Long term water storage

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According-Option-744@reddit

Yeah, that works. If you’re filling with clean municipal water and sealing it properly, it can last years (people say \~5 years easy).

You don’t really need a fancy filter to fill—tap water is already treated. Just make sure the drums are food-grade and clean.

After opening, yeah I’d filter it just to be safe.

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**Shelf life once opened** — sealed, climate-controlled, dark: 2–3 years on chlorinated municipal water. Once you tap it, treat it like a pantry — \~30 days if you're actively rotating, sooner if it gets warm or anything other than a clean spigot touches the inside. One drop of plain unscented bleach per gallon when you re-seal buys you back most of that window.

**Filter on fill** — for chlorinated city water, a $15 inline 5-micron sediment filter on the hose is plenty. It's catching rust and biofilm from old plumbing, not pathogens. Don't put a carbon block in front of it — you want the chlorine to stay in for storage, not get stripped at the tap. (If you're on well water, different story: filter and disinfect manually before sealing.)

**Filter on the way out** — yes, but for taste/clarity rather than safety. A gravity countertop unit (Berkey-style ceramic, or Waterdrop's gravity model if Berkey can't ship to your state right now) will polish anything that grew in the drum and fix the flat-warm-plastic taste. Don't drink straight from a 2-year-old drum without that polish step even if the chlorine should still be active.

Tangent worth knowing: two 30-gal drums beat one 55 in almost every dimension except price-per-gallon. Easier to rotate, easier to move full (a 55 is \~440 lbs and you cannot move it once it's full, full stop), and you spot a leak before you've lost the whole storage.

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bizconnectadventure@reddit

I store aquatabs 397mg tablets. These can be used to treat the stored water before drinking

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Still_Effective_8858@reddit

It's always a good idea to filter again after opening, especially if it's been stored for a very long time, just to be safe.

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Weplaygame@reddit

For sure. Conditions can change even in sealed containers so it’s always worth doing that extra step.

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MetaPlayer01@reddit

You can store whiskey for years. It's called "aging". I'm just sayin

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BraDDsTeR-_-@reddit

I bought two stackable 55 gal water containers… bleached to sanitize the container.. rinsed out with water… added pre-treated municipal water with a drinking water hose… lastly added H2O ResQ to each.. could probably keep for 5+ years but plan to rotate every 2

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StayGold_HouseStark@reddit

5 pks are $246 …

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StayGold_HouseStark@reddit

Photo is from last year. Purchased 5 gallon jugs at Home Depot. I just emptied these last weekend, treated & relabeled them. Water is good to go for 1 year.

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Ladydoodoo@reddit

How much for each?

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

the good ol military water can not a bad idea a lot easier to move too

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TheDev1ce@reddit

Buy a second water heater. You have more hot water, and it lasts forever without maintenance, well, until the heater breaks.

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Every-Difference5561@reddit

Thats what i do. I have 3 food grade 55 gallon drums filled with tap water and 8 drops per gallon of bleach. Its been sitting outside for a number of years and is still as clear as the day i put it in there. Being sealed keeps the chlorine in there. If i needed it i would let the chlorine vapor off by opening it for a while then boil it for drinking or probably us it to flush toilets if needed

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iambecomesoil@reddit

The chlorine has turned into salt and water by now. Chorine is not stable long term. Still did its just at the outset though.

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roberttheiii@reddit

Isn't the point to cleanse the water at the beginning of storage? Then its sealed so should be fine...

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Every-Difference5561@reddit

Oh if I remember correctly it was 1/8 cup bleach. Make sure its not scented or concentrated

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PNWoutdoors@reddit

And don't get the "splashless" kind.

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lexi4funs@reddit

Why not?

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PNWoutdoors@reddit

Lower concentration of sodium hypochlorite compared to regular bleach, additives you do not want to drink (that's what makes it thicker/no splash), may have soaps and scents added, as it's often used for laundry.

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lexi4funs@reddit

Thank you

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theyreall_throwaways@reddit

I'm having to store our 55 gal drums outside too and I'm happy to hear yours are still clear. I wondered if algae would be an issue. Are yours in the shade?

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Every-Difference5561@reddit

No shade at all and still smells of chlorine

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Financial-Parsley482@reddit

I just bought a 25 foot Food grade hose to fill up my 5 - 55 gallon drums. I’m wondering about longevity as well and I am on a well!

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Bugsy_A@reddit

Same advice I gave ti OP. In-line garden hose filter for RVs. Im also on a well and those filters work really well with taste and odor.

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Financial-Parsley482@reddit

Wow, I just checked out the in-line garden hose filter and that looks pretty skookum!

I’m thinking I could connect that up to the house with the food grade hose going into my 55 gallon drums. I still probably want to put in some sodium hypochlorite

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Bugsy_A@reddit

They are skookum for sure. I was a full time RVer for 5 yrs and no matter where I drove I never hooked up my hoses without that thing between my RV and the source.

But yes treating it once its in the barrels is still the best move for long term storage.

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Financial-Parsley482@reddit

I’ve been looking online for these in line RV filters and there’s a lot to choose from. Do you recommend anyone in particular and is it important to have the NSF certification?

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Bugsy_A@reddit

Camco tastepure is what I always used.

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Financial-Parsley482@reddit

Excellent excellent excellent you have just really helped me with one aspect of my water storage building process!!

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Financial-Parsley482@reddit

I don’t know what an in-line Garden hose filter is. I’ll have to check it out.

