Should I store water

[Bosworth]

I personally wouldn't head for the water in heating systems. Have you ever opened the bleed valve on an old system , normally comes out black and as a rule water in these systems also has additives mixed in to prevent corrosion . Not good to drink at all.

Of course. Much like rainwater butts it would need to be filtered and purified.

[featherstick]

I personally wouldn't head for the water in heating systems. Have you ever opened the bleed valve on an old system , normally comes out black and as a rule water in these systems also has additives mixed in to prevent corrosion . Not good to drink at all.

Of course. Much like rainwater butts it would need to be filtered and purified.

Distilled, if it is chemically contaminated, and you'd need to know that you are distilling water and not chemicals off the water that would then recontaminate it. I'd look for other sources before going for heating water.

[Hamradioop]

Having replaced and removed radiators in the past and seen all the black sludge water come out, I would never consider it for drinking. When people talk about draining the water system they are referring to the hot water storage tank, if you have one. I do not have a header tank or hot water tank so therefore have water butts in the garden.

[kizzie]

I have just bought 300 1lt purifiers and 100 20lt. tabs I dont have any bath or tank storage. I have one water butt ( not yet connected. ) got it off freecycle.. will be getting more.

Also be buying a fair few bottles of cheap water every time I shop. I feel its time to start stepping it up a notch. Don't know why but have a feeling its time to get really serious about it.

Can anyone think of anything else I can do? I dont know about the water sources in this area, might be a idea for me to get a map of where I live and surrounding villages.

[MizerD]

Get yourself a couple of water butts for starters. On top of that start building up your bottled water stocks. I buy 5-litre bottles from Tesco and store them in the garage. Even if they go out of date before I need them they can still be used for other things than cooking/drinking.I've got around 100 litres socked away in bottles alone.

Right I know I'm going to really look stupid for asking this, but since when has water been able to go out of date? O.o especially if it's air lock sealed.

[sfcfinchrs]

We store some watter in water butts.

Most important of all, is having the ability to filter water.

Get some Berkey style filters and make a water filter rig.

[ForgeCorvus]

Right I know I'm going to really look stupid for asking this, but since when has water been able to go out of date? O.o especially if it's air lock sealed.

Since the Suits relised that people on average are hard of thinking and seem to believe that "BBE" means "Turns to rat-poison on".
Its also the shortest time they can trust the seal so that somebody with a lawyer can't sue them over a tummy-bug.

[CynicalSurvival]

on the subject of water . assuming you have power , has any one given any thought to a dehumidifier . as we all know these power water literaly out of thin air .

Smart idea - not a long-term plan maybe and expensive, but if it could save my life, yeah I'll plug in the dehumidifier and screw the electricity bill! And it will be clean uncontaminated water.

[featherstick]

I have just bought 300 1lt purifiers and 100 20lt. tabs I dont have any bath or tank storage. I have one water butt ( not yet connected. ) got it off freecycle.. will be getting more.

Also be buying a fair few bottles of cheap water every time I shop. I feel its time to start stepping it up a notch. Don't know why but have a feeling its time to get really serious about it.

Can anyone think of anything else I can do? I dont know about the water sources in this area, might be a idea for me to get a map of where I live and surrounding villages.

Buy some cheap bottles of plain bleach or Pool Shock. Connect your water filter. Buy some coffee filters to filter untreated water as a first stage in treatment. Read up about sand filters and other ways of treating water. Buy some Water-BOBs for the bath - store 80 ltrs in a sealed palstic bag. Map local water sources, including garden ponds. Get a gurt big tarp that can catch rainwater on the ground. Buy some 25l water canisters at the local camping store, and a shopping trolley so you can move them about. Or canisters with wheels on.

[jansman]

Personally I would store water. My own strategy has been to store 25 gallons of tap water in 5x5 gallon containers. At 5 gallons per day for 3 of us(bare minimum if course) that is 5days stored. Re-supply would be from my soft water well and water butts. This would involve filter and boiling to make it potable( my strategy), and if there were problems there would be the brook over the road.
Of course, up until a few days ago, we were basically in a drought situation. The butts were dry and the brook down to a trickle. Therefore, I may be inclined to double our storage in the future, as until we had rain we may have been stuffed in an emergency.