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What comes to your mind at the mention of emergency preparations?

Many people will take care to get the best survival food, a first aid kit, and clothes and forget one of the most essential components for human survival – which in this case is water.

In this post, we’ll discuss why emergency water storage is necessary for your home and find out how to store water long term. 

Why is Water Storage Essential for Your Home?

Here are reasons why you should consider emergency water storage in your home.

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Drinking

Drinking water is the most important reasons why everyone should have emergency water storage in their homes – especially for hurricane survival (or tornado).

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Water is an essential requirement as it keeps the body well hydrated, quenches thirst, and replaces lost fluids in your body.

For this reason, you need to know how to store water to avoid contamination.

Remember, drinking contaminated water can have a huge impact on your health.

Apart from humans, our pets and our domesticated animals need clean drinking water to survive.

Experts say that storing approximately a gallon of water per person per day will be critical in ensuring that everyone in your household is adequately hydrated.

The human body comprises of 60% water, which means that you can enhance its health by staying well hydrated. 

emergency water storage

Hygiene and Household Chores

Hygiene and sanitation, in general, is critical for human survival.

For instance, you need to clean your body, wash your clothes, brush your teeth, keep your kitchen and entire home clean, as well as prepare your meals.

To execute all these tasks appropriately, you’ll need sufficient and clean water.

Other practices that will need you to have enough water in your water storage system include, watering indoor plants, washing your car, cleaning out your home, as well as flushing your toilets. 

Cutting Down utility bills

Did you know that having an emergency water storage system can go a long way in reducing your utility bills?

Many people are unaware that the use of water at home can lead to high energy bills.

You can cut down your water bill by storing water, especially if you’re directly connected to a water meter. Further, storing water cuts down carbon dioxide emissions and reduces damage to the environment.

With a proper water storage system, you’ll use less energy to heat, pump, and treat water.

For instance, how many gadgets that rely on water to operate do you have in your home?

Some of these include; washing machine and a dishwasher. Running these gadgets from time to time will lead to high energy bills.

With alternative water sources such as rainwater collection systems, you’re able to reduce your utility bills by a big margin.

Reducing Water Shortage

Water shortage caused by various factors such as climate change affects a big percentage of people across the world.

If you use lots of water in your home, then you could be more susceptible to water shortage if you don’t adopt the best emergency water storage practices.

Many people opt to have various rainwater collection points to ensure there’s sufficient water at home to fulfill their needs.

Imagine how much water you can collect with enough water storage solutions!

There would be enough to serve you and your entire household until the next rainy season.

The most important factor when it comes to water storage is that you’ll have minimal energy bills.

Preserving the Environment

Clean uncontaminated water is a precious resource that many people are searching for across the world.

However, this is becoming rare with increased population and human practices, most of which cause water contamination.

For this reason, you should adopt good water storage practices to ensure that your household enjoys clean water and that you don’t damage the environment with dirty and contaminated water.  

How to Execute Long Term Water Storage

Before adopting water storage solutions in your home, you want to conduct extensive research and work with experienced people in the field.

Remember, dealing with unqualified individuals can result in having poor systems which won’t serve you for a long time. There are various water storage facilities to choose from depending on your needs.

These include underground reservoirs, hydro-pneumatic tanks, ground-level reservoirs, rainwater collection tanks, and elevated tanks.

Before storing your water, ensure that the containers you choose are safe for use and sterile.

What Materials Should you use for Long Term Water Storage?

With the need for emergency water storage on the rise, the market is afloat with numerous water storage container solutions to choose from. These are available in different sizes and shapes.

Does water expire?

This is one of the factors you should consider when choosing a storage container.

Other factors to consider include:  

  •         The amount of storage space you have in your home
  •         The number of people you plan to cater to
  •         Your budget
  •         Where you live and your proximity to freshwater sources
  •         The water-based activities you plan to execute
  •         How long you’ll keep the water for
  •         Whether or not there’s access to water in your region
  •         The weather in your region

Which are the Best Water Storage Containers in the Market?

