I stick with food-grade barrels and add a tiny bit of plain bleach—never had issues after a year. Ever try boiling before storing or is that overkill?

Never bothered boiling before storage—seems like extra work unless you're dealing with sketchy source water. I use food-grade drums too, rotate every 12-18 months, and a small amount of unscented bleach (the CDC ratios) has kept everything solid. Tried water preserver concentrate once but didn't notice any difference vs. bleach, except it was pricier. Anyone else notice a taste change using those concentrates?

I’ve used unscented bleach per CDC guidelines in 5-gal food-grade jugs—keeps fine for a year, no weird taste. Ever had algae crop up even after bleach?

Food-grade barrels here too, and plain bleach—haven’t had algae problems as long as I keep them out of sunlight. Did notice water picks up a bit of plastic taste after a year, but nothing too bad. Never tried the concentrates, just feels like one more thing to buy. Curious if anyone’s tried glass jugs or is that just too much hassle for big storage?

EchoTangoFox said:

Never bothered boiling before storage—seems like extra work unless you're dealing with sketchy source water. I use food-grade drums too, rotate every 12-18 months, and a small amount of unscented bleach (the CDC ratios) has kept everything solid. Tried water preserver concentrate once but didn't notice any difference vs. bleach, except it was pricier. Anyone else notice a taste change using those concentrates?

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That matches my experience—bleach (the straight-up CDC ratio kind) works just fine and is way more budget-friendly. I tried water preserver concentrate once and honestly couldn’t tell any difference taste-wise either, EchoTangoFox. Never seen a real benefit for the extra cost. I stick with food-grade drums, like you, and just make sure they’re sealed well and kept somewhere dark. Have you ever had any issues with drum lids developing leaks over time

Bleach has always served me well for long-term water storage, especially sticking to the CDC ratios. I’ve mostly used food-grade 55-gallon barrels and kept them in my coolest, darkest corner of the basement—never had algae or serious leaks, though

Glass jugs are great for taste but just so heavy and a pain for big batches—anyone ever try lining metal containers with beeswax, or is that just an old wives’ tale?

Never tried beeswax lining on metal, but I’ve heard mixed things—seems fiddly. Anyone actually had water go off in glass jugs after a year or more?

Glass jugs always seemed too risky for me—breaks way too easy, especially in a crowded storage spot! Have you noticed any odd smells in water stored in glass after a year?

PrepperLinda65 said:

Never bothered boiling before storage—seems like extra work unless you're dealing with sketchy source water. I use food-grade drums too, rotate every 12-18 months, and a small amount of unscented bleach (the CDC ratios) has kept everything solid.

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Honestly, I’m with you about boiling being unnecessary if your source is reliable and you’re using clean, food-grade barrels. I go the bleach route too, sticking to CDC’s guidelines on amounts (about 1/8 teaspoon per gallon), and haven’t had any issues even after a year-plus in storage. The only time I boiled was after pulling rainwater off my garage roof that looked a little funky, but for tap water—nope, not worth the effort.

As for water preserver concentrates, I tried those too, just to satisfy my curiosity. I couldn't tell any real difference in taste or clarity, like you said, except my wallet felt lighter. I feel like the bleach is tried-and-true, and if it’s good enough for NASA’s prep protocols, it’s good enough for my jazz nights under the stars. Do you flush and refill right at the 12-month mark, or do you push it a bit longer when life gets busy? Sometimes mine ends up sitting closer to 18 months before I remember to swap it out and haven’t noticed any issues