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livestrong2109@reddit

Are there any lables taped to the barrels. So many of them end up getting used for potassium derived de-iceing solution. Which once rinsed out is safe at least for use as rain barrels. Any leaching would actually help plants grow.

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Proud-Ad-1690@reddit

I now keep 10 packs plus two 7-gallon aquatainers. Bottle water works if you are disciplined with rotation. Just don't expect it to last 5 year quietly in a corner!

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Brudegan@reddit

I have like 50L sparkled water in glass bottles that last a very long time (tested it after 5 years but should last even longer).

And i have 24 of the blue 20L water canisters under my bed. Treated with iodine tablets for boats it should stay drinkable for 6 months. I had one for over 5 years and the water came out clear. While i wouldnt drink it without filtering or boiling it was at least not a slimy mess with things growing in it. Nowadays i try to change the water (and treat it again) every 6-12 months. Even after 12 months i would probably still drink it without additional filtering/boiling if i hadnt any other choice.

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RealPersonResponds@reddit

Hope you have a strong bedroom floor, that's nearly 900 pounds of just water.

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SunLillyFairy@reddit

Sealed 5 gal water bottles work well too, and they are made to last longer.,

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Winter_Owl6097@reddit

Don't throw those blue drums out!!! Clean them and store water in the. Boil it before use.

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Mala_Suerte1@reddit

Don't toss the drums. Empty them out, put a few gallons of fresh water in them along w/ some bleach, put the lid back on and roll them around. Unless they have visible mold, this method works well. If they do have mold fill them all the way up and put 1/4 to 1/2 gallon in, seal and swish it around occasionally. Let it sit for a couple days, dump it out, rinse and refill. You should be gtg.

I have a couple large barrels, and small jugs. But I also have a creek 100' from my house.

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erik_salvia@reddit

If you’re a beer drinker, I’d recommend switching from those plastic bottles to glass. I’m a homebrewer and crown bottle caps are cheap, and you don’t have to worry about stuff growing in your bottles since home pasteurization is super easy. It’ll take up a little more space that a 40 pack of plastic bottles, and a little bit of prep work, but the bottles are reusable. If you use screw top glass bottles you could reuse the caps, but I’d just buy a few bags of crown caps and stock up (you can absolutely cap screw top bottles at home despite what most of the internet says. I personally like the bottles Cheerwine soda comes it since it’s clear and they’re thicker than stuff like IBC soda bottles). Depending on how you source your bottles they’re free too. Then get some milk crates for storage, 24-25 to a crate depending on what brand crates you have, or you can make your own crates pretty simply.

Or if you aren’t worried about individual bottles, get the glass carboys used for homebrewing. You can get them in 1gal to 8gal size, and they usually come with plastic or metal caps with seals in them. Depending on your local stores, you can often find the 1gal carboys in the juice section since a couple brands use glass instead of plastic, usually apple juice, but they aren’t the cheapo brands.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

That's interesting! So you refill your used bottles with water? And pasteurize them? I think I might give this a shot!

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erik_salvia@reddit

Also check what kind of bottles you have and what kind of capper you’re going to get. I have a wing capper (handheld type) and with a wing capper your bottles must have the collar under the cap. Look at Angry Orchard, Red Stripe, Cheerwine soda, or Jones soda for examples

With a bench capper (kinda looks like an ammo press with a lever) you can get away with some bottles without that collar, but a lot of them are thin glass and aren’t worth the hassle. Examples of these bottles are Smirnoff and I think Coors Light

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erik_salvia@reddit

I’m new to prepping so I’ll openly admit I’ve never done it with just water, but I don’t see why there would be any issue. I hadn’t even considered it until writing my comment but I will be doing it now.

Home pasteurization is the easy part, I bottle carb when I do hard cider (in case you don’t know that means the yeast is still fermenting when you bottle it and the co2 they produce is what is carbonating the drink) and the only way to keep the bottle from exploding from too much pressure over time is to either keep it refrigerated or pasteurize. Refrigeration only slows the fermentation/carbonation, given enough time it can still build up too much pressure. I keep my stuff on a shelf to save fridge space until I’m ready to drink so pasteurization is a must.

