Simple water prep

[Bob]

Of all the things you can do for water - from rain catchment to Berkee's to whatever, my personal favorite, and ultra simple one is this:

Store water in 2L soda bottles, and keep them frozen.

Instructions:
#1 Get 2L soda bottle from anywhere (You don't have to drink the soda, you know someone who does)
#2 Clean with simple soap and hot water
#3 Fill about 80% with water of choice - but tap water works just fine.
*** YOU DO NOT NEED BLEACH OR ANY OTHER PURIFICATION!!!!
#4 Place in Freezer - done!

Here is why this is a great approach:

First - costs almost zero, if not zero.
Second - frozen container reduces energy needs of freezer
Third - Water is ready to be transported if you need to bug out
Fourth - Easy to know how much you have/ration
Fifth - Useful for any cooling needs like a sprained knee or an ice chest

Just remove and let thaw when ready for use! Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

Also - you can get racks from the store and just make a wall of these. No need to freeze - that's just a bonus!

[bdc]

I would add the following. If you are REALLY concerned about your stored water possibly poisoning you, then construct a two container -two liter bottle solar still and your stored water will be purified by action of the sun. The minerals in the tap water will be lost as well.

[Bob]

Or put a drop of bleach in the bottle. A lot easier than a solar still. But a Solar still is a great skill, as long as we are working in Soda bottles!!!

[tom mac]

I have some 2L bottles ( along with some 4gal water bricks and one 55gal )... I usu put a drop of bleach in them, tho the water here is treated anyway.
And they are in the freezer for the above reason.

On a side note, I also have a quarter sitting on one of the ice cube openings... so when we travel I can tell if the power went out .
Power goes out long enough, the quarter sinks into the water/ice... food may have to be carefully checked.

[Greg_G]

First post here.

How much bleach would you put in a five gallon container of water to keep it free of bacteria, etc.?

[aerynsun]

I would add you need to leave some air in the bottle. Water expands when frozen.

Also, probably no need to clean with soap if you used the bottle once and it originally stored water or soda.

[Bogart]

I would add you need to leave some air in the bottle. Water expands when frozen.

Also, probably no need to clean with soap if you used the bottle once and it originally stored water or soda.

See #' 2 & 3

[tom mac]

Here we drink box wine... as I've mentioned before, I rinse the bag out ( via the valve ) and fill them about 1/2 full, then freeze them.

They make nice square pillows of ice, after frozen I stack a few in freezer... they fit perfect in the cooler bottom and you can drink as needed from spout.
Of course all of second half of post #1

[bdc]

I do a lot of cleaning with vinegar. Because it is slightly acidic, the containers are made of thicker plastic than plastic water containers. I simply rinse them out, fill with water, label with free labels from UPS and stack outside behind the garage.