does water go bad?

40969 Views 81 Replies 55 Participants Last post by unbill, Oct 30, 2013

kompressor

Discussion Starter · Nov 17, 2008

Does water go bad if you keep it in a sealed barrel for too long? Why would it go bad? Does this mean some amount of chlorine is usually necessary or some other chemical?

1 - 20 of 82 Posts

10101

· #2 · Nov 19, 2008

water does not go "bad" it is only contaminated . When water is stored in plastic containers for too long the plastic will leech chemicals into the water. Their are a number of factors that cause the contamination of water most are easily curable by either boiling or treating with solutions such as bleach.

Hank

· #3 · Nov 19, 2008

How long is too long, what about using aluminum?

10101

· #4 · Nov 20, 2008

Hank said:
How long is too long, what about using aluminum?

aluminum is great it keeps out the UV rays and is very durable, problem is that the new aluminum cans are lined with a food grade plastic to keep the metallic taste out of the product so you also have the problem of the chemicals leeching out of the plastic this normally does not happen for at least two years or so (take a look at the inside of a beer can) its not always been this way used to have no lining and the beer or soda would develop the metallic taste after about a year or so.

During hurricane Wilma in south Florida FEMA was distributing canned water in beer cans. Budweiser was kind enough to can water and put there logo on the can

although the water was a generous offer beer would have been better

Your best bet for long term storage is to use Mylar bags.

Here is a product that claims to have a shelf life of 5+ years but very expensive.

Aqua Bloxâ„¢ 5 YEAR Water Storage - 1 Case (27)

I am not saying the chemicals will kill you but why risk it

when water is easily rotated and or used up quickly

See less See more

WakingUp

· #5 · Jan 8, 2009

Leeched chemicals are trace amounts and unless you drink this stuff exclusively, highly concentrated, the harm is truly minimal. (young children and infants are more susceptible.)

Dehydration on the other hand will kill you quick.

I would treat and boil swamp water drained over an outhouse and drink it if need be. I sure as heck am not going to worry about space age chems in my Pepsi bottle - in a pinch.

Call me reckless.

Denny

· #6 · Jan 8, 2009

WakingUp said:
Leeched chemicals are trace amounts and unless you drink this stuff exclusively, highly concentrated, the harm is truly minimal. (young children and infants are more susceptible.)

Dehydration on the other hand will kill you quick.

I would treat and boil swamp water drained over an outhouse and drink it if need be. I sure as heck am not going to worry about space age chems in my Pepsi bottle - in a pinch.

Call me reckless.

In extreme climates, the risk can increase. We were seeing that in Kuwait and Iraq near the beginning of the campaign. It is also one of the suspects of a lot of illnesses from the first Gulf War. We had clear plastic bottles by the pallets just sitting under a blistering sun.

Canadian

· #7 · Jan 8, 2009

If even a small amount of bacterial gets into the container and it sits for long enough the bacteria will breed and get you when you drink it. This is especially true if the water is allowed to fluctuate in temperature.

Even in the wild non moving or "still" water should usually be treated as suspect. When water sits it is easy for bacteria to grow. A fast moving source of water is oxygenated by the movement of the stream and less likely to grow nasty bacteria.

Chemechie

· #8 · Jun 9, 2009

Canadian said:
If even a small amount of bacterial gets into the container and it sits for long enough the bacteria will breed and get you when you drink it. This is especially true if the water is allowed to fluctuate in temperature.

Even in the wild non moving or "still" water should usually be treated as suspect. When water sits it is easy for bacteria to grow. A fast moving source of water is oxygenated by the movement of the stream and less likely to grow nasty bacteria.

My experience agrees with Canadian - it is for bacteria of one form or another to be added to stored water when reusing or refilling containers; I've seen it myself in refilled & stored water bottles. This is a much bigger cause for concern than chemicals leaching out of plastic (unless the bottles were made in China or other places without quality controls; then who knows!).
Careful rinsing & washing of bottles before reuse can reduce or eliminate this problem.
Either aluminum or plastic works well, but personally I prefer plastic for less taste.