Here are some container options to choose from. 

Plastic Water Storage Containers

Perhaps due to its availability, plastic is one of the most popular water storage materials across the world.

Many people will want to choose plastic for other reasons such as its durability, lightweight, cost friendliness, the fact that it’s easily available and can be replaced with ease.

Still, plastic water storage containers have their setbacks too.

For instance, food scientists and experts are afraid that plastic discharges chemicals in drinking water after long term use.

This, according to them is true if the water containers are laced indirect heat and light.

However, if you can store your plastic water storage containers appropriately, you won’t have to worry about these concerns.

One of these practices would be by replacing the water often. 

Advantages of using Glass

The good thing about glass containers is that: when used well, they can last for many years.

They are also easy to sterilize which means you can do so with ease without calling in an expert.

To reduce the chances of breaking, you can choose to wrap the container using newspapers and cardboard.

Glass Water Storage Containers

Unlike plastic, glass is a safer water storage option.

All you need to do is sanitize it before filling the glass container with water. The food and drug administration has classified glass as GRAS which means generally regarded as safe.

Never use an old glass container which was probably used for storing other components before because you may never know how safe it is.

You don’t want to compromise the quality of your water with contaminated and unsafe water containers.

One of the setbacks of glass is the fact that it is susceptible to breaking easily and it can be quite heavy. 

Stainless Steel Water Storage Containers

Stainless steel water storage containers are some of the best options when it comes to long term water storage needs.

Not only do these containers protect the water from sunlight, but they also are durable and do not discharge chemicals in the water.

However, these water storage containers can be quite expensive and heavy.

Further, you should exercise caution before storing water inside these containers.

For instance, if your water is treated with chlorine, chances are that it will cause corrosion on the stainless steel’s protective surface and this can poison your water making it unfit for human and animal consumption.

To avoid these problems and ensure that your stainless steel container is fit for use, ensure its food safe or food grade. 

55 Gallon Plastic Water Barrels

The 55 Gallon Plastic Water Barrels are heavy and take up massive space in your home.

These may not be ideal for you if you have limited space within your home.

Still, these water storage containers are also among the most reliable water storage methods which you can use with minimal struggle.

For years, water storage barrels have been blue, a concept which comes in handy to aid identification.

Water Tanks or Large Water Storage Containers 

Water tanks are big and expensive and moving them from one place to the other can be an arduous task.

However, a water tank can hold lots of water which you can continue using for a prolonged period.

Large water tanks are specially designed to hold between, water gallons to thousands of gallons of water.

If you’re looking for the ideal long term water storage container, the water tank would be ideal. 

Bathtub Water Storage Bladders

If you live in water-deprived areas, chances are you’ve seen or heard of people who fill up their sink basins and bathtubs when there’s an excessive water shortage.

This ensures that the homestead has sufficient water to push them for some days before normal water operations return.

While this idea may work well, there are some unavoidable setbacks that you may want to consider before choosing to store water in these facilities.

For starters, sink basins and bathtubs are never sterile. 

Using Refillable Bags

Sealing sink, basins, and bathtubs is nearly impossible unless you opt for refillable bags which you can place inside your sink or bathtub for ease of refilling and using the water without fearing contamination.

The refillable bags available in the market today are designed to hold gallons of water which you can easily empty and pack for transportation when the need arises.

Refillable bags are not only a great water storage tool, but they are also available at a reasonable price. 

The Backyard Pool

Before you raise eyebrows at this idea, it’s worth noting that pool water can be safe for drinking and other household-based chores as long as it’s well treated.

While chemicals are used to treat this water, experts say that if the water is below 4 ppm, it’s safe for ingestion.

Come to think of it, how many times have you swallowed pool water while swimming?

How many times do your children go swimming in the pool and end up gulping down pool water?

Have you heard of somebody who became sick out of swallowing pool water? Perhaps you haven’t.

