The knowledge base (what most people agree on) says to dump and replace water every six months. Being a curious type, I wanted to see if water could be stored for longer, and what the effects would be. With this in mind, I purchased some drinking water in one-gallon plastic jugs from the supermarket, the generic kind sold everywhere. As a control, I filled some glass jars with reverse osmosis water, these were washed pickle jars. The water was put in my garage in a cabinet, away from light (but not heat).
After one year, there was no noticeable problems with either.
At two years, the sealed water in plastic was tasting, well, like plastic. I wouldn't drink it unless I was very thirsty. The water stored in glass was fine.
At three years, the water in plastic jugs was horrible, with a burning aftertaste that made it undrinkable. The water in glass was flat, but not bad.
Conclusion: Rotate that water! HDPE water containers are cheap, light and tough, but eventually make the water bad. If you are making a long-term cache, glass would be a good choice. It's heavy, fragile and more expensive, but the water doesn't go bad (at least as quickly).
Friday, January 29, 2010
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2 comments:
Thanks for the trials of plastic and glass containers! That is really good to know. To not have to dump the water every six months is good to know!
Right now I'm trying long term storage for bulk water in two 55 gallon blue drums. The water has been treated with stabilized oxygen and then immediately sealed. It's been over a year now and I'm thinking about checking out the water to see how it has faired. I really don't mind minor amounts of taste difference as I have lived off military treated water in Iraq before (yuck). This test is really to confirm whether I can store a large amount of potable water in my garage for up to 5 years and it still be free from organisms and contaminants. Even a once a year water change is really not bad when you think about it. I can always water my garden. 2 drums is a lot of water in an HOA and will get me through at least a month if I ration correctly.
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