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Bugsy_A@reddit

RV section at Walmart. It'll be light blue.

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Bugsy_A@reddit

I use an in-line hose filter (light blue tube) found in the RV section of Walmart and fill up with the garden hose.

The tap takes FOREVER!

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

This is kinda what I was thinking not the kitchen sink or anything. Does the RV filter work that good? I just figured they were more of a sediment catch than anything else

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Bugsy_A@reddit

It does more than that. Removes Impurities and eliminates taste and odor. Well water in Eastern North Carolina is sulfur smelling and turns the tub and toilets yellow. My bathroom fixtures stayed white when we were staying there.

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silasmoeckel@reddit

6 Months, you just empty clean and refill takes 10 minutes.

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

This might be the way I do it

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silasmoeckel@reddit

I've got 6 55's and its easy enough.

I tend to do that along with changing oil and filters in gensets, going through long term storage etc etc etc.

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EnergyLantern@reddit

What is the drum made of? Is the drum rusting, dented or sitting in the sun?

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

thought was to get brand new food grade barrels clean them out with some bleach water and was thinking about doing teflon tape around threads

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EnergyLantern@reddit

So A.I. found two Reddit links which is too hard to copy right now but it says,:

Chemical smells escape sealed containers primarily through molecular permeation, where odor molecules diffuse through the microscopic pores of plastic materials. While containers seem solid, plastics are polymers that act like a mesh, allowing small, volatile odor compounds to migrate from the inside to the outside over time.

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Least_Perception_223@reddit

I live in puerto rico where we have city water but it often goes out where I am up in the mountains. Especially if there are power outages (which there are of many too). The pumps don't work without power!

What we do is to have a large cistern that has a float valve on it. Its constantly topped up with city water and then we have a pump that draws from the bottom that feeds the house

That way we never notice any outages and have enough stored water to last for weeks. The water is always fresh because its getting cycled with new water all the time.

The city water is surprisingly high quality and chlorinated. Its always crystal clear. We filter it before going into the house to remove the chlorine and any potential sediment from the tank

Another benefit is we have constant and consistent water pressure. The city water fluctuates in pressure a fair bit.

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Dugoutcanoe1945@reddit

Isla del encanto!

Do you use rain barrels as well?

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Least_Perception_223@reddit

No but I plan to start harvesting the rain water. We live on a 2 acre farm that has a pretty good slope. When it rains all the run off ditches are like niagara falls!

There is a creek as well in a valley between my property and the neighbour. When it rains it goes from a gentle trickle to a torrent of water!

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

Thats actually a great Idea I never thought of gonna have to look into it thanks

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op4@reddit

I believe someone just this same question in this sub a few days ago, no?

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WSBpeon69420@reddit

You also need to make sure the drum is food grade. Just some random drum you find probably isn’t the best idea without a very very thorough cleaning and then even then. They have specific barrel for long term water storage you can get

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

yeah no 100% getting brand new

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fenuxjde@reddit

For any plans of long term water storage, you really want to have a mean to be able to purify the water.

Personally, I have a micron filter and a solar kettle to boil it.

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TheJerseyDevil123@reddit (OP)

Already have a few sawyer filters but wouldn't want to drink nasty water

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pdxmhrn@reddit

Would it be practical to line them with waterBobs?

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CeruleanSnorlax@reddit

No, save those for your tub during a hurricane. Food grade HDPE (high density polyethylene) barrels are fine for water to rest in long term and will not leach chemicals.

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pdxmhrn@reddit

I’m in Colorado so no hurricane here

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CeruleanSnorlax@reddit

Ok, will still need for when the water stops pumping after a major prolonged outage

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pdxmhrn@reddit

A coworker had several of the big barrels so gave me one. Said it had been used to store styrofoam? But should be good to just wash out?

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Im a fan of the buy once / cry once philosophy.

So I buy mineral water in 1 litre Glass bottles, in stackable crates.

This way, i dont have to worry about refilling or replacing after a year. I can just store my water in glass for 20 years and dont have anything to worry about.

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xenobit_pendragon@reddit

That must have been a big cry.

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

I find the price to be quite reasonable. I get a litre of sparkling mineral water for 1,15 Euro. That's about 1,30 dollar.

And I dont drink alcohol or coffee or soda's. So I do have the budget for good quality water.

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V1ld0r_@reddit

You're in Germany or a aGerman at least aren't you?

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

Nope. Dutch. Hence the name.

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V1ld0r_@reddit

Didn't even read the username, sorry.

Yeah, that or Belgium was going to be my second guess xD

Bonus side is you must have a small fortune if you were to return all those bottles now...

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CyclingDutchie@reddit

My water comes from Belgium ! its called 'Spa water' and its delicious.

Yeah, i have to take the deposit money for granted. there is no way of doing it cheaper. So i just pay it.

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Mule_Wagon_777@reddit

I bought a new food-safe barrel from Baytec, along with water purifier, a specialized wrench, and a hand pump.

Bought a hose labeled "drinking water safe." Put the barrel on a pallet in the basement (plastic on concrete is bad.) Ran the hose from the outside tap, filled the barrel, poured in purifier, and wrenched the ooening shut.

It'll probably need to stand after being pumped out and will likely still taste awful, but if I'm down to drinking this I probably won't care!

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Wrong-Revenue-4424@reddit

Store it, bleach it, and if you need to use it beyond something like the 3-5 year mark, just use it with a filter system-- like the lifestraw family