You can find pasteurization steps online but I’ll include here what I do. First you want your capped bottles room temperature, if they are cold they will definitely break. I use a tall pressure cooker pot since it’s the only thing I have tall enough for beer bottles. I remove the gasket from the lid so it can’t build pressure and will place the lid on once the bottles are in the pot so if one explodes while pasteurizing, the lid will catch the flying cap (this shouldn’t be a concern with just water, but a lid helps hold in the heat). Place the bottles in the pot, preferable off the bottom. My cooker has a sheet metal plate in the bottom for use in canning so the bottoms of jars don’t get too hot too fast, I recommend doing this. Fill the pot with water to the same level as the liquid inside the bottles. If the bottles aren’t evenly filled, fill the pot so it’s even with the highest level of the bottles Remove the bottles, heat the pot to about 180-190*F. Turn off the heat and add your bottles slowly one at a time. Cover your pot. Once they are all in, wait 15-30 minutes and pull them out. Set them on a towel to dry until back to room temp. And that’s it.

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omnomnomivorre@reddit

I keep about 100l so ~26 gallons in 6 - 8l containers on hand for ease of use and 1000L in an IBC.

Water goes out pretty often where I am, weekly lately, so I refill with filtered when it comes back on and rotate the bottles out every 6 months and fill with tap and store for non drinking.

I just buy alternating brands so I know which colors are drinking and which arent when the waters out. Lots of refills and hauling up and down stairs no leaking issues yet kept in a temp controlled room.

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yenegar78@reddit

I put them in the basement, really careful in keeping them in a dry and dark place, keep a track on their produced date.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Any issues with that? How long do you keep them?

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Capital-Way-2465@reddit

I have been getting the 5 gallon dispenser water bottles and have a usb dispenser that fits on the top. Was super useful during the last power outage. Now working on a solution that will operate my well pump so water won’t be as much of an issue.

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Infamous-Sherbert937@reddit

Dig a well and get a solar pump.

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franjantagj@reddit

If space and budget allow, mixing bottled water (for quick access) with a few large food-grade containers for bulk storage is smart. But hey, if bottled works for your flow, rock it

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bikehikepunk@reddit

The rainwater 55 gallon drums are fine to filter for drinking, but definitely easy to carry by the bucket for flushing.

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featurekreep@reddit

I don't trust cheap bottles water at all; flimsy container and I think an inconvenient size.

2.5 and 5 gallon containers for easy access water (and not the cheap aquatainers, don't trust those either) and food grade 55 gallon drums for deep backup water.

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keto2017@reddit

I am using bottled water packs from Costco for our water storage/prep needs. When they reach the expiration date I use the water for my dog to drink. We also can pull a few bottles whenever we need them. They are dated as you’ve said, and I write the date extra large with a sharpie on the packs for easy reference. I store them in our basement and haven’t had any leaking issues. I went with bottled water as it has been mentally the easiest for me rather than figuring out larger jugs, treating, etc.

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PushyTom@reddit

Yes--have two weeks worth stored inside the temperature controlled house in a dark room. After a couple years, we donated it to a homeless shelter and then replaced it by buying one case every grocery trip.

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

Water. Diversity is key: - Case of water in yer car trunk - 70 gallons for 2 person-weeks at home, say in 1-7 gallon jugs, to cover typical suburban conserved drink, cook, wash, and flush needs - Blue, used, food-grade, 55 gallon barrels (~$15) sanitized w/ pool shock.
- Rotate all above yearly. - Bathtub, trash bins, sinks, or other large, hasty-tap-filled containers - Local, bulk source (stream, lake, swimming pool, well, rain collectors - Sawyer filter w/ Micropur tablets backup (or similar combo, see: - https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-backpacking-water-filter - https://www.wideners.com/blog/water-filter-tests-for-survival - To really get into this, watch GearSkeptic on YouTube

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bad-fengshui@reddit

Is this a copy pasta? I've saw this same comment on a post 3 years ago.

