I've started storing emergency water (partially due to the volatility of this country) and the cheapest method I've found so far is buy 2 liters for my soda then refill those containers with water.
The soda is better from bottles but sacrifices must be made.
Anything I'm overlooking that results in nothing extra being spent out of a normal food budget?
Where is legendary spammer shill '100 year old rainwater barrel filtration' guy when you need him.
You can also buy gallon sized water bottles for dirt cheap at many different grocery stores. I have like 20 of them. The GV(walmart) brand is 60 cents a gallon
Fill up bottles as you say and store as many in your freezer(s) as possible. If power goes out they will help keep your freezer cold and you can move some to the fridge if necessary to help prevent food spoilage at least for a while. Or better yet, move your fridge food to a cooler packed with the frozen bottles.
That's a neat idea for apartment living. Creative, thanks.
Your hot water heater, assuming you have a traditional one and not little heat-on-demand units, is a valuable emergency water storage tank. Make sure everyone in your household knows that, and in the event of a water emergency, shut off the supply and outlet valves immediately so no contaminated water gets in and nobody wastes it by thoughtlessly flipping on a hot water faucet. There's always a drainage outlet near the bottom, and that's where you tap into your emergency drinking water supply. There can be some sediment build-up at the bottom of tanks (usually below the drainage outlet, but often close enough to be visible in water coming from the drainage outlet. Remember, it's just the same stuff that's always in your tap water, in concentrated form. For drinking use, let any cloudy-looking water drawn from there sit for a couple of hours before using, to let most of the stirred up sediment settle to the bottom of the container. Then carefully pour into a clean container, leaving as much of the sediment behind as possible.
Tap water stored in soda bottles will work as long as you properly disinfect the bottles and caps when filling them.
First wash the bottles thourouly with dish soap and hot water.
Then disinfect the bottles with a diluted bleach solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach per quart of water.
Fill the bottles up with tap water and put in 1 drop of bleach per liter (so 2 drops in a 2 liter bottle) and seal tightly.
Store in a dark area and it'll last a year or more. I refill my emergency supply each year.
Used BLUE food storage 55 gallon drums are cheap. Purifing tablets. Vaccum sealed. Works well
Seems like a lot of people here underestimate how much water a person needs. Two liters and gallon jugs aren't going to do you well. A large water heater may give you up to 100 gallons of water. A single person could live a few months of this, but most people will have at least one other person, if not a family. It will drop FAST.
Part of the reason they want to stuff us all into apartments and tiny homes is to remove our ability to store things, such as basic living needs like water. One user here posted about having a 10,000 gal water tank which is what everyone here should have. But sadly, many people do not own their home or apartment and cannot install such a tank.
Of course, it's not stupid to continue storing water in small containers as you can. Any water you have will help. I recommend looking into nearby water sources, and methods to cleanse that water for consumption. Also water to utilize for non-drinking purposes, so you save the clean stuff for your stomach.
Good luck.
I'm planning a rain collection system incorporated with my new house plans. 10,000 gallon storage tanks aren't very expensive. They come in all shapes and sizes. I'm planning at least 3, maybe 4.
If SHTF every home in America has a hot water heater full of clean water.