Importance of Water Storage

And don't store water in milk jugs.. they become porous. When we moved from our first home, where I had kept milk jugs full of water back in those unattainable places that poorly planned kitchens have, the water had leaked out. And the floor was all particle board stuff and was ruined under there, and I had NO idea until it was too late.
Which also makes me realize that i should rotate my storage — if I had refreshed my water yearly instead of just adding to it until I was out of room, I would have KNOWN what was going on.

Water! I have five 55gal drums, and I captured water in three 96 gal trash cans.
The latter will be used to water the lawn later this year so I can clean the cans and capture more next rainy season.

I went through my food supply and have eliminated about all of the cans marked 11, and will replace.

I bought a coffee grinder, and plan to grind wheat then bake rolls.

And I am 76 years old.

This is the area that I am lacking in—I have some bottled water but no where near enough.

Wow – so true. Thank you for reminding me that I need to address this area of food storage!

Water is the one thing I really need to be more purposeful about storing. Thanks for the suggestions.

Anonymous – The recommended amount of stored water is a gallon per person per day for two weeks. It never hurts to have more than two weeks worth of water stored but most of the time after an emergency, the water will be restored by two weeks.

If your Freezer isn't full, it's a good idea to freeze water in the thicker plastic bottles and use up that unused space. It serves three purposes. One-Your freezer runs more efficently when full Two- if you loose power, you can transfer them to your Ref. to keep things cold longer and Three-when they melt you have water to drink!

Water storage is the hardest thing for me. I have no problem storing food and other supplies, but water storage items seem to be so much more expensive! I just invested in a Berkey and I can't believe what a weight off it is to finally have something done toward my water storage! I'll be working on having some actual water stored soon, as soon as I'm able to find a couple of those big blue containers inexpensively.

I went to a local place that sells water barrels recently with my husband (who's not quite as into emergency preparedness as I am) and we hemmed and hawed about purchasing a 55 gallon barrel. We had the place to ourselves. We decided to return the following week with our other vehicle which is bigger. The following Friday the Japan earthquake and tsunami struck. We went back to get the barrel and the place was packed! Ideally I would like several more barrels, but it takes time.

Raquel W. said that water is hare to store and that they don't have the room.
That's true. One thing to consider is that besides storing water as much as is feasible, a good water purification system can be useful, too. That way water you can find or access can be consumed. It's like storing water someplace else.

When storing water please don't fill 1 gallon plastic bottles (like old Milk or juice containers) and store them out of sight. They DO deteriorate after time and will create a mess. Spoken from experience.

I have several large 55 gal drums of water stored, but my favorite method is to reuse 2L soda bottles (cleaned). I freeze them in the chest freezer and it helps my freezer run more efficiently.

As to storing water in freezing temps: I have some of those blue handled 7 gal jugs with spigots. The ones that live in my shed just have some extra air space at the top, and they freeze, and it seems to be just fine. The plastic is very thick. I'm sorry that I can't tell you what brand, etc, since the labels have long since torn off.

I appreciate having the peace of mind that some water storage allows. Knowing I would be able to eat or drink even if there was an emergency is a blessing.

So I did a runny tally for my family eekkk we need over 20,000gal for a yr supply? We do have a pool but I save and rinse every bottle we buy. I also have a few 55gal drums and a bunch of the 5 and 7gal ones. We have a very long way to go…

Don't forget to store extra water for your pets and livestock!!

I actually bought two packages of the water kits. 25 "bags" per kit. I'm curious how I'm going to find a way to use some of it. We are planning to go on a camping trip using our 72 hour kits as a test run to see how well we do and make notes. We got 72 hour MRE's also that we are going to use. I'm going to incorporate the water into that test run! I hope it goes well!

I prefer a filter to mass storage, although I do have quite a few gallons stored as well. Probably 100 gallons in all. But I have the ability to filter several thousand and a creek that runs year round 100 yards behind the house.

I have a couple sets of water boxes and am glad I do. It's not enough, but I don't have room for more in my tiny home.

WiJoyMom- We aren't sure if you could use the extra water in a traditional washing machine but you could use it with the Wonder Washer or Mobile Washer that we sell. Both are great for camping or even when you only have a few things to wash.

Quick ? when deciding to no longer need water that has been in storage (etc. 2 L bottles or bigger containers, because you are moving or wanting fresher water to store) couldn't that be used to wash clothes in the washing machine?

This is such an important topic, which is so often over looked while focusing on "food storage." Thanks for the good info!

That's my biggest worry — and next project…water! A few 55gallon drums in the garage and SOME way of operating the well pump without electricity….

Growing up, we were lucky enough to have a cistern built that stored rain water. Not that drought conditions couldn't leave our cistern dry, but it made water storage so much easier. As even in winter, with frozen pipes and no electric, we could easily remove the man hole cover and dip buckets of water out. My goal, is to one day add a cistern to my own home as a backup water supply. So much simpler than trying to find room in my home for boxes and jugs or water. They're great for now, without the ability to build a cistern, but take too much room for real preparations.

Storing water is one of the best and easiest ways to start your food storage journey. I live in a small apartment and have moved 10 times in 8 years. I empty out the water containers, jugs, and 2 liter bottles and refill them when we get to the next place.

Storing in 2 liter bottles is a free way to store water until you cn afford better containers. I have water tucked everywhere I can. Under sinks, on top of cabinets, under the bed, on the floor of the closet. Everyone has room. Even if you have to put it in boxes, throw a sheet over it, and call it a table!

Perhaps someone can address long term water storage in cold weather areas. We only have room to store outside, in our shed. How do you prevent things from freezing over?

I too have started storing more water. Surprising how inexpensive it is. I started with two liter bottles then bought some at the store all that in addition to the emergency pouches I have in my kit. Thanks for the post..

Water was the first thing we started storing. We now have two big 55 gallon storage barrels from Emergency Essentials. They work great!

I've got a bunch of the blue barrels filled and stored in my garage. But I also keep a dozen or so 1 gallon bottles that are easy enough to store, rotate, and transport in case we need to evacuate.

Don't forget that a rain barrel (outside your home!)can store a lot of water to use with whatever filter you have available (Berkey or Katadyn, etc.), or use with chlorine. The barrel doesn't need to be fancy, just scrub it well and add a little piece of screen to keep the mosquitoes out!

We bought the water boxes when they were on sale and really liked them. They need to go on sale again so we can get more!

The power actually was out all night the night we filled them up. Kinda funny.

water is so hard to store. We have no room and cannot afford the containers.

You couldn't be more right. I will also add to more points:

1. Have at least one gallon per family member per day for survival.

2. Always keep your gas tanks in your vehicles full.

I need to find some that doesn't freeze for the car…life in Kansas

I agree that water is so important to store for emergencies.It is difficult for my family and I to store enough since we live in a small apartment.

This is an area I've been neglecting…and avoiding! Thanks for the kick in the pants to get going on this important task!

@ Raquel, you could start by storing in juice and soda bottles. I would like to get a cistern dug and have the rain gutters fill it every time it rains (and have it go through a charcoal filter before going into the storage hole).

someday…