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phattsrules@reddit

Where do you get the food grade barrels for $15?

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

Marketplace via a reseller

Many factories have to pay to dispose of them as trash so they’re happy to give large numbers of them away.. but don’t want the hassle / responsibility of selling singles to the public

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Wait. Why did you tell me to never drink from my 55 gallon blue water drums I've known for their whole existence because I don't know anything about them, but tell me to go buy used ones and drink out of those?

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

“Inherited” implies you didn’t know what was in them before.

You might be able to buy’ fresh’ used ones directly from a factory that still have food ingredients in them… like watermelon mango purée that was in mine.

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scritchesfordoges@reddit

55 gallon drums are pricey. If you won’t use them, I guarantee you there’s a gardener nearby who would be happy to pick up a free rain barrel.

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BoxProud4675@reddit

I bought twenty two 40packs a year and a half ago. Kept them inside, covered in the corner of a room. I’ll rotate them out in a couple months.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Are you going to drink all them?

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BoxProud4675@reddit

I plan too. I’ll rotate them out. They’ve been in a decently controlled climate, out of sunlight. From SamsClub, they move pallets of bottled water daily.

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Ok_Marsupial9420@reddit

If you live on a well, you can also get a hand pump attachment for it.That's what I'd recommend

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

I buy stackable crates, of water in GLASS bottles. Plastic leaches microplastics into your water. Glass stays usable for decades, if not longer.

Ive drank water from glass that was 7 years old. no taste difference, like with plastic.

It might cost more than plastic bottles. but its a one time investment, and you are set for years.

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Onyourmarkgetset100@reddit

Where do you get these? Not sure it’s practical for me as I live in earthquake country, but I’ll look into it.

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

I live in europe. So It wouldnt be of use to you. Its a european version of Costco.

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OtherwiseAlbatross14@reddit

Why are you assuming there are no Europeans here when you are direct evidence that that's not true?

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Its a dutch compagny called 'Sligro'.

Ill bet you, that information is of no use to you.

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Nufonewhodis4@reddit

The idea that glass containers don't have micro plastics seems to make sense put hasn't been proven in research. The opposite was actually found... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157525005344

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

I dont get drinks, but mineral water. Straight from the underground source. This water is hunderds of years old.

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Nufonewhodis4@reddit

The current study was set up to address this gap and investigate the level of microplastic contamination in water, soft drinks, beer and wine.

The study looked at a variety of beverages. Beer had the most contamination but water also had the same findings. I don't doubt it's good water, I'm just challenging the assumption that because it's a glass bottle it's free from micro plastics

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Fair enough. I would say; check the watersource.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

It would have to be under 5 times the cost for me to bother I think, as plastic has a printed expiration date of 2 years, and I don't think I would be comfortable with 10 year old water even in glass unless it's a true SHTF situation, leading me to boil it and filter it, but if I am doing that then I can just grab it from the lake.

Where did you get them?

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Feel free to poison yourself with plastic.

In europe, so you wouldnt be helped with where i got them from.

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OBotB@reddit

I personally store them in a place where if they develop pinhole leaks it won't damage the things under/around them. To be fair, the only water containers I've dealt with that developed those are the gallon jugs of distilled water purchased as a backup for a nearby family member who needs them, and it happened within a year. But after the first time all water bottles/jugs were moved/stored in 'safe' places (like a big plastic tote or the shower of a bathroom that only gets used as a half bath). Since then, only one other distilled water jug decided to also develop a pinhole leak (could see it squished in on itself as it drained at some point in that shower), no water bottles impacted yet.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Okay. I was thinking about shoving them in a tote.

I also get pinhole leaks in my gallon distilled water jugs I use to make coolant for my car.

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OtherwiseAlbatross14@reddit

Distilled water is corrosive so it's possible that purified or spring water would last longer than distilled

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OBotB@reddit

Good to know the distilled water jugs aren't just conspiring against me ;)

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highapplepie@reddit

We have the stackable blue water safe brick things. We bought 3 (one each for my wife, myself, and one for the pets to share). We haven’t had to use them and sometimes I feel a little crazy having them kicking around but I know I won’t regret if I need them someday.

