Finding Better Food Suppliers

Posted on: 13 February 2017

Water is a basic survival item, but it's also one of the most frustrating to store. Even if you cut your water use down to a bare minimum, you still need a relatively large amount stored up per person per week. To find the right type of container, consider what conditions a full container might need -- and how you could accommodate that container given where you live.

Weight When Full

Large water containers are going to be very heavy when full -- think of how heavy one of those water cooler bottles is and realize that a storage container will be much bigger -- so large storage containers need to be in a place where they will not have to be moved. If you live in a home where you think you will need to move those containers (for example, you live in a small place and think you'll have to move containers out of the way to reach other supplies), you should stick with smaller, more portable containers.

Another concern is how to get water out of the container if it's too full for you to lift. Look for containers that can be used with a pump so that you can still access the water.

Placement

Be aware of how the placement of the containers can affect the water in them. Of particular concern is the effect of direct sunlight on metal containers. If you're storing the water outside, and you want to use a metal container like stainless steel, ensure you have a place that is shielded from direct sunlight. Or, if you're going to store the containers inside, say in your garage, and you're using glass, keep the containers away from anything that could fall on them, like shelving during a quake.

Materials

The flip side of choosing placement to suit containers is choosing container materials to suit placement. Plastic, for example, as long as it's food-grade and hasn't stored anything other than water before, is OK to use, and it's good for outdoor storage. Metal could work if your only storage space is in your garage because if something falls on the container, it's less likely to crumple or crack.

Camouflage

Don't forget camouflage -- unless you know for a fact that all your neighbors are stockpiling water as well, you don't want to let on that you have a ton of it lest people descend on your home to grab your supplies. Even indoors storage needs a hiding place. Smaller containers work well for this because you can bury those at the back of each closet or under beds. For larger containers, if you have an area where something covered with a tarp won't look odd (like near a pile of wood projects you're working on, so the tarp looks like it's covering tools), you could try placing them there.

Storing water can be done, but it takes creativity, especially if there are restrictions at your home where the containers can be placed. Keep looking, though, and choose a variety of sizes and materials to see what works best for you. For more information, talk to a professional like WaterBrick International.