water

[Hoosier45]

The gallon jugs of water you buy from the store all have expirations dates. If you needed to drink it in an emergency, and it was expired, would you boil it first?

 

[remymartin]

I'm no chemist, but I wouldn't hesitate. Heck, sometimes I just eat around the green on the bread.

 

[kwatters]

Expiration dates are required by law, doesn't mean they will be bad after that.

 

[StarbaseSSD]

Blame New Jersey.

Does Bottled Water Ever Go Bad? - Nagging Question - Top Stories - CHOW

Don't know I'd drink water from there anyway <LOL>

 

[Magneto]

So I guess those glass bottles I saw would be the way to go. Cheap too.

 

[dice dealer]

HMMMMMM guess thats why the river flows ....So the water in it dosent expire ....

 

[Indyrich]

Heck yeah I would drink it. Better off to not stock up on too much water as it is hard to transport. Better to scout out water sources and spend your money on a good hand water filter pump!

 

[malern28us]

I am not a big "fan" of expiration dates. Please dont tell any settlers that used to let meat rot in order to tenderize it. They would have little food!

 

[buckstopshere]

There's no question in my mind. I'd gulp it down without any reservation.

 

[shibumiseeker]

How did you store it? How old is it? Out where it's exposed to a lot of light it can grow harmful microorganisms in a few months (not that it WILL grow them, just that it can). In a cool dark temperature stable environment it can be good for years.

Basically though, you should rotate out your stored water every 6 months to a year.

 

[caddywhompus]

I think we talked about this not too long ago. I agree with shibumiseeker: Rotate every 6 months to a year. I keep about 4 gallons under each sink in my house, which is more than enough to meet the immediate (72 hour) need. You always know it's there when you need it, but out of sight when you don't.

 

[_OZ_]

I buy water that is made to keep up to 2 years or more. It has dates on it and comes in 4 oor 5 ounce packets. Same place I buy my MRE's...
call me paranoid, but it happens when you get old... exp dates mean everything

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

The plastic jugs CAN fail, though...

I had a 1 gallon container, never opened, that ended up VERY SLOWLY leaking out.

My fault for not checking it regularly, but it can happen.

-J-

 

[Eddie]

I think we talked about this not too long ago. I agree with shibumiseeker: Rotate every 6 months to a year. I keep about 4 gallons under each sink in my house, which is more than enough to meet the immediate (72 hour) need. You always know it's there when you need it, but out of sight when you don't.

We keep some gallon jugs in each bathroom as well; to get a final flush in if the water is shut off unexpectedly.

 

[HICKMAN]

Heck yeah I would drink it. Better off to not stock up on too much water as it is hard to transport. Better to scout out water sources and spend your money on a good hand water filter pump!

 

[Blackhawk2001]

If you're going to say put, I saw an interesting water-collection system on This Old House. Had a 600 gallon bladder that connected to the rain downspouts. They had it set up to irrigate the lawn, but could have worked out for drinking water, with treatment.

Also remember reading an article about a group that evacced from Hurricane Katrina. IIRC they had a 200 gal bladder full of water in a pickup truck.

 

[cosermann]

IF, the water was potable and had a bit of chlorine in it when bottled (like tap water),

IF, the containers were clean when bottled,

And IF, it had been stored out of the light (like in a box), in an area with no "fumes" (like from organic solvents, gasoline, etc).

Then, sure. Under such conditions it will keep for a long, long time.

If you store your own water, in your own containers then you know the history.

 

[navarre1095]

The gallon jugs will develop leaks after time. Plus, the plastic is brittle and the lids come off easily. I store water in cleaned and sterilized 2-liter bottles and I also have two 55-gallon food grade plastic drums full of water in the garage .

Rinse the bottles well. Do not use detergent. Fill the bottle with bleach water (one part bleach to 10 parts water) Pour the bleach solution into the next bottle and fill from the tap. Do not rinse the bleach solution out of the 2-liter. You can store these all over the house. keep them out of the sunlight and they will last at least a year.

FEMA: Water

 

[cosermann]

The gallon jugs will develop leaks after time. ...

Water does come in gallon jugs other than "milk jug plastc" that hold up just fine. However, this is a good point. I wouldn't rely on the translucent plastic typically used for milk jugs. It's not very good stuff, designed for short-term use.