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ImJustHereForItt@reddit

I live in SW Florida and deal with hurricanes often. I always try to keep stocked up on 3 to 4; 5 gallon water barrels. I keep 6-7 cases of water only for hurricane reasons. I store them on an interior walled closet so they stay nice and cool and out of the way. I have 8 ×ater Bricks stacked up in another closet, cleaned and then treated for 5 years for more "Oh Shit" longer situations. In my 10 years here, have been hit with 2 canes that knocked out my power for 14-16 days. One of those took my Water with it since I was on Well. Every hurricane learn more with what I could do better.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Wow that's awesome. What kind of issues have you been running into with your water

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ImJustHereForItt@reddit

Honestly, nothing so far that I have run into with storage (without jinxing myself lol)

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the300bros@reddit

I hate plastic bottles. I will filter or distill water… not store a bunch in supposedly drinkable form.

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theMezz@reddit

always have 10 cases of 16 oz bottles.. i drink them as i rotate the stock

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

How long can you keep those 10 for? Any leaking issues?

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ScrapmasterFlex@reddit

It's one of the smartest things to stockpile- and I don't give a fuck what anyone says. ... whether they're Keyboard Commandos, Chairborne Rangers, or Doomsday Preppers...

There are three basic, extremely-important , critical necessities for the Sustainment of Human Life ... and it's basically the Survival & Preparedness / Human Life - Rules of 3: Oxygen, Water, & Food...

You can go about 3 Minutes without Oxygen (air, and this is just in GENERAL, the Survival Rules of 3...) ; about 3 Days without Water; and about 3 Weeks without Food...

So seeing as IN GENERAL, Air is free , ... Water is your #1 Survival Priority. I get it - some people will chime in with "Well I have a River/Lake/Creek/Stream/Well etc." = Fair enough. Everyone who doesn't, after 1 day without Water, you're going to be hurting ... 2 days without, you're going to be suffering going into Critical, and 3 Days, you're going to be going from Critical to "This is it, I'm dying - or worse - WE'RE DYING - if we don't get Water ...."

So having Water Preps isn't just never a bad thing ... it's a Critical Thing ...

and whether anyone likes it or not - what I just said is , as my ex-GF's Teenage Daughters used to like to say , every once-in-a-while when I'd say something they'd agree with:

FACTS .... BIG FACTS...

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Lol you sound like a fun time!

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PeanyButter@reddit

I would at the very least keep them for non potable uses like flushing the toilet or watering plants.

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c3corvette@reddit

Cases of water + life straw filtration should be pure plastic free water.

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flannelheart@reddit

This is exactly my strategy. And Amazon has life straws on sale right now for $10. At 1000 gals each, you can be set for drinking water fir a long time.

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TheSensiblePrepper@reddit

Look in the package of water bottles or the bottles themselves and you will see an expiration date. That date isn't for the water but the bottle.

Take a bottle of water and set it aside for a year. Forget it is there. After that year you will notice the bottle has become "soft" or even collapsed into itself a bit.

The reason for this is that those bottles are designed for almost immediate use once purchased. When they fill the bottles they add nitrogen to the empty space. Overtime this nitrogen escapes from the bottle because the bottle is water tight and not air tight. These are two different things and not the same. Sure, you get a few good months of storage but after that you need to use them.

Of course you also have the concern of the plastic breaking down into the water via leeching. This is faster than most plastic because these bottles are designed to be recycled. Again, they were never designed for long-term use/storage. In a true SHTF situation, you might not care about such a thing but it is something you certainly need to keep in mind long term.

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Paranormal_Lemon@reddit

Buy gallons in polypropylene jugs and it's not a problem. I have one I've been using to water my plants for 10 years now, still intact.

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New_in_ND@reddit

I always wondered why the bottles collapsed. Learned something new today.

