Key Points:
- Most sources recommend 1 gallon of water per person, PER day, for 14 days.
- Store water in “FOOD GRADE” or PETE plastic containers (stay away from milk jugs- soda bottles are suitable).
- Store water away from too much light or heat.
- Clean, sanitize, and rinse all containers prior to use.
- Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.
- Do not store water containers directly on concrete. Place on cardboard, block of wood, or other materials.
- Non-chlorinated water (most municipal water is chlorinated) should be treated with bleach. Add 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every gallon (4 liters) of water.
- Boiling is the safest way to clean water, however you can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Make sure you use regular bleach, not the scented ones. See below for a chart on how much bleach you should add to water.
Diagrams/Charts:
Our Approaches:
Julie found a great deal on 7 gallon water jugs so I bought enough of those to last my family 2 weeks. I really would like to have more than that on hand in case of a MAJOR emergency. If I can find a good deal on a 55 gallon barrel I think that would be excellent for bathing, laundry, dishes, etc. without worrying about depleting your drinking water.
For this step, I really didn’t want to overwhelm myself with huge 55 gallon drums. While I think there are definitely scenarios where this could make sense (a bigger family), for my needs and small family the 7 gallon jugs work really well. I also keep one of my water jugs upstairs in case there is an earthquake and I couldn’t access my basement. Hopefully that never happens though.
Resources:
Provident Living - LDS church water recommendations
FEMA - Official government water storage recommendations
Red Cross - More information on storing water
You girls have a great site here, I’ll be passing it along. I wanted to point something out to you about something under your “Key Points”. It says “1 gallon per person for 14 days”. It should say 1 gallon per person per day for 14 days. It kind of sounds like all you need is a gallon of water to last a person for 14 days. Not to be knit picky, but I know you want to put accurate information. I’m sure it was just an over site.
Thanks for your hard work, it’s going to help a lot of people.
Michelle
We clarified the instructions. Thanks for the input. We went into further detail in our game plan, but if the first part wasn’t perfectly clear, we’re glad you pointed it out.
Since our water in NJ is nasty, we have water delivered. We had them deliver extra containers at the beginning for water storage. When they deliver a new water bottle each week we use the older bottles first. Instant water storage!
Cecile,
Thanks for your input. That’s definitely something to consider for people who don’t have a good water source. In the future we are planning to talk about how to purify water in case you run through your stored amount. That could be especially important in your situation!
I have a 55 gallon water barrel. Do I add bleach to it to when we fill it? If so, how much?
Hi Valerie.
If you don’t have naturally chlorinated water you will need to add bleach. Our water in Utah is chlorinated but I added the bleach just to be safe, it can’t hurt. So if you use the chart we posted above, you can figure out how much to add. 5 gallons = 1/2 teaspoon. So 55 gallons = 11 1/2 teaspoons or 5 1/2 teaspoons. There are 3 teaspoons per tablespoon so I’d just round up and put in 2 tablespoons for the 55 gallon barrel. Hope that helps!
There is a company that just invented a great device. Greatly reduces the need to store large quantities of water because it purifies it. I have NO affiliation with the product, but you can check it out at http://www.lifesaversystems.com/
I think we’ll get one just because it’s easier than trying to store 1500 gallons of water.
Hi Denny,
We actually don’t recommend storing 1500 gallons of water. If you view the key points above you will see that we recommend storing 14 gallons total per person. This is what most emergency organizations suggest. You might be home-bound for a period of time, or need to grab a bunch of water and leave your house quickly. Obviously for a longer-term emergency you will have to have a back-up plan for your water situation. That goes a bit beyond being EASY and will be discussed in the future when we get into advanced techniques beyond the baby steps.
Thanks for sharing the link, we will consider that as an option as we explore water storage further. But for now we are sticking with the recommendations here as it is very reasonable and will help in a lot of situations.
-Jodi
A less expensive way to go is this filtered water bottle. We gave one of these to all of our kids (and ourselves) for Christmas last year. They’re great in a 72-hour kit also — in addition to some regular bottles of water. You can shop around or just go to this URL: http://giardiaclub.com/water-bottle-filter/index.php.
Hey,
I am real new to this. I am starting to make my 72 hour kits. Now why can’t I just use a jug of water bought from the store rather than the 2 liter soda bottles?
Thanks for the great website!
Terry-
Thanks for the tip, but we STILL stand by the recommendation to store actual water. I saw on the news today that people in Galveston, Texas are still without access to food and water and it is 10 days into their emergency. How wonderful would it have been if they all followed the recommendation and had 2 weeks of water on hand. I know that humanitarian groups have come in to help them, but isn’t the point of food storage to be self-sufficient? A water filter can definitely be useful but please do not consider it as a replacement for actual water, it should be used in ADDITION to your water storage.
Dina,
Good question. Those water jugs can be used if you replace them every six months or so, or if they are food grade plastic. In all our research we found that storing water in “milk” jugs isn’t a good idea because the plastic isn’t strong enough. Evaluate the grade of plastic, if it’s like a milk jug, replace them every 6 months. If it’s thicker, like a soda bottle, every year is probably good.
Can i store water in dark glass bottles? I have been doing this, but didn’t know I should add chlorine to my filtered water that I filled them with. Can I add it later?