What this means is that should you be in a position where the house runs out of the water but you have water in your pool, you can proceed to use it until the normal water supply is restored. 

Factors to Consider before using Pool Water

Backyard pools are unsealed which means they’re exposed to contamination from insects as well as bacteria.

Before using pool water you need to ensure that the water is well filtered and purified.

Further, if the pool is experiencing poor electricity supply, it would be an indication that the filtration system won’t work.

Therefore, the chemicals you use in the pool to destroy bacteria declines and exposes the water to contamination.

What happens when your pool is poorly maintained and unfiltered?

It will become a swamp.

To use the pool as an ideal water storage solution, ensure it’s well filtered and maintained.

Before using pool water for your daily operations, boil it thoroughly and proceed to treat the water using appropriate practices.

Store-Bought Plastic Water Bottles

When it comes to storing bought plastic water bottles, two questions come to mind.

The first one is: does bottled water expire?

And the second is: how long is bottled water good for?

To answer the first question, you may have noticed that bottled water bottles come with an expiry date.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the water expires.

Water hardly goes bad.

The expiration date you see on the bottle indicates the amount of time the bottle will be valid for use.

As we’ve mentioned before, plastic bottles are likely to discharge chemicals, especially when exposed to heat and direct sunlight.

This answers the second question in this category.

If you choose store-bought plastic bottles, it’s worth noting that they’re not ideal for long term water storage. 

Water Wells

Water wells are water generation systems which are relevant for use in this category.

Wells produce and store water, and you can build a well within your property.

This guarantees you a great source of water for the entire household.

Still, this convenience will depend on the mechanization of your pool.

One thing that remains constant when it comes to water wells is that people with wells have a long term water supply than those who don’t have one.

How much Water is enough?

How much water do you need in your household?

How can you calculate the amount of water you’ll need in the event of an emergency?

To answer this question appropriately, you need to factor your household water needs.

Experts say that you should at least have a three-day water supply in readiness for emergencies.

Where possible, have enough water to last you an entire week. 

Will water storage tanks freeze?

Many water storage tanks come with two varying systems which come in handy to churn the water inside the tank.

However, you should understand that these systems will only work appropriately under proper environments.

The first system is known as the passive system which involved hydrodynamic mixing systems.

The second system is referred to as a jet aeration system which triggers water movement during the filling process only.

These two methods can prevent freezing inside your tank in case of extreme temperatures. 

What is Water Storage?

Water storage is the practice of keeping water in water storage containers for human and animal consumption as well as other household chores. 

How Water Storage Tank Works

The main function of a water storage tank is to store water until it’s needed for use.

There are various types of water storage tanks such as an atmospheric tank where you need a booster pump to draw water and pressurized storage tanks which are designed to force water out.

How much Water Storage for Emergency do I need?

The amount of water you need depends on the amount of space you have at home, the number of people you’re catering for, and the amount of water you spend in your household per day.

According to the center for disease control, you should have at least one gallon of water per day for each person in your home.

Remember to have extra water for your pets and domestic animals. 

How to Water Storage at Home

To store water efficiently, you need to first calculate your daily water needs and proceed to fill containers with water and put a lid on top of each container.

Establish a safe place and store the water.

If you’re planning to keep the water for more than 6 months, you may want to treat it accordingly.

Label each container and include the date of storage.  

How long can you store water?

Can water go bad?

This is a question that many people grapple with.

With proper storage, store-bought unopened water can be fresh for quite a long time whether it comes with an expiration date or not.

However, if you’ve bottled water at home, you may want to replace it every six months.

If you notice that your plastic containers have become discolored and scratched, you should also replace them. 

How long can you go without water before you die?

Water is an essential commodity in your body. Remember, lack of sufficient fluids in the body can make you dehydrated and eventually cause death.

The maximum amount of time you can survive without water is approximately one week.

Did you know you can stay longer without food than you can without water?

Finally

Have you thought about emergency water storage solutions for your home?

If you haven’t, you may want to start considering it today. 

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