Water Storage – the Key to Survival
Are you prepared for hurricane season or other kinds of natural or man-made disasters? According to top experts, in order to protect your home and family, you must be informed and make the proper preparations. Water storage should be a high priority but how you store it is critical.
As a Florida born, New Orleans grown and a current Texas resident, I am no stranger to preppin' for a hurricane. While growing up, I remember watching my mother scrub and clean the tub before a pending storm. Little did I know at the time, this action would play a large role in my life.
FEMA recommends having a least a three-day supply of water and storing at least one gallon of water per person per day. While the amount of water is important, how you get it and how it is stored is even more important. While storing water in a large container sounds like a novel idea, it has its drawbacks. Cleaning a large container can be cumbersome and it frankly takes up too much space! Others think they can just rush to the grocery store at the last minute. Have you ever been to the store before an anticipated storm? The milk is gone, the bread shelves are empty and the bottled water is nowhere to be found.
FEMA and other emergency management outlets recommend filling a bathtub to store water in an emergency. This was a great idea and has been done for years. Water stored in this fashion, however, is more commonly used for activities such as bathing or flushing but not recommended for consumption. That is where the bathtub liner comes into play. It’s a simple concept – you lay the liner in the tub, attach it to the faucet, fill it up and then once full, attach a locking mechanism and the siphon pump and voila – 65 gallons of fresh drinking water. The standard tub holds 70 gallons and it is recommended to fill the tub with 65 gallons to come in under the tub line. It is not recommended to put 100 gallons in a standard tub.
The bathtub liner provides a safe option for storing water. I recall, as a child, having to evacuate before a hurricane to return home to our half-filled tub that was dirty from backflow. Plus, I was never really on board with drinking water directly out of a place where we showered our dirty bodies. A bathtub liner allows you to fill it quickly, evacuate, and return home knowing you have potable water. Your water supply will be protected from the elements that a storm might bring, if the bathtub bladder is used. There are a few key things to remember about this type of water storage. First, it’s temporary – you fill the liner with water when you need it and then discard the liner when finished. Because you can’t completely dry the liner, it’s unsafe to use it again due to possible bacteria, mold, etc. Second, the liner is disposable – the bag is made of 4mil LLDPE and BPA free plastic (like a thicker version of a zip lock bag) and it is recyclable. Third, the liners are compact and easy to store – you can put it on your shelf, know it’s there and hope you don’t have to use it.
Storing water is the key to surviving a storm or disaster. I’ve always recommended boiling or filtering water, if possible, but remember this; you can’t boil, filtrate or even drink water that isn’t already stored.
