Everyone knows that you can drink the water in the toilet tank (NOT the bowl!)

But during a water shortage, if people have access to non-potable (contaminated) water, you know they'll be adding it to the toilet tank to flush the toilets because they're so used to just hitting the lever.

BUT... just how clean-able is the inside of the toilet tank? Sure, the outside is glazed ceramic, but the inside looks more porous. Many years ago, people were putting bricks in the toilet tanks to save water via displacement. The porous bricks became bacteria factories and started stinking.

So, if non-potable is added to the toilet tank, is the tank contaminated forever, never to be a source of drinkable water again? Does it matter as to contaminants (organic/inorganic)? If you bleached the tank, would it really take care of the organic contaminants? Would repeated use (flushing) water down inorganics to a safe level?

I don't remember ever seeing this issue addressed, ever, anywhere.

Sue

because of the porosity you mentioned, I would treat the water as any other suspect source...you can save a lot of water if you flush by adding non potable water directly to the bowl... try it first and pour slowly...

My first go to choice after the dedicated storage is the hot water heater...if it's elevated it's much easier to access...cut a section off the female end of your garden hose long enough to reach a fill station, clean the critters out the section, and put a female repair end back on the outside section

Just received my Sawyer .1 micron 5 gal bucket kit, you guys really need to look at this thing.. just over $50 at Adventure Safety Products...

The insides of most tanks look porous; that is, they are not glazed. They probably aren't porous at all or they would become bacteria sites just like bricks, right?

Once the a tank has received contaminated water, I would be very cautious and I would treat the water that came from there.

I have been looking at these and would be very interested in hearing about your experiences. Seems to me it would be good in camp as well as a back up at home. I have a two-stage Katadyn pump filter and also carry Micropur MP-1 as a chemical treatment option for trail and camp, but a gravity feed system would be a nice addition. A bonus (I would imagine) is the ability to store other clean gear in the bucket when moving about.

If I can remember, I will culture my toilet tank today or Monday.


One thing to keep in mind regarding contamination is the degree to which the toilet is used. The more frequent the greater the turnover of water. Toilets that are used less frequently will likely have higher counts. That has been our experience with water fountains. Also, those with prefilters (especially charcoal filters which removed residual chlorine) had much higher bacterial counts.

Pete

Byrd_Huntr...I'm not a hiker/camper and the Sawyer is just for hurricane season...they make adapters and bladders for just about any use...they state the .1 micron takes care of the bacteria and protozoa, but not viruses (I plan to use Clorox post filter).. it just filters particulates and not dissolved ions .. they make a .02 micron that will filter viruses... the filter comes with a syringe to back flush the hollow filter media...they claim a million gallons...I cut the hole in the bucket and pre fit the kit, then replaced it in the bag inside the bucket, and applied a piece of clear tape over the hole and stored it with the rest of the hurricane supplies... I've used their filter bottles in the past and was thouroughly satisfied... Sawyer is relatively local to me at Safety Harbor,Fla. , and Adventure Safety is probably their internet outlet just down the road in Oldsmar, Fla...Adventure Safety was recommended to me when I called Sawyer...

The above responses seem to indicate that I wasn't too clear about my question...

Revised question: Due to what appears to be a porous interior, if you pour cow-poop-contaminated river water into the tank, is the tank contaminated forever after, no longer usable as a source of drinking water?

Sue

I have no proof one way or the other sue. But my inner germaphobe says treat it as if it is NOT potable, just as you would any suspect source. I mean, how many toilets do you know that don't need to be fiddled with or fixed every now and then that require someone's hands in the tank. Can you be 100% sure those hands were clean? And like you said someone may have poured suspect water in there in the past. Who knows what else could happen to contaminate the source. Just my 2 cents. YMMV

Nice reframe! LOL! I'd be very hesitant. Makes me wonder, if the answer is "Yes, it can be usable again", How? Once you've contaminated a container like that, how can you un-contaminate it?

Maybe the trick it to take all the potable water out of the tank before you flush with non-potable?

Given that we swim in a sea of microbes, and there are approximately twice as many microbes as human cells in/on the average human, and we would get sick and die if this wasn't so, I don't worry much. There is no such thing as sterile anywhere near humans.

The key is to avoid colonies of disease causing microbes getting into or onto areas of the body where they might take up housekeeping and cause problems. One thing to remember is that microbes are very particular where they can live and thrive. The fungus that causes athlete's foot doesn't often take up resident in the crotch. And the fungus causing crotch corrosion doesn't like toes. And neither of them survive for long inside a healthy human body.

We have to keep in mind that long before humans understood germs and started to take steps to avoid contamination people lived pretty well and even when great diseases were around most people survived. Before the 1800s surgeons generally only washed their hands after surgery. For thousands of years people accepted, and most survived, even as a small proportion got sick, with a certain amount of raw sewage in their drinking water. Water was 'good' if it tasted and looked clean. For thousands of years people didn't understand disease and made up this deficiency with accusations of divine displeasure, witchcraft, and evil spirits.

The Greeks, Romans, Inca, and Chinese had functional knowledge of the need to keep sewage and contaminates away from drinking water. The western world forgot most of what it had learned from previous civilizations and started from scratch. It wasn't until 1854 for there to be an objective study of cholera to develop the modern understanding of epidemiology in relation to water supplies.

In a nutshell Snow noticed most cholera cases were in people who were getting their drinking water from a particular well. He stopped people from using that well by removing the handle and the number of cholera cases fell markedly. An experiment that showed that the prevailing view of the origins of cholera was wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow_%28physician%29

This seems very old-hat, gee ... everyone knows you don't poop where you drink, but you have to remember that the germ theory of disease was not established at the time so if the water looked and smelled okay people assumed it was safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory_of_disease