Water while bugging in

[Krime]

so ive been doing some thinking about you folks that are bugging in, and it ocvured to me, that some live in appartments, or other places where you just cant have 55 galkon barrels of water, so here's a few tips for you guys:

1. waterbeds: idk, but i think their made out of the same material as camelbaks, so the water should be good in them for 6 months or so. if you do decide to get a waterbed for drinking purposes, i suggest a good filtration system as well, that and/or purificaton tablets.
2. as soon as you hear reports of shtf, fill your bathtub full of water, and any other available container, such as bottles, pots, pans etc. the water will most likely turn off, along with gas/electricity.
3. toilet: use the water in the back for the freshest. you can drink the water outta the bowl too but it might taste like **** lol.
4. hot water heaters: your hot water heaters fill and replace old water everytime you use it, so its already full.

 

[Colt 1911]

Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification

2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.

 

[Krime]

you could also use iodine, i think its like 3 drops per quart.

 

[Hades]

Never use the water out of a water-bed for drinking.
flush toilets with it, possibly wash your body with it.
Water bed systems are made out of Vinyl, it leaches into the water, and cannot be filtered out. Some systems also have foam in them.
others are heated, making not only the polutant count higher also the microbe count mush higher.

 

[Clyde]

Never use the water out of a water-bed for drinking.
flush toilets with it, possibly wash your body with it.
Water bed systems are made out of Vinyl, it leaches into the water, and cannot be filtered out. Some systems also have foam in them.
others are heated, making not only the polutant count higher also the microbe count mush higher.

Now that sounds nasty. I guess it is similar to water bottles left in the sun.

 

[old_anorak]

Don't forget that if you drink soda from 2 liter bottles you can wash them out well and use them for storing water. Laying them on the side and stacking up a closet wall or under a bed keeps your water out of the way.

 

[SSTxPrepper1]

2 liter bottles and 1 gallon milk jugs or tea jugs, would be great water storage and can be stacked anywhere out of the way. I use both, but main water holder for me(I own 9 myself), a big helper if you can get them, are genuine mil grade watercans can be stored side by side or mounted inside or out or along the inside of a truck bed or vechile, anywhere most likely they can be stored.

PS There is a diffrence between mil grade watercans and fuel storage cans, will say Water or Fuel on side.

 

[old_anorak]

SST, have you had any trouble with using milk jugs? The jugs that we have here are made of that pebbly plastic and I've had several that deteriorate if they weren't kept in the dark.

 

[rudyc]

so ive been doing some thinking about you folks that are bugging in, and it ocvured to me, that some live in appartments, or other places where you just cant have 55 galkon barrels of water, so here's a few tips for you guys:

1. waterbeds: idk, but i think their made out of the same material as camelbaks, so the water should be good in them for 6 months or so. if you do decide to get a waterbed for drinking purposes, i suggest a good filtration system as well, that and/or purificaton tablets.
2. as soon as you hear reports of shtf, fill your bathtub full of water, and any other available container, such as bottles, pots, pans etc. the water will most likely turn off, along with gas/electricity.
3. toilet: use the water in the back for the freshest. you can drink the water outta the bowl too but it might taste like **** lol.
4. hot water heaters: your hot water heaters fill and replace old water everytime you use it, so its already full.

# 3 i would not be able to drink from mine, i have those blue things in the back, that makes the water look kinda blue.
#2 would a heavy duty trashbag be good to store water? not for drinking but maybe for flushing? or maybe a quick sponge bath?

 

[Lindy]

I take our empty milk gallon jugs, wash them out and fill them with water to freeze. I have 12 to 14 milk jugs and some juice bottles in the freezer at any given time. Twice we've lost power, once for 5 days during a terrible heat wave, the second was 4 days due to an ice storm. As soon as possible after a power goes out we get our cooler ready. We opened the freezer, get out what we think we will use in the next couple of days then but everything else as close together as possible and surround the food with some of the frozen jugs of water. We did the same thing with the refrigerator getting out what we thought we would need and put some of the frozen jugs in to keep everything cool. We didn't open either appliance unless absolutely necessary. We lived out of our cooler where we also had a jug of ice. The freezer and refrigerator doors are insulated well and we found that the ice kept everything frozen or cold. During the heat wave we obviously used more of the ice. Thankfully we had some because there was no ice to be found anywhere that we could purchase after the second day of the outage. We were blessed we didn't loose any food either time. When things got back to “normal” we heard stories of families loosing everything they had in their refrigerators and freezers. During the heat wave there were also issues with the water system so we used the water from the melted jugs of ice to flush toilets, we boiled the water and put drops of bleach in it to be safe and washed our dishes. We used some of the melted ice to put on towels to help us cool off. We didn't waist any of the precious resource of water!

 

[Mastercajun]

Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification

2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.

Hi Colt 1911. You are right about the ratio of Clorox, but I use Pool Shock instead. It doesn't have all the bad additivies that bleach does. I have had some water in 5gal. containers from office water coolers that I put under my house for over a year and they are still good. No green stuff and no bad taste or smell. I drank a glassfull and am still hereLOL. I will be changing the water out every 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. just to be sure. I've set up my rain water system to have a steady flow of fresh water. We sure get enough rain here in La. Thats why we bury our dead above ground (they would float up anywayLOL).

