Just getting ready to store my 250 gallons of water in specialized drums. Was wondering how much bleach to add per gallon and any other useful information I might need. Thanks everyone. Jim

-- Jim Torrez (Jimtorrez@hotmail.com), December 02, 1999

Answers

About 1/4 cup per 55 gallons.

-- Dennis (djolson@cherco.net), December 02, 1999.

Jim,

Depending on who you ask, assuming cloudy water, anywhere from 5 to 16 drops of "just Clorox" bleach per gallon, (5.25% sodium hypoclorite). The 16 drops per gallon came from the Clorox site. Guess they want to sell more bleach????

5 drops per gallon rate = aboup 3 1/5 tsp per 55 gallon drum. 8 drops per gallon rate = 5 1/2 tsp per 55 gallon drum. 16 drops per gallon rate = 11 tsp per 55 gallon drum.

-- Vernon Hale (create@premiernet.net), December 02, 1999.

If you are storting good clean water from the get go you don't need any bleach.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

-- 8 (8@8.com), December 02, 1999.

4 Tbsp = 1/4 Cup.

-- Dennis (djolson@cherco.net), December 02, 1999.

Four to six drops per gallon of TAP water. Well water; ten to fifteen drops per gallon. But then, unless you draw well water with electricity, who would store it.

-- Rob (maxovrdrv51@hotmail.com), December 02, 1999.

At my Y2K class I attended in the Spring, a health care professional at my table said NOT to add bleach to plastic jugs of water. He said it leaches the polyvinyl chloride(?), which is carcinogenic- - not sure if that's the chemical- - into the water.(Causes cancer). That's why I bought an Aquarain water filter. I have been saving all of our plastic milk bottles since about April and am filling them now. Supposedly, this filter will make potable even river water or toilet water.

I'd like to know from some expert if the above is true.

-- Constance A. Iversen (hive@gte.net), December 02, 1999.

Constance - for the very short time (2-3 weeks ?) we would expect to need reserve water, very,very little would "leach" out....the benefit gained from the protection against bacteria/biologicals growing in the water stored for short periods of time is much, much greater than the little bit of anything leached out.

Technically he is correct - but practically speaking, in the dilute quantities used for drinking water in th erelatively short amount of time it's to be stored - don't worry about it. For example, there are measureable carcinagins in the wine and spirits typically drunk by the millions of bottles a day - yet nobody notices...

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 02, 1999.

Constance-
I am confused, you were told not to put bleach into PVC containers of water (where do these PVC containers come from ?), yet you have been saving "plastic" milk containers to put water in?

ai yi yi

I sure hope you steam-cleaned those "milk containers". Dennis- good answer(s)!

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), December 02, 1999.

Constance...

.....Use the water you store in milk jugs first, it really doesn't take much time for the to break down, as they are now biodegradable. A better bet is the two-liter bottles that soda comes in.

-- Patrick (pmchenry@gradall.com), December 02, 1999.

Sorry...

.....should read "them" to breakdown.

-- Patrick (pmchenry@gradall.com), December 02, 1999.

Anybody got info in litres? Milk containers in my country can contain 2 litres. I've been saving quite a few. How many drops (what is a drop?) or teaspoons per container and how long can I keep the water (1 month, 2 months).

-- Innumerate (cdlkjflkf@sldkjf.com), December 02, 1999.

Thank you, Robert A. Cook, and others for your help. I know that the plastic, (is it made of PVC? - - I don't kmow) are biodegradable, but without the bleach, I figured they would last for the two-three months necessary. And - - plonk! - - I thoroughly washed them in hot, soapy water and have left them open to air, saving the caps separately, and am re-washing them before filling them. THEN I intend to put the water through the filter before using it. This should kill any bacteria, should it not? I mean, if it cleanses river and toilet water, it should clean water from my suburban tap. But, I intend to mix powdered milk in them as well, so they DO have to be almost sterile. I'm hoping it will be cold enough to store on my second-level deck. And of course, I would only mix enough for a few hours. Are my plans a bad idea? Also, in saving the bottles, I figured that would give me an accurate amount to save for up to nine months. At the beginning of my learning about Y2K, I thought we might return to pre-Industrial age technology! ;-) ;-) ;-) (Chuckle)

Thanks, All!

-- Constance A. Iversen - - "Connie" (hive@gte.net), December 02, 1999.

Constance,

Plastic milk jugs still contain enough bacteria in them to make them inappropriate for storing water, hence most places recommend the plastic soda bottles for water storage.

Long timer Ken Seger had an excellent website with bleach information, and an electrolite replacement fluid recipe.

Please be very careful and use the best information you can find before making these decisions, you can easily get very ill from bad water {yeah, I got the T-shirt}.

Clorox has a water webpage, the EPA, & FEMA. Brian had a useful thread with many posts about water on it - check the archive list at the bottom of the main page here {Brian, it seems like it's getting to be time to post it again}.

Good luck, an ounce of prevention...

-- flora (***@__._), December 03, 1999.