storing large quantities of water at a time

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Note: If you are storing large quantities of water at a time -- for example, in U.N.-style 55-gallon water barrels -- and you plan to fill your containers using a garden hose, make certain that the hose is drinking water safe. The hose should be marked as such, or should be of the type sold by recreational vehicle dealers for connection to motorhomes or trailers. http://www.rv-y2k.org/prepindv.htm#food

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), August 21, 1999

Answers

I know this is a stupid question but why is an ordinary garden hose unsafe to use?

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), August 21, 1999.

--Mumsie

Personally, I think it is going a little overboard using only a "certified for drinking water" hose. Let the water run from whatever hose you are using for a minute to flush it from any water left "standing" in it and then fill the barrels. The only exception I can think of would be if you had previously used the hose to pump sewage or contaminated water, or petroleum products.

I have drank from my garden hose for years (while watering plants) and have never had any ill effects or noticed any "off tastes" or odors. I also water all my livestock with a water hose/

Gerald

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), August 21, 1999.


I don't think the garden variety of garden hose is going to hurt anyone. The ones for RVs are to hook up to the faucets and run water directly out of faucet in RV. Thus water is being "stored" in the hose. I would just make sure the end of the hose was clean and not worry about it. Thats my two cents worth.

Taz...who was raised on a communal dipper.

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), August 21, 1999.


I'd have to agree that using a "normal" hose is fine. As another post pointed out, when hooking up an RV the water will be sitting for a period of time in the hose, until it is used. In the case of fillin a barrel, the water won't be in there that long. One thing that probably is a good idea is to use a new hose. The one you've been using for your yard has probably had some water sitting in it since you last used it, not to mention any spiders, crickets, etc. that may have crawled up in there in the mean time. One of the things you don't want to do is introduce any bacteria from your garden hose into your water barrel, where over time it can multiply. And if you're going to buy a new hose anyway, might as well make it a "drinking water" type. I bought mine at "Menards" a local lumber store. It wasn't much more than a regular hose, and was longer and less expensive than the one sold at Wal-Mart. All in all, if you use a new hose you should be fine.

-- Eyell Makedo (make_do@hotmail.com), August 21, 1999.

Hi again! I just cut and pasted off that website. It was something I had never even considered. I also drank from the garden hose as a kid when playing outside. Just threw it in for whatever it's worth.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), August 21, 1999.


Chris:

It is my understanding that there are two reasons why certain hoses are not certified for use with drinking water.

1. They may contain a component which will be dissolved in the water and should not be consummed.

2. They may contain one or more components which the manufacturer never intended to use in products meant to handle drinking water. Therefore, they never went through the complex certification procedure.

To be safe , buy hoses meant to handle drinking water. You can get them at RV centers, or where I live at every hardware store. Although, my last garden hose purchase [this spring] was certified as safe for drinking water.

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), August 21, 1999.


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