Monday, June 2, 2008

Storing Water

From: Allyson
To: Me
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 11:23 AM
Subject: Hey food storage lady

Help!
I have an EMPTY 50 gallon water barrel that's been camping out on the side of my house
for way too long. I want to fill it with water but don't know the proper water/bleach ratio. Also,
where can I buy a new pump for it. The last one was used as a slingshot by a small boy named Alex.

Allyson

Dear Allyson,
I was just looking at the website of a new store that just opened here in Mesa (Mesa Drive)and I saw the pumps on their website. http://www.preparingwisely.com/

I don't know if the prices are good, but they do have the pumps ($17.99)! To treat your water, make sure you wash out the barrel very well with a chlorine solution (1 teaspoon chlorine/1 gallon water), then fill the barrel and add 6-8 drops chlorine per gallon in the container (your barrel might be 55 gallons) or about 1 teaspoon for 10 gallons. You should dump it out and refill it again annually. Also, if you are storing it outside, make sure you keep it under an opaque tarp. One of my barrels got crispy in the sun and broke.

Kelly

P.S. I also store some water in flats of drinkable bottles. We use these, and rotate them into our drinking water. It is a good idea to have some water in smaller containers in case you need to transport them.