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TheSensiblePrepper@reddit

Yeah, it happens with other "cheaper plastic" containers but those are the ones people notice the most. Again, those containers are water tight but not air tight.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

The expiration dates are almost invariably about 2 years.

I reckon blasting through my stores once a year should eliminate the structural issues.

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TheSensiblePrepper@reddit

Two years from the date it was manufactured. If you're getting them soon after being filled, that's fine. If they are sitting around anywhere, that takes away from your time.

You also need to consider where you're storing them. In a controlled environment that is constantly around 72°F then you get that full shelf life, maybe longer. Store them in a garage where the temperature fluctuates during the year and it will be less for sure.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

They rarely, if ever, sit. Regardless, it's not like it's a mystery. You just look at the dates.

Source: management for national retail chain.

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drank_myself_sober@reddit

I got each of them. A dozen cases of bottled, a blue barrel and water bricks. Moving toward losing the blue barrel and getting more water bricks, but I cycle through the water bottles and regularly use them.

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mookbrenner@reddit

What is/are a "blue barrel" and "water bricks"?

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Cold-Call-8374@reddit

Ooh I just googled water bricks. Those are cool. I can see myself using them more readily than a barrel system.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

How often do you go through them? Have you run into any problems?

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Most_Art507@reddit

Exactly, the plastic bottles are slightly permiable , like balloons that slowly deflate, that's why water in plastic bottles should be stored away from strong odours .

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spoosejuice@reddit

If you have the space, I would definitely keep the 55 gallon drums for non-potable water. You can use it for washing, etc. I’m planning on buying a couple new drums myself.

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HappyCamperDancer@reddit

Keep the 55 gallon barrels!

You will want other non-drinking water for cleaning up, laundry, and other reasons other than cooking and drinking.

I clean my barrel once a year. I attached a spigot at the nottom and placed the barrel on a wood pallet platform, covered by a blue tarp in my garage. I empty it via a hose, then take it out on my lawn, fill it with maybe 5 gallons of water plus a 1/2 cup of bleach, then roll it around, sloshing it front/back/sides for 30 minutes. Then draining, putting it back, and using a potable water hose to fill it back up.

Yes, I also have a variety of water containers. Water bricks, gallon jugs, packs of water bottles and for washing hands I have reused old giant costco sized laundry detergent jugs with spigots (well rinsed) as that would be nice to wash my hands easily. Obviously those are non-potable.

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TheCarcissist@reddit

So, even if the water in the blue barrels is bad, it can still be filtered, boiled, used to flush toilets, water garden etc... still useful. Hell, even those large detergent jugs for clothes can be refilled and used for cleaning. Water has tons of uses outside just consuming it.

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Previous_Captain_880@reddit

You need 3 kinds of water storage. Immediate drinking water (bottled water is a good example of this), water to use for other things (this is where rainwater is great, you actually need more non-potable water than potable in a lot of disasters), and a long term water supply.

How you go about securing a long term supply is dependent on a lot of factors, some of which will be out of your control. The first thing you should do though is secure enough for the short term, and a way to purify it in case your potable water runs out.

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Aqualung812@reddit

I use 5 gallon jugs with gravity-fed water coolers.

It’s a good way to make sure I rotate through my stored water while still having a good reserve.

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bellj1210@reddit

i find the 5 gallons harder to rotate. so it is mostly gallon and the bottles he is talking about, and it really is all about rotation.

I grab a small bottle every few days (and refill it) to use in the office. I rotate 4-5 of the 40 packs since that is what i go tthrough before hitting best buy dates. They also are grabbed for something to drink when we go out somewhere. They really just keep us from buying drinks when we go out.

the 1 gallons (i keep about 30-40 around) are harder to rotate. I bring one to any cookout to put out (shocking how many people do not think to put water out) and rotate them for other things. They are generally cheap enough to just dump when the bottle looks bad

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EudoxiaPrade@reddit

This is the way. Small enough for one person to carry too.

