If you are fortunate enough to live in a country that has pretty much instant access to fresh water, then having enough of it can often be something that you don’t even think about. However, have you ever thought about how you might be able to get along if there happened to be any kind of emergency that restricted your immediate access to the water that you need? For many people across the country, this can be something that has to be dealt with from time to time, and the logical solution is to have water stored in the home that you can use when nothing will come out of the taps. With this in mind, here are some tips for how to keep drinking water stored at home.
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU STORE?
In terms of ratio, you should be thinking about 1 gallon of water per person per day, so doing the math is relatively simple. For example, a 3-day supply of water for one person would be 3 gallons, a 14-day supply for two people would be 28 gallons, and so on and so on!
HOW CAN YOU STORE DRINKING WATER?
If the water in question has come from a public water supplier and is definitely safe, then you will be able to store it in things like clean screw-top bottles, soda bottles, and even milk jugs if you need to. You need to make sure that you sanitize all of these containers before filling them. When they have been filled and sealed, you should store them in a dark, dry, cool place where they won’t be affected by the heat of the sun or other high temperatures in the house.
WHAT ABOUT CONTAMINATED WATER?
Storing water from a contaminated source requires a few more steps in the process. The best way to go about this is to use the boiling methods, which is bringing the water to a rolling boil for between 1 and 2 minutes, and then decanting it into containers when it has cooled. A good tip to make it taste better is to oxygenate it before storing it, and this is done by pouring it back and forth a few times between containers.
FOR HOW LONG CAN IT BE STORED?
As a general rule, you can keep the water you have not opened and used, stored for up to six months in the conditions mentioned above. However, if you have stored some bottles or jugs and the six-month time scale has elapsed, you will need to empty those containers and repeat the process above in order to make sure that your water is of suitable drinking quality.
Hopefully, these tips can help you to maintain a good drinking water store at home or work. For more information about everything related to water delivery in the Los Angeles area, you can browse the Urban Oasis website for all of the answers to any questions that you might have. We look forward to being able to expand your horizons when it comes to water delivery at home.