I have to wonder how many equate loss of power with no water when we turn on the tap at the kitchen sink. Most of the younger set look at me like I just grew another eye in the middle of my forehead if they see me filling bottles with water to store.
My grandparents didn't worry about this happening. They had an outhouse. They had a hand water pump a few feet outside the back door. Just inside the kitchen door was a small stool that held a bucket of water and a dipper for drinking. Can you imagine the horrified shrieking from those germaphobes who would be forced to drink that water? Funny thing. None of Grandma's 9 kids died from sharing a drinking dipper. And that was the best tasting water I have ever had.
Living in a city apartment as I do, there is no outhouse. There is no pump outside my door. Many people fill large water barrels and store them in the garage. Here there is no garage nor is there room for large water barrels. And since we are told that three days without water could be fatal, other arrangements are necessary.
There are several empty 5-gallon buckets that can be filled with water at the last minute if necessary. I have tested the theory and found I can fill 3 or 4 buckets when the lights go out and before water pressure is lost. This water can be used for bathing and for flushing the toilet.
My method of storing water is to fill 2-liter soda bottles and large juice bottles with water. The bottles are washed well, and the last rinse has a few drops of bleach included. The full bottles are stored behind my couch that has been pulled away from the wall enough to accommodate two rows of bottles. Heavy cardboard covers the first two rows and a second two rows go on top of the cardboard.
Bottles of water are stored on the bottom shelf of a unit that holds my dehydrated foods. And more bottles are behind the bedroom door. And more are stashed wherever I can find room - mostly behind furniture.
I do have some cases of commercially packaged water bottles, but they are somewhat expensive, and I live on a fixed income. I also cannot afford an expensive water filtering system. Sometimes we just have to make do. I have a gas kitchen range that I can light with a match when the power is out. And a small propane camp stove can be used to boil water if necessary.
It would be lovely to have one of those systems for catching and storing rainwater, but unless something can be rigged on a balcony, that's not going to work in an apartment setting. And this being a very old building, there are no balconies.
We live in a time where we just don't know what tomorrow will bring. I hope I never have to rely on water in bottles. But what if I do.....
I refill every juice, soda, and vinegar bottle and store them in the garage. Bleach bottles are also refilled, and will only be used for cleaning purposes. We've also got an array of water filters and supplies for purification, and my husband and son are currently working on burying some 275-gallon totes and somehow setting them up so that they are used and refilled regularly.
ReplyDeletePeople won't last long without clean water.
Jennifer...I have had people tell me that they couldn't store water because they live in an apartment and don't have room. The reasoning behind this post is to tell them that if I can store water in a small three-room apartment, they can do the same. Should the grid go down for any reason, nobody is knocking on their door to give them a sandwich and a bottle of water. Figure it out, people, assuming they want to live!!
DeleteWe have a well and when we know a storm is coming or anticipate losing power we fill our bathtubs with water we can use to flush toilets
ReplyDeleteOne Family...There are many who prepare by storing food and supplies, but some just don't think about the importance of water. Filling the tub - excellent!
DeleteWaterBob is an excellent way to utilize the tub to store water. My brother filled his tub before an ice storm only to find that the seal on the tub stopper wasn’t working and had drained the tub completely. WaterBob would have prevented that issue and spared the stress of trying to extend limited water sources for his family of five which included 3 small children.
DeleteYou have certainly been an inspiration to me on storing water. I too refill 2L soda bottles. The only time I don't refill my soda bottles with water is if I'm filling it up with something else for the pantry. Like beans or popcorn. I also have a few laundry detergent bottles that I have filled for flushing toilets. The old laundry jugs are outside. The drinking water so far is being stored under my bathroom and kitchen sinks. I also have some Life Straws - although not cheap, one travels in my purse and one is in my car. Cheers, SJ now in California
ReplyDeleteI'm also in an apartment, FYI.
DeleteSJ
SJ...You inspire me as well. I hadn't thought about using old laundry detergent jugs. What a great way to store water for washing clothes or dishes or anything else. Whatever we can do to keep a supply of water is a good thing. The usual excuse of not having enough space just isn't good enough. Thinking outside the box helps!
DeleteVicki, is your bathroom equipped with a bathtub, or is it a shower stall? Reason being, there's a thing called a Waterbob available. It's a single-use bladder bag that you put in your bathtub and fill with water. It's PERFECT for "limited pace" applications!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/WaterBOB-Emergency-Container-Drinking-Hurricane/dp/B001AXLUX2/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1A4AVN1M5XNFS&keywords=waterbob+bathtub+water+storage+100+gallon&qid=1686241239&sprefix=waterbob%2Caps%2C952&sr=8-5
This thing has a couple of advantages over filling the bathtub alone.
You don't have to disinfect the tub before filling the Waterbob. The Waterbob also keeps the water clean, and keeps the dog from lapping up and dirtying your water. Instead of the bathtub water being only good for "hygiene," it can now be used for drinking water!
The Waterbob allows you to fill the tub to its rim, instead of just to the point where water starts going down the overflow drain. Also on this tack, most bathtub drains leak a little. The Waterbob takes the drain out of the equation. This is about the only downside of the Waterbob; how do you empty it when the emergency's over? Well, my plan is to leave the bathtub drain open when filling the Waterbob. When it comes time to drain it, I'll just poke a few holes in the bottom of it where the drain is, and let gravity do the rest.
It has a small hand pump that fits into the Waterbob's fill hole. No carrying around filled buckets or finding places to store them.
It comes in a small box that can be stored almost anywhere. I have mine stored under the bathroom sink.
'Just putting it out there...
Pete...My apartment has a tub. Thing is, the tub is never used. Due to a medical condition that causes my lower legs to need to be wrapped all the time, I can't let them get wet. I have become the queen of the sponge bath. :)
DeleteSo it seems that your suggestion is perfect for me and I had never thought of it. This makes way more sense than filling buckets. I will be checking out the Waterbob and will likely be ordering.
Just so you know, my friend, you have also solved another problem for me. I take meds to get rid of fluid buildup, due to the same medical problem concerning my legs. Odd though it may seem, when one is on this kind of medication, one must also drink more fluids daily than one would do otherwise, to avoid dehydration. The Waterbob will allow me to have the drinking water for drinking only and I won't need to use it for other purposes. That will increase my water storage from the point of wondering if I have enough to feeling confident that I will at least have enough water to stay alive a bit longer! Thank you!!
I have 30 gallon trashcans with lids that we keep rain runoff in for watering the garden in the summer and to also flush toilets if needed. We also have 3 new 100 gallon stock tanks in storage and 3 Water Bobs to go inside. The house has a whole house water filtration system that also can water the garden. So no chlorine in the water. Also have different sized Alexa Pure water filters. Red
ReplyDeleteRed...Sounds like you have all the bases covered. That is wonderful. We just can not take anything for granted any more. My ace in the hole is a free-flowing aquifer located under 2 miles from here. I haven't been there for a while, but locals fill water jugs there. I can't get to it anymore, but my kids and grands can.
DeleteI have water containers filled for bathrooms in case the power goes out (for flushing toilets)l. We keep gallon jugs filled for other uses, including for the chickens too. We learned very early, if the power goes out, the well pump won't work.
ReplyDelete