if yes.how

-- please help (9days@d.f), December 22, 1999

Answers

I'm storing water in trash cans. You need to find some food grade bags to line them with if you are going to drink the water. If your going to wash or flush with it don't need to line them.

-- && (&&@&&.&), December 23, 1999.

Many plastic garbage bins contain toxic materials. You must use food grade liners for your family's safety.

-- Ruth Edwards (REath29646@aol.com), December 23, 1999.

personally, i bought the food grade plastic liners for my $7 40+ gallon trash cans in which i am storing water. but if i couldn't find HDPE trash cans (which you can use without a liner), for short term emergency storage of water, i WOULD simply wash out (very thoroughly) the LDPE cans and use em!! slightly tainted water (how much absorbtion of chemicals can there be in a few days?) is better than no water at all. buy drinking in bottles and use this as last resort BUT HAVE WATER. then if you have to use this route and nothing serious happens in the first few days--see if you can find a better option for long term storage.

-- tt (cuddluppy@nowhere.com), December 23, 1999.

Be aware that the seams on the plastic trash cans may not be strong enough to withstand the pressure from too much water.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), December 23, 1999.

opps,

The fact that plastic is labeled HDPE does NOT, repeat NOT, mean that it is food grade and therefore won't leach toxics. It simply means that it is made of High Density Poly Ethylene.

That said, garbage bins usually release toxic materials.

-- (4@5.6), December 23, 1999.

Rinse with hot soapy water, then concentrated bleach solution, 1 gal of bleach to one trashcan of water. Then rinse some more.

Drink if you HAVE to. I would rather risk cancer in 20 years than dehydration in a week.

The average house has 60+ gallons at hand, even without extra storage. 40+ in the hot water heater, two 5 gallon toliet tanks, plus another 10 gallons in the house pipes. That is a months worth of drinking water right there.

If the cities are down for more than 10 days, might as well bend over and KYAGB.

-- woody (woody11420@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

I had an idea, and wanted to pass it on. It is the washing machine itself. It can hold around 15 gallons of water, so I am going to fill mine up the night before for that little extra bit of water, thought this might help a few of you who need any extra spaces one could get.

Merry Christmas to all. Beth

-- Beth (craig@icu2.net), December 24, 1999.

Should be ok if the info from rubbermaid in this thread is correct and you have the right bins:

Help needed on water storage containers please...

-- Interested Spectator (is@the_ring.side), December 24, 1999.

9days:

Check out my post of 30 Sept. about what I heard directly from Rubbermaid. http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch- msg.tcl?msg_id=001TPZ (third response down). Concerns about ability of the bin to hold up under the weight of the water are valid - I would stick to the round ones as opposed to the squared off ones. My test using my two square ones resulted in them toppling over after a few days (I was "testing" them outside, so it wasn't a problem). Check out the url for more info (I don't know how to link).

Regards,

E.M.

-- Eyell Makedo (make_do@hotmail.com), December 25, 1999.

YES!! forget the square/wheeled garbage cans. the wheels come off and you have a heck of a lot of water that might not want to stay put.

-- tt (cuddluppy@nowhere.com), December 26, 1999.

1 gal of bleach to one trashcan of water...

Laughing hysterically !!!!!!!!!

8 drops per gallon, or about 1/4 Cup per 55 gallon drum.

Bleach is a POISON if used in high enough concentration. The guy above must have a death wish!

-- Dennis (djolson@pressenter.com), December 26, 1999.