Food Storage Made Easy - Latest Comments in Water Purification Methods

Re: Water Purification Methods

natalie — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:37:27 -0000

And the bleach also goes inactive after 3-6 mos. So you need to buy new bleach every 3-6 mos (which really irritates me, since then I have a small bottle of bleach to dispose of and it's a chemical) and you need to replace and put new bleach into your containers every 6 mos. I was told that I needed to add about 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water in my area (portland, or) b/c the chlorine in our water is not enough to keep the water safe for long-term storage.

Re: Water Purification Methods

KE4JSX — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:07:29 -0000

Sorry. That was supposed to read " not designed to be ingested" IPod spell checker will be my excuse ; )

Re: Water Purification Methods

KE4JSX — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:04:16 -0000

Pool water is fine for flushing, bathing or washing clothes. DO NOT use it with anything that goes in your mouth (ie: toothbrush, eating utensils/cups). The chemicals in a pool were deigned to be ingested.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Jodi and Julie — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:41:54 -0000

Bleach will evaporate out of the water after a year or so. If you store
water longer than a year you will want to plan on sterilizing it again
if/when you use it.

Re: Water Purification Methods

jenjim4 — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:35:33 -0000

Alright, so just to be completely clear. I can store regular tap water in juice containers and glass containers. I do not have to treat it if I plan on switching it every 6 months. If I keep it a year plus I would have to either add bleach drops or boil it before, right?

Re: Water Purification Methods

Dcyery — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:57:04 -0000

We have a pool and I was wondering about using that water if necessary, any thoughts.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Jodi and Julie — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:41:56 -0000

It is just a pdf file hosted on someone else's server. I have never had problems with his websites or with that file. It may just be a large file that freezes up your computer. If you are interested I can try to email you a copy of the pdf file directly. Just let me know!

Re: Water Purification Methods

Gahag28 — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:04:32 -0000

Under ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.....clicking on WATER STORAGE/PURIFICATION HANDOUT has continually closed my email out completely. Is some sort of bug attached to that ???

Re: Water Purification Methods

Mold Testing Oakland — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:00:03 -0000

Thanks for the tips on the water filters guys.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Jodi and Julie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:38:43 -0000

At least once a year. Every 6 months if you feel ambitious. :)

Re: Water Purification Methods

Wendy Lloyd — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:34:21 -0000

If I collect and fill up liter pop bottles with water from my tap which is chlorinated.... How often would I have to change the water? I am a little comfused.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Connor — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:25:18 -0000

I was wondering if I buy my water at the local water store here in town and keep rotating it to always have a 2 weeks supply since its only 25 cents a gallon do I still need to worry about this?

My thoughts on this:

In the water PDF linked above, I talk briefly about some of the plastics used for common water bottles you can get from the store. Whatever you do, don't get the kid that are shaped like milk jugs. Avoid them like the plague.

I like the sturdy Arrowhead kind of bottles since they're stackable and durable -- at least, much more so that the others.

However, while a two week supply of water is a great starting point, it's just that -- a starting point. The common counsel for food storage is three months (for a variety of reasons; in one scenario, having to quarantine at home because of a flu pandemic would likely be two to three months), which means that you need three months of water storage to go along w/ that food.

So a two week water storage supply should never be treated as "I'm done!", but instead only as a minimum short-term supply. Long-term water storage is a crucial component of overall emergency preparedness.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Tara — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:55:06 -0000

I was wondering if I buy my water at the local water store here in town and keep rotating it to always have a 2 weeks supply since its only 25 cents a gallon do I still need to worry about this?

Re: Water Purification Methods

Grannie K — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:49:01 -0000

I just found your site about a week ago. You do a great job!! I like the water information. I especially like the "baby steps" approach. I never could make myself go into debt a couple of thousand dollars for food storage I didn't know if I would even eat. Doing it a little at a time and getting things I will use and that you show us how to use is wonderful. I don't quite have a year's supply yet, but I'm getting closer all the time and I do try hard to rotate all my stuff. Thanks for all you efforts and the time you spend sharing with all of us.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Connor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:54:36 -0000

In the opening of my previous comment where I said "When it comes to..." I meant to say "purifying" rather than "filtering", since filtering (like treating) is only one component of overall water purification. Minor detail, but I don't want to confuse anybody!

Re: Water Purification Methods

Jodi — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:15:49 -0000

Thanks for the tips on the water filters guys. We'll have to look into these options. I had read in several places that filtered water is not as good as the other purification methods so i didn't research into filters too deeply. We will do some more research and update our post with our recommendations.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Connor — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:12:10 -0000

When it comes to filtering water, more is better! I always recommend that people "double up", in that they treat and filter water that is used in long-term storage scenarios. This ensures the removal of particles, bacteria, virii, scary-sounding microorganisms, and all the rest. (Provided, of course, that you have a good filter and treatment plan.)

Personally, I have an AquaRain filter (comparable in many ways to the Berkeys) as well as a few treatment options to choose from, depending on the volume of water I'm needing to treat. As was indicated in the post, most municipal water is pre-chlorinated, though if it's been stored for a couple years you will still want to treat it.

Keep in mind that long-term water storage is VERY important. I've documented several options in the PDF I created (linked above under "additional resources"), so you can choose what works best for you. But while we all tend to think primarily about food storage, 95% of the food we store requires water to cook/use it, not to mention the need for water in terms of hygiene, hydration, and sanitation. Few people worry about water, thinking that they'll be able to collect rain or get some from a nearby river. But this same mentality is what prevents people from storing food (thinking that they'll always have access to a grocery store or the Mormon neighbor down the road who has a year supply). We need to store water for long-term situations, and more importantly, know how to use it.

There are a bunch of combinations you can use for making sure your stored water is ready to use, but again, I stress the importance of both filtering and treating your water. Bleach works great in many situations, but doesn't get 100% of what's in there. For this reason I always advocate both a treatment and filtration option to be sure that the water we drink is helping and not hurting us, especially in a situation where having health and strength would be most needed.

My 2¢.

Re: Water Purification Methods

Ruth — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:11:02 -0000

This is an awesome award-winning portable water-purifier that we keep in our 72-hour backpack kit. It is small and weighs less than 1 pound. It is amazing when you research all that it removes from water. I recommend that people check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/First...

Re: Water Purification Methods

CTDaffodil — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:41:50 -0000

Loving your site!!
Although I'm on the other side of the country and not an LDS member - I really enjoy the work you all put into your site. I looked at the Macey's ad for this week - what fantastic deals!
Thanks for the water purification tips - all preparedness info is valuable

Re: Water Purification Methods

Kathy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:37:24 -0000

Some "water filters" remove germs and parasite eggs. I like the Berkey Water filters. You can see them at www.berkeyfilters.com Here is a quote from their site:
"The Berkey water filter system is so revolutionary that it removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites to non detectable levels, removes harmful or unwanted chemicals to below detectable levels, and reduces nitrates, nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury without removing the healthful and nutritional minerals that your body needs."

A friend of mine already has one and loves it. We plan on getting one this spring. The filters don't need replacing when dirty, just rinse them in clean water and keep right on using them. I think this is better to have on hand so that I can save what fuel I have in an emergency for cooking and heat, not purifying my water. Just a thought! Thanks for a great site!