The_Blob

· #9 · Jun 9, 2009

I think having a good water purifying filter is a smarter route than storing vast quantities of water...

even if you store water, filtering it is still a good idea IMO

NaeKid

· #10 · Jun 11, 2009

What about water stored in a camper's fresh-water holding tank. What is the extent of life expectancy of water sitting in there. Will bacteria drain-away when the tank is emptied, or, would the bacteria have the ability to "stay alive" even when dry for extended periods of time?

The_Blob

· #11 · Jun 12, 2009

NaeKid said:
What about water stored in a camper's fresh-water holding tank. What is the extent of life expectancy of water sitting in there. Will bacteria drain-away when the tank is emptied, or, would the bacteria have the ability to "stay alive" even when dry for extended periods of time?

You could always use a quart of mild OTC (3%-5%) Hydrogen Peroxide solution to rinse out the tank after emptying it.

sailaway

· #12 · Jun 12, 2009

The_Blob said:
You could always use a quart of mild OTC (3%-5%) Hydrogen Peroxide solution to rinse out the tank after emptying it.

Thanx Blob, I am just about to get my campers fresh water holding tank cleaned and running again after 30 years. (if it's any good.) I don't think I would use it for potable water though unless I boiled it. The container is an old metal one. I may even replace it in the future as finances permit. I was thinking of cleaning it with Chlorine and then Hydrogen Peroxide.

The last thing I want is some water born bacteria. I guess if it doesn't kill ya it will only make U stronger

erdocsg

· #13 · Feb 27, 2010

plastic chemicals

so the amount that leechs out of the containers i guess would be minimal, if we are in a survival situation... the water preservers that they sell i'm assuming are just bleach, or if not, just one or 2 drops of household bleach into 2 gallons of water, how long do you think it would keep it good for? a year or two?

illiniman

· #14 · Mar 25, 2010

does water go bad

could a person bury a 500 gallon plastic water tank like they sell at farm supply store and store water for a period of time it would be like a cistern would haul water from town so would be treated

Brimso357

· #15 · Mar 26, 2010

Firstly, water gets contaminated if stored for long time.

Secondly, if you have to store, do not use plastic containers. The chemicals of the plastic contaminates the water a lot.

kyfarmer

· #16 · Mar 26, 2010

I know folk's that have used plastic 1500 gal tank's from roof water, treated with bleach for years with no problem. They use a low voltage pump and have hot and cold running water, While on the grid after a few years. They still use the tank's. Wells have nasty water down there. Good for garden that's about it. They may grow a third eye a few years from now but the oldest one i know of is 10 years. Still uses it today but does use bottle for drinking. I would suppose a new filter system would not hurt. :dunno:

Bigdog57

· #17 · Mar 28, 2010

It depends a lot on the plastic too. Some leech enough to really taste it within a short time. Others impart no taste for weeks or longer.
Generally, if the bottle has the "1" recycle code, it's good for potable water. A "2" or "5" is better for dry food storage.

I currently use the blue Coleman Water Cubes (7 gallons) for water storage, as well as one gallon bottled water jugs and Arizona Tea jugs (really heavy duty!) - but am planning to soon add a couple 60 gallon tanks from Tractor Supply. My home is on municipal water, with no well - a few times our water has been airy or dirty from line maintenance. Bottled water comes in handy then!

Winter

· #18 · Jun 8, 2010

I have four 55 gal. barrels that I fill and empty every 6 mos and don't have any problems with them.

sailaway

· #19 · Jun 9, 2010

Winter said:
I have four 55 gal. barrels that I fill and empty every 6 mos and don't have any problems with them.

Do you drink or use any of this water? What kinds of drums do you use? food grade? Where did you get them?

Winter

· #20 · Jun 9, 2010

I haven't drank the water in the barrels yet. I have only owned them for 8 mos. I purchased them at a container distributor here in Indiana for $48 ea.
I told them I was using them for storing water for drinking and other uses and they said they were fine for this. They are the same blue barrels you see for sale on all the preparedness sites. I filled them up all the way and pushed out as much air as I could and then capped them. I would like to purchase some of the treatment bottles that supposedly will let you store water for 5 years. I read and researched that water in barrels would be fine for six mos. without any additives whatsoever. I hope I have read this right. I have thought about treating with bleach and try to store for a year before changing them out. I would love to hear any suggestions on this because I am still new at water storage and everything else for that matter.

1 - 20 of 82 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.