Ok, so in keeping with my July preparedness goal, I have been getting rid of the water from my 55 gallon drums in preparation for cleaning and refilling. (My plan was to siphon it out with a hose but my super tough husband just tipped them over for me...much easier!) I made some discoveries that I thought I would share.
1. I have water stored in both metal barrels and the plastic ones. The metal ones have an enamel lining so I didn't think rust would be a problem, BUT alas, they are beginning to rust anyway. So I will probably line them somehow and use them to store wheat bags or something. However, the water from those smelled and tasted much better (yes, my husband actually tasted it!) than from the plastic ones. Hmmmm...
2. Even though I left a good 10 inches of headspace at the top of each barrel to allow for freezing/expansion, those that were stored outdoors still bulged out the bottom from freezing. My husband explained to me that it was because the water freezes from top first, so it ends up expanding out the bottom instead. Why didn't I think of that? So, the barrels are now a little tipsy...but they'll still work. I guess the lesson learned here is to store them indoors if possible (like in a shed or garage).
3. Though I thoroughly disinfected each barrel before filling it, there was still some suspicious looking matter at the bottom of the barrels. Nothing a little Clorox won't fix, but this is why it's very important to have a filter (we are selling them this month! see above post or email me at foodstoragenow@gmail.com) to be able to clean up your water even if it has been stored well.
If you know some great tips for storing water in these huge barrels please post them in the comments so we can all figure it out together! Remember that water is one of the top three items to have in your storage! Don't be without it, summer is a great time to get it in order!
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