Bottled Water

[TimB]

I have been storing tap water in 1 gallon jugs that I bought from wal mart that had spring water in them. How long should these last? Is it not safe to store tap water in them? Is there something I need to do to the water before I can drink it? Some of the jugs have pop tops and some have the screw on caps. Any other suggestions?

Thanks
Tim

 

[terraformer]

I would say a good use for them is rifled shotgun slugs... That is a fun range day!

 

[abundigas]

I read once that you should put a small amount of Bleach in each bottle, but I do not know how much bleach you would put per galon, I seem to remember one cap full. But Im sure if you google it, you will find out how to properly store H2O for an extended period of time.

 

[Twigg]

The water should be fine as long as it's been stored with the caps on. You could always run it through a filter system before use just to be on the safe side.

 

[Fixxah]

Does bottled water have expiration date? I don't recall any. I have been drinking water I bought for hunting season last summer, and it has no taste as one would expect. However, purification tablets are probably a good idea if there is a doubt.

 

[BillK]

Tim,

Is your tap water from a well or is it town/water?

You must remember that Brita or a simple PUR filter will not remove microorganisms from the water—they filter basic minerals in your tap water to make it taste better! PUR does make a filter that will remove giardia and cryptosporidium. Check the label to be sure what you're getting before you buy a filter device.

Bleach can be toxic at high levels!! Be sure to leave the top off while letting water sit so that the bleach vapors can dissipate. You treat water about 30 minutes before your about to drink, 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water is standard.

 

[wahsben]

Does bottled water have expiration date? I don't recall any. I have been drinking water I bought for hunting season last summer, and it has no taste as one would expect. However, purification tablets are probably a good idea if there is a doubt.

I've seen expiration dates on bottled water in the stores.

 

[strangenh]

If you're bottling your own, you should add bleach, plain, unscented 5.25% chlorine bleach at 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons. Don't overdo it. Retreat or use a high-end filter before drinking it if it's been stored more than a few months.

Even so, most guides recommend you rotate water reserves every year or so if you are not adding a stabilizer - like Oxy-Stabile - that prevents pretty much anything from growing in there and does not itself react with the air that inevitably will be in there in solution and in trapped bubbles. And even then they recommend filtering or retreating it.

Here's a decent article on storing and using stored water:
http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=16&name=Water Storage Options&bhcd2=1215652891

 

[NASHOOTER]

Are my Army issue emergency drinking water cans from 1953 considered no good any more? They have no expiration date on them.

 

[BillK]

Are my Army issue emergency drinking water cans from 1953 considered no good any more? They have no expiration date on them.

"The cans had limited shelf life due to corrosion and the leeching of the can materials into the water"

The ones I have are just collector items. I keep them down and away from sight.. out of sight out of mind.

 

[Adam_MA]

From Clorox, but is applicable to all bleach

Q. Can Clorox® Regular-Bleach be used to disinfect water?

A. Yes. When boiling of water for 1 minute is not possible in an emergency situation, you can disinfect your drinking water with Clorox® Regular-Bleach as follows:

Remove suspended particles by filtering or letting particles settle to the bottom.
Pour off clear water into a clean container.
Add 8 drops of Clorox® Regular-Bleach (not scented or color-safe) to one gallon of water (2 drops to 1 quart). For cloudy water, use 16 drops per gallon of water (4 drops to 1 quart).
Allow the treated water to stand for 30 minutes. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat and wait another 15 minutes. The treated water can then be made palatable by pouring it between clean containers several times.

Q. What organisms does Clorox® Regular-Bleach kill?

A. Bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus (Staph.)
Salmonella choleraesuis
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep.)
Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli)
Shigella dysenteriae
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Fungi
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (can cause Athlete's Foot)
Candida albicans (a yeast)

Viruses
Rhinovirus Type 37 (a type of virus that can cause colds)
Influenza A (Flu virus)
Hepatitis A virus
Rotavirus
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)*
Herpes simplex Type 2
Rubella virus
Adenovirus Type 2
Cytomegalovirus

Here's a FEMA doc with some water storage info in it.

www.fema.gov/pdf/library/f&web.pdf

 

[Another_David]

There are some regulations on the books somewhere (don't ask me for a cite 'cause I don't have one) that requires an expiration date for certain bottled items including water. Every water bottle I've seen with an expiration date has 2 years listed. However, as far as I know there is no science behind that--it's just a number chosen to meet certain requirements.

Since you're self bottling I'd filter, boil, or disinfect before use if stored for +1 years, but that's just my guestimate

 

[DariusK]

Concur with "Another David" (above). I checked on this around Y2K and found it's a regulation (Google "water expiration date") - if you sell it, it's got to have an expiration, and it's got to be within 2 years. So water has an expiration date printed, though (unopened) it never expires.

I've stored plastic 1 gallon jugs on the floor in two layers, with a 4'x4' plywood board between the two layers. This held for just over half a year before a handful of the bottom jugs started splitting open & spilling. If you're going to do this, use something to support the weight of the layer above, instead of the water jugs themselves.