Is it safe to store water in a hot garage?
Posted by wvhz@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Hi all. Is it safe to store water long term in a hot/uninsulated garage that can reach 100 F during summer in this type of storage tank: https://www.watersupplytanks.com/products/blue-160-gallon-water-storage-tank? The storage tank will not be exposed to sunlight, the garage is completely dark, my only concern is the temperature inside the garage. Thanks!
SunLillyFairy@reddit
If it’s what you have… you can make it work. Steel drums work better than plastic because they don’t leach microplastics into the water. Treat on the heavy side (barely, you don’t want it to be toxic) and be prepared to filter before drinking.
Sterile water should be OK in the heat if it’s sealed and not exposed to light.
wvhz@reddit (OP)
Do you have a recommendation for a good steel drum for water storage? Thanks!
SunLillyFairy@reddit
We have standard food-grade 55 gallon steel drums we bought on Craigslist. We get them from a lady that makes soap, they had nothing in them but coconut oil. There’s a faintly intensive (but cheap) DIY cleaning process involved, but they were $20 each. We tested the water after a couple of years, it was fine. Other than that, I don’t. I will say if you buy them used, get them from the original owner so you can be sure what was in them and get the kind where the whole lid comes off so you can clean them right. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/shopping?
wvhz@reddit (OP)
Thanks!
YardFudge@reddit
Yes
Add chlorine is water is from a well. City water has chlorine. Don’t go over 4 ppm
Change more often than in cold areas, say like annually
infinitum3d@reddit
Clorox. Sodium hypochlorite is the active ingredient in Clorox bleach.
https://www.clorox.com/learn/water-purification-how-much-bleach-purify-water-for-drinking/
The thing to be aware of is concentration.
Normal, regular, unscented Clorox is about 6%
Splashless is only 1.5%
Pool Shock is about 12%
Clorox says one drop per cup. That’s 16 drops per gallon.
There are roughly 100 drops per teaspoon.
A five gallon container needs about a teaspoon. To drink it, just leave it open and the chlorine evaporates off.
A 55 gallon drum needs 880 drops, or roughly 9 teaspoons of normal, unscented, not splashless Clorox bleach.
Good luck!
Jammer521@reddit
I keep 5 cases outside in my shed, we use it through out the summer, when one is gone I bring another one in, it gets plenty hot, prob close to 100f in the shed, never had an issue, but at most a cast may sit in the shed for 40 to 45 days before being used, as far as long term storage I have no idea, but 45 days they are fine
6gunsammy@reddit
Are you under the impression that there would be a "safe" temperature of x and if your water got to x+1 it would be unsafe.
I just mention that because that is not the way it works.
wvhz@reddit (OP)
Just wondering if 100 F temperatures (without sunlight) will cause chemicals from the plastic to leak or promote the growth of bacteria
6gunsammy@reddit
At 80 F chemicals from the plastic leak into the water, At 100F some more chemical leak into the water. At 120F even more chemical leak into the water.
What to do consider to be safe?
wvhz@reddit (OP)
In this case safe would be being able to drink all the water without the risk of getting sick from the water. If 100 F is not recommended I can look for another option, but just wanted to check first what everyone thought.
Particular-Try5584@reddit
All of prepping is a risk assessment. What is the risks you’ll take, for how long?
A stainless steel barrel has a weld in it, which can leak… And is 100x the price.
Most rainwater tanks (even metal ones) are plastic lined anyway.
A larger body of water will maintain even temperatures for longer, but if it springs a leak you risk losing more water than a smaller container.
Lots of things to weigh up.
Blue barrels are cheap, cheerful, easy to move around/within most people’s ability to handle themselves (with a sack trolley presumably if full), common/easy to get, great to DIY other things with (like aquaponics beds, down pipe rainwater collection, fish ponds), and generally a not bad choice. Food grade, non BPA, not storing anything chemical prior to your use would be my suggestions/limits.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
These are safe up to 200°F per the Manufacturer.
Particular-Try5584@reddit
A water temperature of 82f (24c) to 104f (40c) is the key danger zones for amoebic growth. You should not swim in a pool that has been these temperatures consistently for a period of time (unless it’s treated water, something most people with those oversized wading pools don’t do, which as a smaller body of water heat up faster). One snort full and you could have amoebic meningitis! Boiling will kills most of this activity… if the water isn’t contaminated on the way in with something mysterious or disgusting (ie if it’s chlorinated ‘safe’ tap water, in AU there is a minimum standard, I know the US has shit in some places, good in others) then a good boil should be all you need. Plus a filter to get rid of algae and plastic.
Algal growth is prime in the 20-30c range (I’ll let you start converting to the US f system :P) Algae isn’t usually harmful but does taint the taste of the water. Heating it will kill it.
Plastic starts to degrade at about 20c, and faster at higher temps. ANY water stored in plastics will have some leech into it.
In prepping the reality is that there’s two types of prepping: Tuesday, where you only need up to a month or four of supplies to get you through, and a little bit of plastic tasting water is fine for a little while - you probably encounter similar in your bottled water on holiday right? And doomsday, where everything is going to stop, and you are hiding out for a decade, and a decade of hormone disrupting plastic tainted water is going to shrivel your man bits and grow your girl bits. Or vice versa. Or something. Blinky the fish becomes an issue. BUT in doomsday you are then also prepping for future resupply, so hopefully you aren’t in a bunker for 10 years, but instead resupplying, maybe collecting a year’s worth of rain once a year, but it’s only a year old. Your blue barrels will be fine the first few years, but over time they’ll be dangerously compromised so then… what?
Particular-Try5584@reddit
They are fine for storing for a while, but follow water storage guidelines. In the heat of summer use them to water your gardens and refill them with fresh water… top up with a drop of the 'water storage chemical of your choice'.
Plastic does degrade, even in the dark, particularly in heat. So keep an eye on the taste of the water too - it could be quite plastic tasting after a while, and if you start getting plastic bits in your cup it's time to replace them.
There's new research out very recently about the dangers of plastics and the build up in the human body. Filtering any water, even if it was filtered prior (tap water etc) before drinking it is wise. Consider very very tight parameters for filtering, or reverse osmosis, or distillation.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
I have those exact tanks in my garage. They are fine. The best only concern would be the water freezing and expanding inside the tank. That could compromise it. Heat is fine.