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Swimming_Schedule_49@reddit

I like 55 gallon drums for rain water collection near the garden, but they’re very inconvenient for drinking water storage. I have a bunch of the 5 gallon water canteens for drinking water. Something like these

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scepter-5-Gallon-20-Liter-Water-Container-Heavy-Duty-Military-Style-Green/184529186?classType=VARIANT

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bellj1210@reddit

i do the same..... i have some filter options if it ever comes to it, but that is mainly rainwater storage for watering the garden when it does not rain for a few days. At that point, unless it has warnings on the side for having toxic stuff in it, i just use the pressure washer on it and call it a day

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24kdgolden@reddit

Save some of those 55 gallon barrels for non potable water such as flushing, dishes, showers, etc. If push comes to shove, you can use something like Sawyer filter or life straw to filter.

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jimoconnell@reddit

The other day I had ten 5-gallon bottles of Spring Water delivered by a local company. I got a metal rack designed to hold them in two stacks of five. They will live in my storage room. (AKA "The Bomb Shelter")

One of the bottles leaked a little from the cap, so that one came up to the kitchen to be used, but I don't know how quickly I will rotate through the rest.

Glass 5-gallon bottles are used by home brewers and winemakers, so they are available for about $50/each. I may get some of those, along with natural corks, for long term storage.

I also have a still and filter straws. There's a nearby creek and I'm working on a rainwater collection system.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

How much were the 5 gallon bottles

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jimoconnell@reddit

I paid \~$140 for all 10, delivered to my door, so around $14 each, which includes about $7 for the bottle deposit.

It's a local Pennsylvania/Maryland company called Tulpehocken.

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MrsEDT@reddit

I would clean the blue drums, fill them with water and use a keramic waterfilter to clean the water to make it drinkable.

I have a lot of plastic bottles stored away, filled them with water. I have 2 katadyn waterfilters. They cean and filter the water including microplastics and stuff.

You just need the water.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

I'm not sure exactly how to clean the drums in a way that will make me confident. They just have the two small holes and they have been sitting outside for 15 years. Lol.

I can fill them with water and bleach but I won't really be able to tell if they're clean you know? Unless you know a way.

In a shit hits the fan scenario, you bet your ass if I still have them I'm using them to catch water from the roof, but for anything reasonable, like a month or so without water, I would be too afraid; they'll go unused.

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Key-Ad1506@reddit

The CDC has guidance on dosage and steroids for sanitizing containers as well as dosage for water storage.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Right. But in the same way that you dumping an entire bottle of CLR down the drain won't fix your blocked showerhead, me knowing how much bleach to use won't tell me how I can be sure these things that are too big to shake and into which I cannot see actually get cleaned.

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mythozoologist@reddit

Fill it slightly above half. Don't shake put on its side and roll it.

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Key-Ad1506@reddit

Could go with the nuclear option and bleach the ever living hell out of it. You'll need to rinse it really good before using it. Could try rolling the barrel rather than shaking it. But at the end of the day, if your not comfortable with is it clean out not, I wouldn't use them. Walmart sells 7 gallon blue jugs for water, I have a few of them I use.

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Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit

Do not use previously used containers for drinking water. Ever.

You don't know what has been in them.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

I know exactly what has been put them. Water. Drained about 15 years ago. At the time the water was 12 years old.

The question is what has made it into the water in that time?

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Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit

That's kinda my point.

It's not worth it. For something as essential as safe drinking water, go buy some new, food grade containers.

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

Do not ever drink from those. They might have held dangerous chemicals that no boiling, GAC, filtering, or chlorine will treat.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

They didn't, but I don't know what's been happening inside them for the past 27 years.

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remembers-fanzines@reddit

If you have a backyard, and own your own property, you can get an actual water storage tank from places like Tractor Supply or Home Depot for between $750ish (500 gallons) to $1300 (1100 gallons.) Add a couple hundred for a gravel base for it. Plop tank down, add a faucet on the outside for gravity feed (or a pump to the house if you're feeling fancy), add water, done. Get a dark colored one; you don't want algae growing in it. Add an appropriate amount of bleach when filling it for sanitation purposes if it makes you feel better.

