term storage for NON-consumable water storage.
Also note: Do NOT store your water jugs (of any kind) directly on concrete. There are chemicals in the concrete that can leach through the plastic and into your water. Place something like an old rug, towel, wood, piece of flooring, etc. under the jugs.
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Bleach jugs won't leak but far as I know not food safe either . We have mylar bags 5 gal container's kit my daughter sent us to store water, also comes with spout and sturdy cardboard containers mylar sit in.
 
Caribou said:
Thanks for the heads up on the brittle issue. I've not experienced that but if I do then I'll get some new buckets, replacing the water every few years sounds like a good idea anyway.

I have considered the possibility that there may be some product left in the pores of the buckets. they are usually clean when I get them. I run them through the dish washer before I place food or water in them. If when I use the water I notice a grease film on top I'll siphon the water out and run it through my Katadyn and use the very top for flushing. If I don't notice a skim of grease on the top I'll probably just pour it into the filter.
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Yeah, I'm kinda weird about smell (I'm half deaf and wear glasses, but I have a killer nose....). I figure putting dry foods in mylar packing will prevent any crossover of residual scent that might still be in the pores of the plastic. As for water, in an emergency I wouldn't think twice about water from a bucket, and would be darn glad to have it. There are plenty ways to treat the water before drinking, if needed. I just know myself well enough to know that I stink when it comes to keeping up a rotation schedule, and could easily miss a bucket that's not aging gracefully, and end up with a wet mess on my hands.
 
goshengirl said:
Yeah, I'm kinda weird about smell (I'm half deaf and wear glasses, but I have a killer nose....). I figure putting dry foods in mylar packing will prevent any crossover of residual scent that might still be in the pores of the plastic. As for water, in an emergency I wouldn't think twice about water from a bucket, and would be darn glad to have it. There are plenty ways to treat the water before drinking, if needed. I just know myself well enough to know that I stink when it comes to keeping up a rotation schedule, and could easily miss a bucket that's not aging gracefully, and end up with a wet mess on my hands.
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My water storage is going into the unused crawlspace to be forgotten until needed. The gravel floor will take care of any leaks in short order as the drainage is superior. That is why my well is 150' deep.
 
Don’t forget about silver dimes (1964 and older, 90% silver). Bacteria can’t grow in the presence of silver. I always put dimes in water jugs, the water stays fresh. I don’t use a lot of milk, just for cooking. When I open a bottle of milk I drop in a couple of dimes. It stays fresh a couple of extra weeks. I wish the containers broth comes had a bigger spout so I could get dimes in them. I keep a dozen or so dimes on the window sill above my kitchen sink, use them all the time. It’s cheap re-usable item and very handy, great for stored water. :)
 
Meerkat said:
Bleach jugs won't leak but far as I know not food safe either . We have mylar bags 5 gal container's kit my daughter sent us to store water, also comes with spout and sturdy cardboard containers mylar sit in.
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I'm not sure about that concern. If the jugs are safe for WATER storage for human consumption, it seems reasonable that they are also safe for food storage. Following your train of thought, you would NOT be able to DRINK the water stored in the bleach jugs, too. Right?
 
goshengirl said:
Yeah, I'm kinda weird about smell (I'm half deaf and wear glasses, but I have a killer nose....). I figure putting dry foods in mylar packing will prevent any crossover of residual scent that might still be in the pores of the plastic. As for water, in an emergency I wouldn't think twice about water from a bucket, and would be darn glad to have it. There are plenty ways to treat the water before drinking, if needed. I just know myself well enough to know that I stink when it comes to keeping up a rotation schedule, and could easily miss a bucket that's not aging gracefully, and end up with a wet mess on my hands.
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If one of them is evaporation drip the anticipation would kill me if the dehydration didn't. :facepalm:. Boiling maybe if we can risk smoke or wood. I have been real thirsty a couple times and it is worse than hungry.

:)
 
Peanut said:
Don’t forget about silver dimes (1964 and older, 90% silver). Bacteria can’t grow in the presence of silver. I always put dimes in water jugs, the water stays fresh. I don’t use a lot of milk, just for cooking. I wish the containers broth comes had a bigger spout so I could get dimes in them. I keep a dozen or so dimes on the window sill above my kitchen sink, use them all the time. It’s cheap re-usable item and very handy, great for stored water. :)
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:eek: :eek: :eek: REALLY? I have NEVER heard of that before!
 
Peanut said:
Don’t forget about silver dimes (1964 and older, 90% silver). Bacteria can’t grow in the presence of silver. I always put dimes in water jugs, the water stays fresh. I don’t use a lot of milk, just for cooking. When I open a bottle of milk I drop in a couple of dimes. It stays fresh a couple of extra weeks. I wish the containers broth comes had a bigger spout so I could get dimes in them. I keep a dozen or so dimes on the window sill above my kitchen sink, use them all the time. It’s cheap re-usable item and very handy, great for stored water. :)
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Since the newer dimes have a silver coating, wouldn't it be just as effective to use those till the copper started showing?
 
According to the NIH silver kills over 800 different types of bacteria… How I found out… I was metal detecting around an old house place. I found a bunch of broken mason jars, each contained a silver dime.

After a lot of research. Long ago when people did water-bath canning they would drop in a dime, no botulism…

Ever hear the term born with a silver spoon in your mouth? In the middle ages rich people gave their kids silver spoons, to keep in their mouths, they didn’t get sick.

I've tried new dimes, not effective.
 
Peanut said:
https://www.watertechonline.com/effects-of-silver-in-water/ Here is a brief article. Silver embedded bandages are used in hospitals on burn patients to prevent infection. I used to buy a cream from the vet to treat cuts and scrapes on pets and livestock. Its name was silver-sulfadiazine

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-13530/silver-sulfadiazine-topical/details
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The doctors used that stuff on my daughter when she burned her arm. It helped with the pain and kept the bandage from sticking.
 
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