Hey Everyone- first post here. Even though I just registered, I've been browsing the forums occasionally for a couple of years now.

So, I want to build up a drinking water supply, but I'm fairly space-limited. In addition to some larger containers, I'm going to fill quite a few 64-oz Gatorade bottles. They're made of PETE, which I've heard is a good material for storing water. Obviously, they've been washed out with soap and will be treated with bleach when filled.

Unfortunately, one of the best storage areas I have available is the heater & water heater closet. I know you're supposed to store water in a cool place, so this isn't ideal. It's about 5-8 degrees (max) warmer than the rest of the place. Will this significantly shorten the time that I should go before replacing the water, and if so, how often should I do that?

Thanks!

Rotate once a year and you'll be fine, although it would probably be fine for years, especially in a dark closet. I rotate yearly except for my car kit, which is 6 months. Not because I'm worried about bacteria growth but for taste. Sitting in a hot car for months seems to impart more of a plasticy taste.

Oh, and welcome to ETS!

welcome... as LED commented, I change out once a year also...hurricane season is my primary concern, so change out the dedicated blue containers with spigots at the beginning of the season... I do add a couple of drops of clorox per gallon...

I keep 4 gallons frozen in the bottom of my small chest freezer...

I use up the water in the car shooting matches, and rotate when I get down to a dozen bottles...

my non potable supply is a couple of 42gal trash cans I fill with an approaching storm, and store in the shower so I still have access to a drain...

a short piece of garden hose was cut to give me access to the hot water heater, which I flush at the beginning of hurricane season also...

I keep a gallon of clorox and tincture of iodine around just in case... purchased a Sawyer .1 micron filter for 5 gal bucket this year, but haven't needed it yet...

access to neighbor's shallow water well, which can pump off my generator...

Don't forget to earthquake strap your water heater, and you have a fair amount of water available for emergency use. Next time you flush the water heater (you do flush your water heater annually, right? :-)), practice drawing water from the tap at the bottom (turning off the burner of course).

Welcome to ETS!

Keep it cool, keep it in the dark, keep it in clean containers, rotate it. Gatorade bottles are good as long as they're clean. If you have water you can always disinfect it by boiling or with chemicals.

Welcome, Aberlour!

I doubt the hot water heater would raise the temp enough inside that closet to affect your stored water. If your water heater is not vented properly, I suppose the exhaust gases could give the water a "taste" eventually, but if it's not vented properly, your emergency water is the least of your problems!

Actually, off topic here but I recently discovered that my water heater was not vented properly. I had a roofer do a bit of work on my garage roof and they must've knocked against the vent pipe that sticks up above the roof because the bottom end was no longer positioned above the exhaust port of the water heater anymore. And I only noticed it because my 16-year old water heater finally gave up the ghost. Who knows how long that condition could've gone on unnoticed if my water heater hadn't gone bad?

By the way, I'm not so sure it's necessary to add bleach when you fill up. I don't. I know it's a common thing to recommend, but seems redundant to me. I think it's more prudent to use bleach or other disinfection method at the time you use the stored water, just in case. It's highly unlikely that clean water, stored properly, will grow anything (unless you use untreated well water or something like that), but if there are any critters in there, you'll want to zap them at the point of use, not when you put it away.

I quite agree. On one occasion I cached a gallon of water during a project, storing it in a rock shelter in the shade. I returned and used it a year later with no treatment of any kind and no ill effects. Some sort of treatment, say, boiling in order to make a nice cup of tea, would be prudent.

Thanks for all the great info! It's great to hear, too, because using that closet is going to make things a lot easier. It sounds like water is a lot more resistant to growing stuff than I would have thought.

The cost of the supplying water consists to very large extent of fixed costs & only to small extent of variable costs that depend on amount of water consumed. Quality of drinking water has a dimension microbiological and physico-chemical. There are thousands of parameters for water quality. In public water systems, water must be disinfected at least - usually through the use of chlorination or the use of ultraviolet light - or it may be necessary to undergo treatment, especially in the case of surface water.

The few degrees difference in temperature shouldn't make a difference, as it wouldn't be much different from the bottles being stored in a warmer place, like Calif or Arizona.

If you have municipal water, it may already be chlorinated, so there's probably not much need to do it twice. Contact your local water board and ask for a copy of the last water tests, if you don't get one normally.

Sue