Now you have all the water you could ever need, and in the long run, it'll be cheaper, safer, and less prone to failure than jury-rigged solutions. Water bottles fail. Shelves fail because water is heavy. If you're in an area with earthquakes, stacks of water bottles in your house are going to be an issue sooner or later.

Protip: Add a fire hydrant connection and give the fire department permission to use it. (I used to live in an area where they had a form for this, and it got us a discount on our homeowner's insurance because now it was considered a fire hydrant, but your mileage may vary.)

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dittybopper_05H@reddit

Fifty gallons of water is only [whips out slide rule...] 50 gallons * 8.34 pounds/gallon = 417 pounds. That's just (417 / 2000) * 100 = 20.9% of a shit-ton.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

I didn't know shit ton and short ton were interchangeable.

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dittybopper_05H@reddit

Well it's certainly not a commie metric ton!.

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Dadd_io@reddit

Sounds like you don't have filtration to make you feel safe drinking the drum water.

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DeafHeretic@reddit

The drums would be good to store various things in. Assuming they had nothing toxic in them, you could just clean them and store stuff in them in the original packages. Keeps things safer from mice and the environment in general.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Unfortunately they only have a very small hole in them so storage is basically impossible

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Mindless_Road_2045@reddit

If they are all correct about plastics? That means I have been poisoned for 55 years! Not to mention the lead in pipes, all the asbestos, washing my hands with kerosene, chemicals in food etc… you know the drill. I’m not worried about a little more plastics in the water during a doomsday situation, that will invariably be less sanitary, lack of proper medical care etc. for the time I have left in the apocalypse. To OP they have those drum liners that you could use as a liner for your water and close the cap VS cleaning it out all that well.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Wait are you not supposed to touch kerosene? Lol oops

Regarding the drum liners: all I'm seeing are basically trash bags...which might work, but I don't know how to secure them inside the drum. Is there a product specifically you are looking at?

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Mindless_Road_2045@reddit

Amazon they have big bags for potable water that fit in your bathtub to hold water in case of emergency. I think they hold 100gal. But I’m sure there are similar you could put in a 55gal drum.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

The issue is the opening for the drum. It's just a hole the size of a lacrosse ball.

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Mindless_Road_2045@reddit

Ahhh. Solid top vs ring top. Gotcha.

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SansLucidity@reddit

look into building cistern if you have property. the least amount of problems.

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Longjumping-Army-172@reddit

My family of three is just rotating. Keep three unopened packs with the open one on top.

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DirectorBiggs@reddit

Hell no, that's not only poisoning your body, it's supporting an industry that's awful for the planet.

I have a well, live on the river and have multiple filtration redundancies.

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rp55395@reddit

We keep 5-6 cases of bottled water on hand and rotate through it as we use them. Camping, get togethers and anybody we hire for jobs rotates the pretty well. Also, We always have bottles in the outside fridge to hand cold ones to mail, UPS and Amazon drivers on hot days. We get pretty good service from our regular drivers.

Prep for Tuesday.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

How often do you go through them? What size cases?

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rp55395@reddit

In the summer it’s faster but usually about 5 or 6 months to rotate through a whole stack. I really believe in stock what you use.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Okay that's good to know. No other problems?

I think I can use that much. Especially when mowing the lawn!

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Eredani@reddit

I would never store drinking water in any kind of used container. Period. But, you can sanitize those drums with bleach, rinse them out and keep water for cleaning, flushing toilets, watering plants, etc.

I have a few cases of bottled water. It's a good option but not the best for long term storage. Label each case with the date and rotate them out. Store in a cool, dry and dark place.

A better option might be to rotate commercially filled and sealed 5-gallon jugs. I get these delivered to the house on a monthly subscription.

Much of my water is stored in 7-gallon Aquatainers filled with filtered tap water and treated with Aquamira. These will be good for a long time.

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premar16@reddit

I do rotate through bottled water but not a lot of them I try to have 1 pack at a time then at least 6 of those 1 galleon jugs. I am low income and have limited space so that seems to work for me.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

How long do you normally keep them? Have you run into problems?

