# Re using almond milk containers for liquid (water) storage?



## mahldcat (Sep 24, 2015)

Was just curious about how feasible it would be to re-purpose almond milk containers to store water? I'm thinking of the containers somewhat like the following:









But instead of the flip top, the ones I've seen utilize a screw off lid?

Was thinking the shape would lend itself well to stacking?


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

If you want to trust some used Almond Milk containers to hold something as precious to life as water, by all means go ahead.
PS; If you're going to buy almond milk, at least spring for the sweetened kind.



(Good Lord, where do these idi...er...people come from?)


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

Ever hear of lysteria? Go ahead and try the milk carton thing.

The short answer is NO, don't do it. Also do not try the repurpossed 55 gal drum that held fruit juice. Same outcome. You might be able to chemically clean it to the point you think it is clean to the naked eye, but you don't see it on the biological cellular level. You could do it to hold water, but you would still have to process it (clean, boil, treat, whatever) before it is usable.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Anything that contained sugar likely has bacterial growth.
Any container that has folded sides will have nice little pockets for the stuff to grow and never be reached by soaps or bleach.
If you want to re-purpose a container, make sure you can reach every single side and corner, like the inside of a soda bottle. (all smooth round sides, no corners, no folds)
Mix an appropriate solution of water and bleach, pour some in, and shake vigorously. If the container is clear, leave it out in full sun for 4 hours or more. (UV destroys microorganisms)

In short, I would not recommend any carton container be re-purposed for drinking water. I would be hesitant to even use a milk or juice jug unless I could be positive of my cleaning efforts.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

You can milk an almond?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

The CDC warns against using milk or fruit juice containers for water storage due to the difficulty in removing the proteins that will coat the container walls.
Personal Preparation and Storage of Safe Water | Safe Drinking Water | Water-related Emergencies & Outbreaks | Healthy Water | CDC


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## darsk20 (Jun 1, 2015)

Found this to work on baby bottles with breast milk in them with little to no scrubbing.

http://www.dapplebaby.com/

Also, using copious amounts of hot water, >160°F, while cleaning and rinsing and then sanitizing with a 50 ppm Chlorine solution should work.


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

darsk20 said:


> Found this to work on baby bottles with breast milk in them with little to no scrubbing.
> 
> dapple
> 
> Also, using copious amounts of hot water, >160°F, while cleaning and rinsing and then sanitizing with a 50 ppm Chlorine solution should work.


the key word in there "should". Enough said.


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## mahldcat (Sep 24, 2015)

*....and the (makority of the) responses were why I asked this question *

(makority-->majority [can't type today])

...(esp given that I'm new to this stuff)....didn't even consider that these types of containers would be near impossible to clean and sterilize to a point of being trustworthy 

Cheers,

--M

QUOTE=mahldcat;329718]Was just curious about how feasible it would be to re-purpose almond milk containers to store water? I'm thinking of the containers somewhat like the following:

View attachment 12916


But instead of the flip top, the ones I've seen utilize a screw off lid?

Was thinking the shape would lend itself well to stacking?[/QUOTE]


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## darsk20 (Jun 1, 2015)

GasholeWillie said:


> the key word in there "should". Enough said.


True, but all food and otc pharmaceutical plants use these rules as a minimum. Soap, hot water and sanitizer.

Another point is that most publicly treated water has enough residual treatment chemicals to maintain its sanitary nature for a few months at least. Purified water, not so much.

Finally just like with all of our preps, check before you use. If the water has gone bad, you will smell it.

BTW, this is only for reuse of plastic jugs. Wouldn't try the folded cartons.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I use apple juice plastic bottles for non potable water. I do clean and bleach them first. They stack nicely and contain enough water for the toilet.


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

darsk20 said:


> True, but all food and otc pharmaceutical plants use these rules as a minimum. Soap, hot water and sanitizer.
> 
> Another point is that most publicly treated water has enough residual treatment chemicals to maintain its sanitary nature for a few months at least. Purified water, not so much.
> 
> ...


I would venture to guess that a big majority of people here and in the prep world are not going to be relying on a muni water supply toi store water. So well or spring water will be the source.

I looked into this last year, was all set to buy the used fruit juice barrels for storage. Then my water situation changed. Pump went bad, replaced, the treatment system crapped out, replaced. The result was I have cleaner water than i have had in a long time. As a left over part from the previous system was a 125 gal fiberglass tank that constantly gets cycled as it is the source for all my household water. Should I have a lengthy power failure, I have that 125 gal tank as my fail safe. So I no longer needed to buy the drums. But I researched it quite a bit and discussed the possibilities here. Came to the conclusion that using used barrels was a crap shoot at best. First off is access to the inside of the barrel if all you have is a spout hole. You have zero guarantee that you 100% cleaned that whole inside successfully, which could promote lysteria or other nasties. That was all I needed to know to NOT go that route, a gamble that will save me a few dollars or make me really sick. You could buy a Berkey or boil it or chemical clean, after storing, but why not just do it right to start with and start with new containers?