 

[Colt 1911]

Hi Colt 1911. You are right about the ratio of Clorox, but I use Pool Shock instead. It doesn't have all the bad additivies that bleach does. I have had some water in 5gal. containers from office water coolers that I put under my house for over a year and they are still good. No green stuff and no bad taste or smell. I drank a glassfull and am still hereLOL. I will be changing the water out every 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. just to be sure. I've set up my rain water system to have a steady flow of fresh water. We sure get enough rain here in La. Thats why we bury our dead above ground (they would float up anywayLOL).

Awesome thanks for the tip. I think i even have some. I will check it out.

 

[Davmy]

Try looking online for an emergency tub bag. Holds about 60+ gallons and you fill it from the tap. This is asuming that we have some notice before the SHTF event. It takes about 20 or so minutes to fill it. In the event that the water supply doesnt get contaminated and you still get water, as in the toilet water example, you will be able to refill this at some point.


Also clorox blech degrades over time and looses its effectiveness. Pool shock is the way to go. I stays stable over long periods of time.. Good Call Mastercajun.

 

[Lindy]

Try looking online for an emergency tub bag. Holds about 60+ gallons and you fill it from the tap. This is asuming that we have some notice before the SHTF event. It takes about 20 or so minutes to fill it. In the event that the water supply doesnt get contaminated and you still get water, as in the toilet water example, you will be able to refill this at some point.

I got one it is called a waterbob. Thankfully I haven't had to use it so I am not sure how good it is and it is only good for one use. I just put waterbob in a search to find it. If you go to amazon.com and put in waterbrick that is an interesting option. Hope this helps. Lindy

 

[Colt 1911]

Dont forget your hot water heaters. They are full.

 

[cj3006]

I fill up Gatorade bottles with water for drinking , always have around 20 filled in the fridge at any time !
use bleach jugs for non potable water to wash and flush with when power goes out !

 

[Simple but effective]

They say you need 1/2 gallon of water per person per day to survive. In the heat of summer or during heavy physical excursion double that. Bugging in at an apartment would be my last resort just because if something happens long term you will eventually have to find a water source somewhere else. That could be a dangerous undertaking. Another problem is the waste system. If things shut down and noone is running the waste systems then sewers will back up in a few days and that will make an apartment into a death trap from the gases. Just food for thought. Best bet is make some new friends who would partner up with you at a better location

 

[Haloray]

They say you need 1/2 gallon of water per person per day to survive. In the heat of summer or during heavy physical excursion double that. Bugging in at an apartment would be my last resort just because if something happens long term you will eventually have to find a water source somewhere else. That could be a dangerous undertaking. Another problem is the waste system. If things shut down and noone is running the waste systems then sewers will back up in a few days and that will make an apartment into a death trap from the gases. Just food for thought. Best bet is make some new friends who would partner up with you at a better location

I never thought about the gases, thanks for the knowledge!

 

[cyclingjames]

aswell as the gasses choking you, they are highly volatile and could easily explode just from a ***. the wako explosion shows how dangerous the gas can be.

 

[Trapper]

SST, have you had any trouble with using milk jugs? The jugs that we have here are made of that pebbly plastic and I've had several that deteriorate if they weren't kept in the dark.

Milk jugs should not be used for drinking water storage. Milk actually leaches into the pores of the plastic and can sour the water. It may seem ok, but dont chance it. They can still be used for flushing toilets and bathing. Also the jugs are made to break down fairly quickly and they dont last nearly as long as 2liter pop bottles.

 

[kcdevildog]

I would try to avoid bugging in at an apartment if at all possible, to many people in a little space. Mans worst enemy is himself. But if ya had to the tub is the way to go and if its not the cleanest I would just boil it off. Not to fond of drinking chemicals in a situation that does not need to be complicated any more by the wrong ratio of chemicals in my drinking water.

 

[bugout]

2 liter bottles and 1 gallon milk jugs or tea jugs, would be great water storage and can be stacked anywhere out of the way. I use both, but main water holder for me(I own 9 myself), a big helper if you can get them, are genuine mil grade watercans can be stored side by side or mounted inside or out or along the inside of a truck bed or vechile, anywhere most likely they can be stored.

PS There is a diffrence between mil grade watercans and fuel storage cans, will say Water or Fuel on side.

Do not use milk jugs for drinking water! Fat from milk is absorbed into the jug and can acually spoil.

 

[old_anorak]

The pebbled plastic that milk jugs are made from deteriorate a lot sooner than you'd think and you're left with a heck of a mess to deal with. We won't talk about how I know this.

 

[SSTxPrepper1]

Main water aka milgrade containers are drinkable , anyother containers are last resort.:nuke:

 

[jimLE]

The pebbled plastic that milk jugs are made from deteriorate a lot sooner than you'd think and you're left with a heck of a mess to deal with. We won't talk about how I know this.

no i wont ask..but then again..my imagination done told me.and it showed me a pic of water every where..lol

 

[old_anorak]

You got it jim, everywhere and then some.