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Dobbys_Other_Sock@reddit

Most of our water stock is in water bottles, but we also pretty much only drink from water bottles so we rotate through them sufficiently. I keep about 10 cases of water on hand, we drink about 2 a week, and they are stored on shelves in the garage so as long as we adhere to first in first out they all get used well before the expiration date.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Any leaking issues?

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Obvious_Cookie_458@reddit

It might be sensible to keep the 55 gallon drums because you need to flush the toilet (Use a bucket) and you don't need drinking water for that. You can wash in it too.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

I may keep them for long term SHTF utility. I'm not too concerned about toilet flushing.

There's three lakes within a 5 minute walk from my house. At least 6 and a river if I extend it to 10 or 15 minutes. I figure if I don't have water, we take the wagon down to the lake and grab a couple 5 gallon buckets, and those should last us until the next rain. In the winter of course we just melt snow.

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One_Half226@reddit

Yeah all these "microplastic" people are not talking about the true issue which is the plastic breaks down and actually starts leaking the water everywhere. Nobody cares about microplastics in a survival scenario or when water is short. You could also use it for other needs than drinking so that's just a stupid arguement but..

I tried to keep plastic water bottle cases just as a short term standby and by year 2 every few weeks one of the cases started spontaneously leaking. The gallon jugs with the spigot did the same thing. By year 3 I lost them all and was happy to be rid of the constant stress worrying if my closet would fall through the floor wet someday.

I've since switched to glass mountain spring water liter bottle 12 packs from Whole Foods. Much better and the boxes stack way better too! Plus, being inside the dark boxes and green glass will help the water keep longer.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

Oh this is a good suggestion. Maybe I will get the glass ones you are talking about.

But if I chose to do the plastic route, you started having problems just after the first year, right?

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One_Half226@reddit

It's a luxury I agree, I am an older solo prepper without kids so I apologize sometimes my advice is a bit privileged in that regard without realizing. The comfort of the water was worth the price but a big drum with treated or rotated water would likely be WAY cheaper.

I went on a mission the last two years and switched to glass for almost everything getting rid of my tubberware for Pyrex plastic cups for mason jars etc it was a small change that helped me feel better about my health but it IS expensive.

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funkmon@reddit (OP)

I just have two of us for now, and I mostly store food in cans, not dried, and I have a running 6 month supply of diet Pop (lol) I just buy when it's on sale and use for events. One of us could drink that exclusively for a month and our spare food has water. So I am not starting from nothing

I could reasonably get 4 of those glass packs and be done with it for the next 5 years. Maybe I will. Slap em in the basement and be done with it.

For my health, I am much more concerned about my ability to clean products than I am about plastics. I am quick to trash an item with this in consideration, especially in regards to prepping, as I am only anticipating a maximum month long issue, and anything beyond that is mad Max shit, but I don't want to be sick when there's no communication or help coming and die from food poisoning.

I'll eat food off the ground and expired stuff all day as long as it's fairly new. But I am very afraid of long term stored food. It just don't feel right.

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One_Half226@reddit

I feel you on that and have horrible food anxiety with emetephobia which makes me nervous about food long term as well. I can't ever relate to preppers who eat really old or suss looking supply to avoid wasting money I think they are SO brave to do it and come back and report to us lol I've been to SERE school with the military so I know I WILL eat when it comes time if I'm hungry enough so I don't get too wrapped up in it.

I went with a deep pantry for this reason to only keep items I actually eat. I have a bit of a "mad max" prep in a handful of #10 cans but the bulk of my prep is a goal of simply 6-9 months of keeping things as status quo as possible. I'm alone without community so I've accepted the truth that I won't last much longer than that anyway.

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Specialist_Welder215@reddit

I have a 3000-liter cistern underground, a 1000-liter tank on the roof, pumps, and a whole-house water purification system with battery backup, and the water is used continuously. Lucky me, except for the purification system, the house came with this setup.

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Few-Lawyer3707@reddit

No. The plastic leeches into the water over time. They're okay for short term storage but make sure to rotate them out and invest in some real containers for long term storage.