Questions about water storage and water purification

I cannot really afford to buy bottled water or purified water which who really knows how pure or what really is in that water... So I like many am stuck with the Tap water

I know they put things in the tap water so I wanted to know when you boil water will that remove everything from it like if there is fluoride in it so that its better for you to drink? What will water boiling not remove from water?

Now once I boil this water because I can't wait to boil water every time I want to drink it and I would like to store some water... How should the water be stored, if I store it in a big jug how long will it be good for or would I need to boil it again?

Also what my plan would be to boil enough water to put 4-5 1gal jugs in my fridge and when I get low I boil more water and refill... that would be for my daily drinking because I drink allot of water...

Normally I have a couple of bottles and I put tap water in them half full and put them in the freezer, when I am thirsty I pull one out and add tap water to it and it makes the water cold and the ice lasts a while and melts and you drink that too...

So more info about water would help... I live in FL and we have hurricanes and floods so I am recently thinking I should keep some clean water around just in case since I won't be able to boil it with no power.

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Well, drinking completely pure water would strip your body of vitamins. Bottled water is fine, unless your just assuming with no basis that they(?) put 'stuff' into it.

I am gonna have to say, buy a water purifier. Or just die of thirst.

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Rain water is fine too ... after filtration and purification.
Alternating layers of sand, charcoal, sand, charcoal, can filter out lots of stuff, then take the filtered water and boil. wallah.

I recommend you watch the Discovery Channel series The Colony. It's about post apocalyptic survival, pitting groups of people against months long real world possible scenarios.

The Colony (Tv Series) - Wiki

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Rain water is fresh and can be easily captured. I use rain water which goes to a tank. I run it through a filter if it has been sitting for a while. As long as your not around a lot of smog or a factory its good drinking

Originally posted by TsukiLunar
reply to post by dc4lifeskater

 

Well, drinking completely pure water would strip your body of vitamins. Bottled water is fine, unless your just assuming with no basis that they(?) put 'stuff' into it.

I am gonna have to say, buy a water purifier. Or just die of thirst.

Have you ever tested bottled water to make sure there is nothing in it that you don't want in it?

If I wanted to buy a water purifier then I would just buy bottled water...

Does water purifiers take out things like fluoride from the water which is in the water supply here?

Being that in a disaster situation I would assume I would not be able to get down to the local shop and buy a new water filter for my purifier since they do not last forever... So reading my actual post and giving an answer to something that would help many people that would be in my same situation would be great...



Rain water for me as a standard situation is not really an option I live in an apartment and I cannot add or modify anything on the outside of my apartment...

My only water access at this time would be from the Tap and water is included so I can use as much as I want...

Also I love the colony watched every episode...If I was in a situation where the world was ended like theirs I would be able to figure out water I am pretty sure I have watched allot of survival type stuff...

What I am not sure of is the things I was talking about in my original posts specifically.

I store water in jugs, but I don't plan on using it for drinking. I buy sealed containers of drinking water for that purpose every week, one pallet of 24 or several gallons. Although, if I had to drink the stored water that I collected, I have read that you can put 3 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water to kill enough organisms to make it more safe to drink. I would probably boil it first.

I also have a Brita water jug with filters just in case, although I don't need it on a daily basis because we have well water and it is clean and pure. I had it tested by a lab just to make sure.

I have this filter for when TSHTF for my B.O.B. and you can get purification tablets and or boil the water as well.

But you don't have to if the water is you know normal lake water. But I can't drink tap water because it gives me heartburn, so I buy jugged spring water.

I can drink tap water if it comes out of a coffee machine though. So I drink tons of it that way.

But I thought well I will try my filter on the tap water and it still gave me heartburn.

Not only that but you could see the dirt in the ceramic pre-filter.The tap water is quite filthy when you check it that way.

But you know you need your dirt to get your minerals and the copper pipes gives you copper.

I would drink it, but not when it gives me heartburn.

I occasionally see Hilary Duff carry her own water she cans it. You know in canning jars. Well, thats one option I guess.

I just trust the spring water is tested. I did not have luck with reverse osmosis water because it removes the minerals. I used to buy that at the grocer and fill up jugs. No heartburn then but no minerals either and my teeth were suffering from lack of minerals.

For emergency use I have a bottle of Calcium Hypochlorite
Some term it as pool shock but a lot of that shock out there has up to 50% inert [who knows what that means] ingredients. I keep Calcium Hypochlorite [Ca(CIO2) in granule form labeled specifically for human consumption. One 1lb bottle of these granules will treat 10,000 gallons of water. the bottle is air and water tight and the granules will keep nearly indefinitely. concentration is 73%... My bottle is labeled Emergency/Survival Water Treatment/disenfectant with specific directions for use.It weighs only 1lb
Liquid chlorine bleach will also do and even the Fed Gov. has directions on how to disinfect water with regular household bleach. but Bleach only keeps for a month or so. [see link below]
Keep in mind that if you have no water, you probably will also not have electric nor a fridge.
If I could afford more expensive filters and ultraviolet sterilizers I would do so, but for me
regular coffee filters and This treatment will suffice. I keep all my stored water in cleaned Plastic or Glass bottles and rotate the water. I treat home stored water with regular bleach. 16 drops per gallon. you can get a medicine dropper in any pharmacy for free in most cases
My Initial Ca(CLO)2 came from Ebay as has much of my survival gear and I reserve the treatment granules for bug-out only. .
Using techniques of distilling and chlorination for water is on the fema website link below...
If you want to send me a private message I will get you the ebay link where I got my CA Hypochlorite [not sure i can put that link in here cost is about 10 dollars on the bay]
You should practice distillation. We keep a Coleman stove and two tanks of propane fuel in large tanks with an adapter for cooking/distilling. We have enough propane to last several months for cooking/distilling
the propane tanks are the same type used in everyday Propane grills, the adapter comes from Sheels on the shelf....and you may have a propane grill. all you need is the coleman camp stove and adapter. ... so you can distill, treat, boil, and filter and all of this can be done in an apartment.
. below is the gov. link
www.fema.gov...

