How to Store Water in a Gallon Container
If you are going to be storing water for a while, whether you are preparing for emergencies, going camping or stocking up a vacation cabin, it is important to avoid bacterial, viral or parasitic contamination. By choosing the right containers, sanitizing them and filling them with clean drinking water, you will be able to provide your family and friends with safe drinking water. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Plastic, food-grade 1-gallon container with lid
- Liquid, unscented household bleach
- Dropper
- Dish soap
- Warm water
- Tap water or other water
- Stove top and large pot (optional)
- Marker
Instructions
-
-
1
Purchase food-grade plastic water storage containers from a camping store or grocery store. You can also reuse old containers. However, don't use old plastic jugs that contained milk or fruit juice, as residues from these may lead to bacterial growth. Additionally, the plastic of these gallon jugs becomes brittle over time, and the lids can fall off. Also, don't use gallon containers that once contained a toxic substance, such as bleach. The toxin will leech from the plastic into your water over time.
-
2
Wash out the gallon container and its lid with hot soapy water, and rinse it thoroughly.
-
-
3
Swish a solution of 1 quart water and 1 tsp. bleach in the container for extra sanitizing, if desired, and rinse the container once more. Do the same with the lid.
-
4
Fill the container with water. City tap water has already been chemically treated, so nothing will be able to grow in it. If you have only untreated water, such as well water, add two drops of bleach to each gallon of cool water with a dropper. Alternatively, boil the water before filling your gallon containers. If the water is possibly contaminated to begin with, use a combination of boiling and chlorinating the water for thorough sterilization.
-
5
Place the original, tightly sealing lid onto the container.
-
6
Date the container with a marker and store it in a cool, dark place, such as under a bed or in a closet.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Change out unused water every six months.
Although they are not gallon containers, 2-liter soda bottles are a great choice for water storage. Store twice as many as you would 1-gallon containers.
For emergency water, plan to store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day. At least half of that water will be used just for drinking.
Glass storage containers, while they will not leech PCBs, can easily break, and so are not a good choice for emergency water storage.
Be careful not to contaminate the inside of the container's lid after you sanitize it.
References
- Photo Credit water in a glass image by weim from Fotolia.com
