# Water Storage



## edk (Feb 26, 2019)

Plastic Kitty Litter jugs look ideal for water storage, but while trying to clean them out there is the chemical smell still in the empty plastic jug. I've tried bleach, vinegar, plain water, airing them out days at a time, but so far unable to eliminate the chemical odor. Should I give up on this idea, or does someone have a suggestion?


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

They're not food grade, so you shouldn't use them for anything you're going to ingest. Another problem is they may not properly seal, so bacteria can get to the water.

Drop the dime and buy actual water jugs. You won't be sorry.


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## stowlin (Apr 25, 2016)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance-Fold-A-Carrier-Collapsible-Water-Container-5-gal/21903831

$10 / 5 gallons. This is what we use on the boat even though the boats have fresh water tanks you always want second sources.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

I would not recommend using any container that wasn't designed to hold human consumable products. Plastics will leach chemicals. If those chemicals happen to be ethanol hydrates, like my water barrels, the worst that can happen is a little hint of vodka in the water.
:tango_face_grin:

However, if the chemicals happen to be glyphosate, your water will be infused with all the benefits of weed killer.
:vs_closedeyes:

If you don't know what that kitty litter was made of, and the smell remains, I would not trust it at all. It likely wasn't designed to hold liquid anyways.

On a more positive note, there's nothing wrong with reusing 2-litre soda pop bottles. They are food safe, have a sealing cap, and are designed to hold liquid. Bleach them out and fill them from the tap. They will keep good for quite a long time.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

edk said:


> Plastic Kitty Litter jugs look ideal for water storage, but while trying to clean them out there is the chemical smell still in the empty plastic jug. I've tried bleach, vinegar, plain water, airing them out days at a time, but so far unable to eliminate the chemical odor. Should I give up on this idea, or does someone have a suggestion?


Yeah, sure, good idea. Go ahead and put Life's Most Precious Liquid in a container that held "treated" sand meant for cats to shit and piss on.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

Slippy said:


> Yeah, sure, good idea.  Go ahead and put Life's Most Precious Liquid in a container that held "treated" sand meant for cats to shit and piss on.


^^^^^ THAT - in essence is the common sense way of determining "food grade" - cost 50% more for food grade compared to regular plastics - if the original product wasn't food/pharm concerned >>>>> almost 100% for sure the container isn't ....

proper container storage of water is even more critical than food - the contamination that can't be washed out is etched into the pourous poly - water simply soaks it free eventually and it's diluted thru out ....

the cat litter buckets come up alot - NOT food grade also - plus - the lids aren't gasketed or locking >>>> good for storing & organizing lite weight stuff - but noooo food ....


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## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

We keep several of the cat littler jugs filler with water EXCLUSIVELY for flushing toilets if we have a short power outage and don't want to run the generator for the well pump... or if the well pump were to fail. NEVER for drinking water though.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Slippy said:


> Yeah, sure, good idea. Go ahead and put Life's Most Precious Liquid in a container that held "treated" sand meant for cats to shit and piss on.


Actually, mine is just dried clay.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Have you thought about maybe just filling the cat with water?

Seriously though, I agree with the group. Spend a couple bucks and buy something new if the water is for drinking.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Putting Potable water in any reused container that ever had any but Potable water in it is risky and not a good idea.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Wait... you spend money on a cat to include those things that make it convenient for it to crap in the house yet you are trying to cut corners on your drinking water?


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## Joe (Nov 1, 2016)

@edk If you feel the need to recycle use 2 liter pop bottles. Rinse them out good. Get an eye dropper at the store. Add 4 drops of bleach to your water. They will keep indefinitely. Good luck Bro and welcome to the forum.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

Joe said:


> @edk If you feel the need to recycle use 2 liter pop bottles. Rinse them out good. Get an eye dropper at the store. Add 4 drops of bleach to your water. They will keep indefinitely. Good luck Bro and welcome to the forum.


used beverage containers have two faults - possibility of contamination for mold feeding - and - modern beverage containers are designed & manufactured for single use & limited shelf life ....


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Hear you on that. I used to have an old pal in the moonshine hobby. The object was the white dog comes off a reflux still at 190 proof if done right..then you add distgilled water to get down to the tolerable range. What my chum and his cutomomers noticed if the gallon jugs of distilled water set around more than a sweek or two the smell of the plastic could mirgrate into the water and messed up an otherwise good run. I would not trust plastic jugs of water too much. The carcinigens prob tag along with the smell. Just guessing.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Illini Warrior said:


> ......... limited shelf life ....


Meaning: they're bio-degradable. Even sitting in a cool, dark area, sooner or later, you'll have a puddle on the floor.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Meaning: they're bio-degradable. Even sitting in a cool, dark area, sooner or later, you'll have a puddle on the floor.


If by "biodegradable", you mean it will start degrading in ~500-1000 years, then yes.
Modern plastics will outlive ALL of us, and our great grandchildren. Even the "plant-based" plastics will be around for longer than anyone alive today.

