I am sorry if this has already been covered, but if it has I have not found it. I have found articles that state that tap water (city) should be treated with clorox, and I have also found articles that say it has already been treated and does not need any additional treatment of clorox.

What is the correct way to store tap (city) water? I don't want to store water and not be able to use it. On the other hand it would be nice to just fill the two liter jugs from the tap and cap them without having to add drops of clorox. Help! I don't know what to do ....

-- Freda McClain (mcclain@coscc.cc.tn.us), June 08, 1999

Answers

The best thing to do is contact your Water Dept. and ask questions. Find out what is added and what the residual of Chlorine is --- they would probably even test it for you at your tap (a very simple procedure).

If you don't want to do that, you are probably safe either way. Most water from municipal supplies carries some chlorine residual, and it should be enough. But if you want to add a drop of Chlorox or other bleach per 2 liter pop bottle just to "be safe", it won't really hurt you (the amount of chlorine in you city water often varies anyway - ther is a fairly range of what is acceptable). If you really hate the chlorine taste, you will have it tested so you can have as low as residual as possible.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), June 08, 1999.

Jon, Thank you for the info. I will contact the water management in my area and ask them about the content of chemicals in the water and how well it will keep without additives.

-- Freda McClain (mcclain@coscc.cc.tn.us), June 08, 1999.

Freda -

I would go ahead and put some clorox in your water before you store it (the most common amount I have seen if 4 drops per gallon). If you pour the water into a pitcher and put a paper towel over the top and let it sit overnight, you will find that most of the objectionable taste will dissapate. The water will taste somewhat "flat" however, because you are "used to" some of that treated taste the way it comes from the tap. If you don't want to let it sit overnight, it still won't hurt you.

-- Valkyrie (Anon@please.net), June 08, 1999.

Safe Drinking Water Hotline is 1-800-426-4791

-- J (jart5@bellsouth.net), June 08, 1999.

If you can smell a slight hint of clorine, don't add any, if you let the water sit out over night and it tastes flat, pour it back in the bottle and shake it up, that adds air and " flavor "

-- CT (ct@no.yr), June 08, 1999.

I personally avoid drinking chlorinated water, since chlorination creates carcinogen in the drinking water. This is not my wild assed idea, it is a known fact. Check with EPA if you don't believe it. They allow its use only because it is safer to drink chlorinated water than to consume bacterialogical pathogens.

Anywhay, if you chlorinate the water you store, you might want to pass it through an activated charcoal filter. This will effectively remove most of the chlorine. Wheather it removes the carcinogens, I don't know.

Of course if you normally drink chlorinated water, you may as well add a drop of non scented bleach per quart of water. For that matter, I guess it won't kill anybody to drink chlorinated for just a few days.

-- malcolm drake (jumpoff@echoweb.net), June 08, 1999.

From the Chlorox site:

http://www.clorox.com/health/disaster.html#purify

Water should be stored in clean, sanitized containers with tight fitting screw-on caps. Clean containers with a sanitizing solution of 1 teaspoon household liquid bleach in 1 gallon of water. Pour this solution into the containers, let stand for 2 minutes, drain, then fill with tap water. Water containers should be labeled, stored in a cool, dark place, and the water replaced every six months.

Link http://www.clorox.com/health/disaster.html#purify

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 10, 1999.

Git,

Do you want to kill bacteria or do you want "whiter than white" intestines?

-- malcolm drake (jumpoff@echoweb.net), June 10, 1999.

Malcolm,

For the sake of avoiding misunderstanding, let me reformat the middle part of what Old Git posted and add some emphasis and comment:

Clean containers with a sanitizing solution of 1 teaspoon household liquid bleach in 1 gallon of water.

Pour this solution into the containers,
let stand for 2 minutes,
drain, [Note that this drains the sanitizing solution from the container.]
then fill with tap water. [Note that this refills the container with tap water.]

-- No Spam Please (nos_pam_please@hotmail.com), June 10, 1999.