DH

Shaklee sells a water filter pitcher system that removes the metals and fluoride from water. That's what we use, and I love it. The water tastes great and we have saved money from buying bottled water constantly. I think it is available world wide too.

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
Although, if I had to drink the stored water that I collected, I have read that you can put 3 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water to kill enough organisms to make it more safe to drink. I would probably boil it first.

OMG ! NO NO NO!

the correct ratio per FEMA is - Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water.

Please do not add that much and drink it! I adore your posts and would miss you so much if you did that to yourself!

oh god florida water....

alternativehealing.org...
www.wilderness-survival-skills.com...
www.ehow.com...

obviously im not expecting you to scavenge the land for burch trees or salvage charcols from your night fire, but I did see you mentioned you were on a budget for filtering, and these all give the general idea and design on how to create a water filter. I hope you find it helpful.

I really think you(OP), need to figure out a way to store some water. To answer you question about boiling water, any dissolved solid materials(ie: minerals) will be more concentrated after you boil it. Seeing that you live in Florida, I understand that even though water may still be flowing out of the tap, it may not be safe to drink after a flood or hurricane as the treatment plant may be contaminated. If it is still clear, I would just add 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water, 16 if it is cloudy, and let it sit for at least 30 min. That goes for water you find outside, as well as your potentially contaminated tap water. Please note that if the water is contaminated with salt water, you can't drink it regardless of how you treat it. You can distill it, but as I found out doing a grade school science project, distilling water in any appreciable quantity isn't that easy. Commercially available distillation machines may be available, but from what I have read in your previous posts, you're on a tight budget. Filtering water though cloth to remove debris then treating with bleach will work just fine. You can store it in your refrigerator if you want, but I'm guessing that if you're having to treat your drinking water, the fridge probably won't be keeping it very cold. Assuming that you likely live in an urban area, please know that a lot of the small lakes and ponds that you may find are retention ponds for rain water run off from streets and parking lots. That water is likely contaminated from petroleum based automotive fluids and possibly chemicals to prevent algae growth and mosquito reproduction. You may also be able to collect rain water from your gutter downspouts. I would still treat that water too. Bleach will last at least a year if it is tightly sealed and stored in your climate controlled home. It does eventually start to break down, but it isn't milk. The stuff you buy on store shelves may already be several weeks or even months old. You stated that you live in an apartment and from my experience, your stove is likely electric. Your tight budget likely doesn't afford you doesn't afford you to buy a camping stove and enough fuel to be able to boil large quantities of drinking water. Your likely going to need 2 gallons per day, just for you because you may need to use it also for things like washing your cooking pot. That water needs to be clean too or it could still make you sick. I would get the $20 Coleman propane burner that sit on top of a 1# propane bottle and conserve that for cooking food. In your position, a campfire may not always be possible. Walmart sells these blue 7 gallon water containers made by Reliance, I think. They cost about $11. From what I have read on other sites, they're high quality and unlikely to leak, unless you stack them. They also have a spigot built into the cap. Seven gallons of water weighs 56# and would be tough to pour into a glass every time you want a drink. If that price tag is too high, then you can buy one gallon jugs. Just make sure you get brands that come in a crystal clear plastic jug. They cost a little more, around a dollar each, but the will last much longer without leaking than the milk jug looking ones. The milk jug types( cloudy plastic) will leak eventually. I have read as quickly as a couple months as they are designed to be somewhat biodegradable in landfills due to their prolific use as milk containers. You can also try to get empty food buckets from restaurants that they would otherwise throw away. Those would be free. I use them, and I still put about a 3/4 teaspoon of bleach(for 5 gal) in when I fill them, just to be safe. I would treat it again before I use it , again, just to be safe. The water may taste or smell slightly of something like pickles, but if your situation gets desperate enough to be drinking it, you'll get over it. At least you know that the containers are food grade. If the rubber gaskets are still intact in the lids and you store them upright with an inch or two of head space, they will not leak. If you know that a hurricane is going to hit you, fill up your bathtub and sinks. Assuming you don't get flooded and your building is left intact, your bathtub will hold at least 100 gallons of relatively clean water. Given the potential threats you have posed, you should probably concentrate your resources on storing some water before you need it, rather than on treating questionable water when you need it. I also have a water filter designed for backpacking that has a sediment filter and a pre- filter. It cost about $70. It will filter something like 50 gallons before the filter needs replaced. I keep this for a bug out water source. Most filters will get 99.9% of bacteria, but not viruses. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and require chlorine, iodine or UV light to kill them.

I don't know if any of you guys on here have ever been through any military survival training or been in actually dire survival but when it comes down to water you got 2 options. You can either go out to a dirty mud puddle and get water or just pick up a bottle of water that you have had stored in your closet or pantry for who knows how long.

When it comes down to actual survival your going to drink whatever looks the cleanest. I have seen green berets pick up and boil stuff from places you guys wouldn't even think about drinking if you saw the water by yourself. They make all different kinds of ways to purify water. Lucky for me I store water and have a deep well for water. I also have knowledge of flowing streams where I can pick up water.

My opinion to people is store water but also have knowledge and know how to get more water other than stores. Just my 2 cents though !

A lot of good info here;

survivalblog.com...

One of the posts above is mentioned as well as numerous others.

Silver coins were used by pirates and sailors on very long journeys to keep the water pure. All they did was put the coins in with the water. Another reason to buy Silver.