The only concerns with using plastic bottles for long-term storage is bacteria from first-use and that they are semi-gas permeable. That's why soda goes flat after a long storage time. Use bleach to clean them, no harm cleaning more than once, and expect that they will absorb gases from the surrounding area. (pro-tip: don't store them next to gasoline or other delicious off-gassing chemicals)

If you can clean them right, and seal them tight, the water inside will stay clear and... bright. 
:tango_face_grin:


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

Kauboy said:


> If by "biodegradable", you mean it will start degrading in ~500-1000 years, then yes.
> Modern plastics will outlive ALL of us, and our great grandchildren. Even the "plant-based" plastics will be around for longer than anyone alive today.
> 
> The only concerns with using plastic bottles for long-term storage is bacteria from first-use and that they are semi-gas permeable. That's why soda goes flat after a long storage time. Use bleach to clean them, no harm cleaning more than once, and expect that they will absorb gases from the surrounding area. (pro-tip: don't store them next to gasoline or other delicious off-gassing chemicals)
> ...


the plastics are engineered specifically to re-cycle eazier - makes them vulnerable to spliting & cracking >>> the "milk jugs" are the worst - their product filled life is only a month at best ....


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Illini Warrior said:


> the plastics are engineered specifically to re-cycle eazier - makes them vulnerable to spliting & cracking >>> the "milk jugs" are the worst - their product filled life is only a month at best ....


The discussion was about 2-liter pop bottles, according to your quoted comment. They have a lifetime many times our own.
Milk jugs are a horrible choice, primarily because of the design, making them nearly impossible to clean properly.
Cylindrical pop bottles are a great choice.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

stowlin said:


> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance-Fold-A-Carrier-Collapsible-Water-Container-5-gal/21903831
> 
> $10 / 5 gallons. This is what we use on the boat even though the boats have fresh water tanks you always want second sources.


I like these and they're cheaper in the store.

Store as much as you can, but nobody can store enough water. Not possible. So it's important to locate the nearest source and a viable way to purify. Water is the most important prep, well second maybe.... Should be the 5 B's. To "Beans, Bullets and Bandaids" I'd add Berkey and Blessing. Blessing being #1, then Berkey!


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

I drink a lot of Arizona tea in the summer. It comes in heavy plastic 1-gal jugs. I save the jugs for lots of things.

If I store water in them or use them for other liquid foodstuffs I clean them as soon as empty, with warm soapy bleach, rinse with pure water, and allow them to drip dry upside until truly dry.

For water storage start with purified water or good spring water, add 8 drops of bleach.

These are free if you drink the tea (~ $2.50 each) first.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Annie said:


> I like these and they're cheaper in the store.
> 
> Store as much as you can, but nobody can store enough water. Not possible. So it's important to locate the nearest source and a viable way to purify. Water is the most important prep, well second maybe.... Should be the 5 B's. To "Beans, Bullets and Bandaids" I'd add Berkey and Blessing. Blessing being #1, then Berkey!


Six.

_Brains._


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

Good one!


Back Pack Hack said:


> Six.
> 
> _Brains._


Sent from my SM-S337TL using Tapatalk


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## Tango2X (Jul 7, 2016)

We keep a couple litter jugs on hand for Hurricane supplies-- water for flushing only, just fill from the pool.
Never for drinking.


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## jimLE (Feb 8, 2014)

i buy the 1 gallon jugs of water.then i was given a empty 5 galon water jug and a tilt water dispenser. so i'll start buying the 5 gallon jugs now.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

you are all a bunch of suckers. I have 2500 gallons of dehydrated water stored in Mylar bags in a shoe box in my closet.


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## OrneryOldBat (Feb 10, 2017)

I'm a big believer in start however you can. Better to have something if the SHTF than nothing. If you have to start with reused bottles then empty 1-gallon vinegar bottles work well. We use vinegar for cleaning almost anything so we had a lot of them and used them that way for a couple of years. I still have them, clean and dry, to fill up if I get advance notice of a water outage so we can have extra water for flushing, washing, etc. We've moved on to 5-gallon stackables and 2 full rain barrels.

As earlier posted, having purifying methods on hand is essential. You want to have more than one. We have berkley-style setup (filters & 2 pre-drilled 5 gallon pails), a platapus gravity filter (portable), bleach and AquaMira, and the materials for making a solar purifying station.

If your water if from a natural source, you will need to filter out as much sediment as you can before purifying it. UV and chemical purification works best in clear water and sediment will clog ceramic filters. Learn how to build a filter and how to make activated charcoal (lots of videos out there). Btw - don't believe the statements that water from a biofilter is purified - you can't filter out bacteria and viruses with this set up. Don't forget to print out the instructions for anything you might have to build.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Maine-Marine said:


> you are all a bunch of suckers. I have 2500 gallons of dehydrated water stored in Mylar bags in a shoe box in my closet.


Pfffft. I have 160 tons of dihydrogen mono-oxide in my wallet.

I've disguised the package to look like a condom.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Pfffft. I have 160 tons of dihydrogen mono-oxide in my wallet.
> 
> I've disguised the package to look like a condom.











It can suffocate, burn and freeze you! Nasty stuff!


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

DHMO is also sold as "ice" by street dealers.

This is one of the most dangerous forms of DHMO. It can cause deaths, by accidental falling, car crashes, and freezing. Ice also often causes: power outages, crop damage, severe damage to forests/trees, damage to plumbing and automobiles, and the sinking of ocean going ships.

Beware of "ice"!


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Have you ever seen the MSDS on it?


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Pfffft. I have 160 tons of dihydrogen mono-oxide in my wallet.
> 
> I've disguised the package to look like a condom.


DUDE you put the 2 in h2o!!!!!!


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Maine-Marine said:


> DUDE you put the 2 in h2o!!!!!!


No. I've put the 0 in it. :tango_face_wink:


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Have you ever seen the MSDS on it?


Even more dangerous to Man than DHMO!!!


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