Debbie, From what I have read glass bottles are fine for storage. I don’t think the color makes a difference. If you already have chlorinated water you don’t HAVE to add bleach, but we like to do it just to be on the safe side. Just follow the diagram above to get the correct amounts. Hope that helps.
I had it in my head that I should be storing 14 days supply of water, but when I looked at the FEMA and Red Cross websites, they only recommended “at least” a 3 day supply. Could you tell me some of the sources where you found the recommendation of 14 days? (I’m preparing info for others for a R.S. mtg. and want to make sure my sources are sound). Also wondering what your source is for the recommendation to not store plastic water containers directly on concrete floors. I hadn’t ever considered that as a risk before. Thanks for all your work at compiling information.
You guys are great! When I was young…well, I don’t know what I did when I was young…But don’t forget your bleach bottles. (if you have the space…) when you are done with a bottle, (completely empty) fill it with water, cut off the label and write ‘water’ on it with a permanent marker. it takes about 2 seconds everytime and I have many bottles (I’m really old…) in my garage of water to flush toilets with, wash dishes with and etc. It has the residual bleach left in it and I would probably drink it if I had to. The bottles are dark which is also good. tip: shake your storage water before using to add air so it doesn’t taste ‘flat’. You probably already knew that! Great job…keep up the good work!! P.S. I have 3 (unmarried) kids in college in 3 different states…I am making the ‘milk jug 72 hour kits’ for them for their cars for Christmas…shhhhh…Their only job is to keep their gas tanks full so they can get home immediately in case of an emergency (no waiting in line for gas!!!)
In reference to milk jugs - definately not good for drinking water - but we do store some for toilet flushing in case of an emergency where the water is turned off. We don’t want to use our good drinkable water for that function. If you have a pool in your backyard, you wouldn’t really need to worry about flushing water. We have also thought that milk jug size will be easy to pour in the toilet if ever needed. Thanks for all your great information!
Hi Ladies,
Love your site! Quick question….I have a full 55 gal water drum stored directly on concrete…will I have a problem? Please expand
Thanks!!
Great site. I am working on getting my water supply stored. Assume I have used the proper containers and am storing them on a shelf. I live in California and it gets VERY hot in the summer. My house is small. Can I store water in the garage? Is heat detrimental to stored water? I am also interested in the answer to Natalie’s question.
Thanks for all the great comments and tips guys. That’s a great idea to use milk jugs/old bleach containers for flushing toilets or washing dishes, etc.
Valerie - When we developed this page everyone was recommending 14 days but it seems like they’ve changed now to say “at least 3 days”.
Natalie, Valerie, Emily - I can’t find an official source but we have heard from several of our readers that storing the jugs directly on concrete can cause chemicals to leach into your water and also weaken the plastic causing the containers to leak. There is some great info a this site http://blog.totallyready.com/?p=15 with more details. Natalie I would get a wood pallet for your 55 gallon drum, that’s what my mother-in-law uses.
Emily - Heat and light increase the rate at which plastics will decompose. So if you know it will be hot, get heavy duty plastic jugs instead of thinner containers like soda bottles. Also, I’d check and replace the water more often in that situation.
Hope that helps a bit! Keep the questions coming
-Jodi
The best game plan for storing water is to store it in many different sizes and types of containers. For example, can you imagine what would happen if all you had was one larger container holding your entire 14 days of water and it either sprung a leak or got severly contaminated? Spread your storage out over large containers, 5 gallon or 1 gallon size containers, and even store-packaged bottles of water if you like. Also, according to emergency preparedness experts, culinary (tap) water should not be purified until before you are ready to use it rather than before you store it. Purifying chemicals eventually wear out, and bacteria can grow. As for water purification systems, experts do recommend storing at least 3 to 14 days worth of water and to purchase water purification tablets or systems to use beyond the 14 days. In your planning it is important to consider local water sources you would use close to your home, such as springs or pools. Some areas around your house that you don’t usually think about include, the toilet tank (not the bowl), your water heater, a water bed, and even rain water.
Thanks Misty, Jodi and I appreciate when some experts share so kindly their knowledge.
What about using non-chlorine bleach? Will that work as well for purifying water?
I inherited two 55-gallon jugs from a friend who was moving. Don’t know how old they are, but they’re white plastic. All the ones I see lately are dark blue. Is there a color preference? Will these older ones still serve our needs just fine? (Of course, any water is better than none, but is there a preference?) I do intend to store drinking water in smaller containers as well. Thanks!
A couple of points. First, make sure any old barrels didn’t contain anything nasty in them, even food based stuff like syrup as it will add a flavor to the water.
Second, as Misty said, if you have to evacuate your house because of tornado, forest fire, or earthquake, you cannot manhandle a 55 gallon drum quickly or safely. Make sure you have sufficient water in small containers to last for 3 days per person.
While part of your gallon a day is assumed for washing, I’d be sure to add wet ones or other moist towelette for cleaning to avoid wasting water.
Don’t forget the idea of rain barrels. If that is too expensive, keep some brand new plastic sheeting which you can put on your roof to help catch rain without collecting asphalt in it. Lay it out and bend the corners in to make a funnel for your containers.
If you do home canning, you probably have many bottles of fruits and vegetables in your storage. When you use the product, wash the bottle thoroughly and fill it with water, put the lid back on, and put it back on the shelf. The bottle is going to use the shelf space anyway, so why not have it filled with water.