I had 6 2.5 gallon water jugs of the supermarket variety with the spigots on the bottom stored under my bed in large Rubbermaid 25-gallon containers. I stashed these under my bed, put 14-gallon tubs (empty, or very lightly loaded with stuff) on top of them. On top of these double stack of tubs sat my mattress.<br><br>I inspect my goods yesterday and the [censored] jugs broke. They were flooded with several inches of water. Here's the kicker. I was a total idiot and stored all my supplies with those jugs (3 guts in each container). Total damage lost to water was:<br>2 chemical breaklights<br>1 roll of duct tape<br>spare packs of tissue paper<br>Zippo lighter fluid<br>2 cans of Sterno<br>1 Sterno stove<br>8 cans of chili (no beans, please)<br>6 cups of instant noodles<br>and....a dozen Surefire CR123 batteries, weighing in at $4 each, for a total of almost $50 in batteries alone.<br><br>I also had 3 packs of 3600 calorie emergency rations of the boating variety in there. SOS Foods specifically. They are vacuum packed and sealed but don't know how long they have been sitting in the water. Could have been weeks.<br><br>1. How much water resistance do these emergency rations have, or should I replace them all (about $5-6 a pack)<br><br>2. I will, from now on, store my water separately. I am a moron.<br><br>3. I will get sturdier packaging for my water even if it costs more. Skimping on my water and being an idiot cost me about $80 due to water damage. I lost all my medical supplies last year (only a few boxes of measly bandages) under my sink because of leaking plumbing that the housing office could not fix. I have Aqua Literz that seem to hold up well in the house. They have a shelf life of 5 years. I will get a 15-day supply of these. <br>

Let's see here....<br>chemical break lights fine unless they bent ( If they bent then I am not surprised that your water containers broke since it takes quite a force to untentionally break the capsule in the breaklights. In any case they are water proof and the chemical reaction that causes the light doesn't start until you snap the inner capsule.<br><br>duct tape - probably fine after the first 1/2 inch unrolled<br><br>dissue paper - lost<br><br>zippo lighter fluid - if the can didn't open then it should be fine. again if you compressed your containers enough to open the zippo can then your problem isn't with your water containers but with your stacking things up.<br><br>sterno - see note about zippo<br><br>sterno stove - this is a folding metal kind? if so then the worst damage it could have suffered is some rust and in doubt that it could have rusted through significantly enough to make it unusable if there is some rust sand and paint if you like or just dry it off and oil it.<br><br>chili - if the cans ain't dented or bulged they are fine<br><br>noodles - fine if the water didn't get into the packaging - else lost<br><br>batteries - lost<br><br>rations - if the packaging is intact they are fine else lost.<br><br>Get sturdy packaging for you water and store it seperately certainly - also re-evaluate you approach to the under bed storage. simply laying your mattress on top of rubbermaid tubs and then climbing on top may not be wise since you + guest and "activities" could reasonably apply 200 - 300 pounds of impact pressures on the containers underneath. A box-spring and frame would help or if you don't have those then replace the rubbermaid with ammo-cans.

It's hard to tell from your description, or maybe just hard to believe, but if you are using the water jugs to support a significant amount of weight stacked on top of them, that is the problem (not the container itself). It sounds like you are looking for a sturdier water container, and that is always a good idea, but when you settle on one, try to store it so the valve or opening is on top, near or above the water level (that may be up-side-down) and don't compress the container by putting anything on top of it. If you must stack supplies or furniture over it to conserve space, build a rack over the containers that will support the weight and leave the water containers protected from compression.<br>

Most importantly you found out about it before you needed it. You may have lost some supplies and wasted some money (ouch!) but learned a valuable lesson.<br><br>Regarding your comment about medical supplies, I think all the medicos would agree the undersink area is probably the least safe place for storing anything that needs to be clean or sterile.<br><br>And for all the rest of us, it pays to regularly inspect our supplies and equipment.<br><br>Good luck in finding better accomodations for your gear.