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## darsk20 (Jun 1, 2015)

GasholeWillie said:


> I would venture to guess that a big majority of people here and in the prep world are not going to be relying on a muni water supply toi store water. So well or spring water will be the source.
> 
> I looked into this last year, was all set to buy the used fruit juice barrels for storage. Then my water situation changed. Pump went bad, replaced, the treatment system crapped out, replaced. The result was I have cleaner water than i have had in a long time. As a left over part from the previous system was a 125 gal fiberglass tank that constantly gets cycled as it is the source for all my household water. Should I have a lengthy power failure, I have that 125 gal tank as my fail safe. So I no longer needed to buy the drums. But I researched it quite a bit and discussed the possibilities here. Came to the conclusion that using used barrels was a crap shoot at best. First off is access to the inside of the barrel if all you have is a spout hole. You have zero guarantee that you 100% cleaned that whole inside successfully, which could promote lysteria or other nasties. That was all I needed to know to NOT go that route, a gamble that will save me a few dollars or make me really sick. You could buy a Berkey or boil it or chemical clean, after storing, but why not just do it right to start with and start with new containers?


No real arguments for that.

I currently live in suburban hell so I do have municipal water and I am using new and used jugs for back up. I am also planning on getting a new drum or two for large quantity storage and couple of used drums for rain water collection for gray water.

We'll see as like most I have had other priorities unexpectedly come up in past couple of weeks.


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

darsk20 said:


> No real arguments for that.
> 
> I currently live in suburban hell so I do have municipal water and I am using new and used jugs for back up. I am also planning on getting a new drum or two for large quantity storage and couple of used drums for rain water collection for gray water.
> 
> We'll see as like most I have had other priorities unexpectedly come up in past couple of weeks.


I had my gutters replaced yesterday. If i had been thinking I would have had them plumbed into a few collection barrels for gray water. The problem would have been freezing in winter. And the ugly blue barrel in back of my house. Oh well.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

GasholeWillie said:


> I would venture to guess that a big majority of people here and in the prep world are not going to be relying on a muni water supply toi store water. So well or spring water will be the source.
> 
> I looked into this last year, was all set to buy the used fruit juice barrels for storage. Then my water situation changed. Pump went bad, replaced, the treatment system crapped out, replaced. The result was I have cleaner water than i have had in a long time. As a left over part from the previous system was a 125 gal fiberglass tank that constantly gets cycled as it is the source for all my household water. Should I have a lengthy power failure, I have that 125 gal tank as my fail safe. So I no longer needed to buy the drums. ...


I've been watching my neighbors to see if anyone tosses out an old hot water heater that isn't leaking but has bad burner. I want to plumb it in front of my hot water heater as a 40-50 gallon reserve tank and it can also serve as a tempering tank, so the water is at ambient temperature (can be 100 degrees) instead of heating the water from a ground temp of 50-60 F. So far, no luck. But I got my eyes open.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

GasholeWillie said:


> I would venture to guess that a big majority of people here and in the prep world are not going to be relying on a muni water supply toi store water. So well or spring water will be the source.
> 
> I looked into this last year, was all set to buy the used fruit juice barrels for storage. Then my water situation changed. Pump went bad, replaced, the treatment system crapped out, replaced. The result was I have cleaner water than i have had in a long time. As a left over part from the previous system was a 125 gal fiberglass tank that constantly gets cycled as it is the source for all my household water. Should I have a lengthy power failure, I have that 125 gal tank as my fail safe. So I no longer needed to buy the drums. But I researched it quite a bit and discussed the possibilities here. Came to the conclusion that using used barrels was a crap shoot at best. First off is access to the inside of the barrel if all you have is a spout hole. You have zero guarantee that you 100% cleaned that whole inside successfully, which could promote lysteria or other nasties. That was all I needed to know to NOT go that route, a gamble that will save me a few dollars or make me really sick. You could buy a Berkey or boil it or chemical clean, after storing, but why not just do it right to start with and start with new containers?


My 55 gallon barrels previously had vodka in them. 
Not much bacteria growth there.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

What did you do with the 110 gallons of vodka, ya drunk....


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

First off, as a person that makes wine, I am aware of a chemical that will clean and sanitize containers =======>sani-brew, ie chlorine

There is even a chemical that prevents a sugary yeasty fluid from fermenting ============> chemical name forgotten, but you can find it on any fruit juice ingredient list

There is an awesome fluid designed to dissolve sugar =============> water

There is an awesome fluid designed to emulsify fats =============> soap

Not sure what is used for proteins but you aren't going to find many in juices. Could be a concern with milk.



BTW, dairy farmers don't use hot water to flush their lines. Hot water cooks the protein causing deposits, and cold water solidifies fats causing deposits......so they flush their lines with warm water. Then probably something else afterwards.


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