I've got no water supply in my workshop. If I fill up a 10 gallon water dispenser (like a camping bottle), how long would water be considered safe to drink, before I'd have to consider changing it/refilling the container/boiling it before drinking?
Drinking water - how long is it safe to store?
- Thread starter TheWalrus
- Start date
ColoradoMech
Active member
A water dispenser where you are not coming in direct contact or opening it to the elements would last a few weeks id imagine. The biggest thing is not introducing any way of contamination. No different than the water cooler in our office and that jug gets changed every 2 months or so, never tastes any different. You could drop an iodine tablet in it after awhile if you get paranoid. Or add something like a Brita filter into the system. Id just get a water cooler, their pretty in expensive and the bottles are all sealed and you can keep a few laying around and they come exchange them at your house if your in town.
PlanB
Well-known member
If its tap water and clean container, it should be good for as long as there is a chlorine residual. But no one's going to be checking the residual, so either change it daily or go with a water cooler.
Metal-Marc
Well-known member
nadogail
Well-known member
Unopened bottled water is good for at least a year. Boiled tap water in a closed container about the same.
Crazyjake8493
Well-known member
If it's just for drinking water, I'd buy a case of bottled water as needed. Or the exchangeable 5-gallon jugs with a water cooler or a hand pump.
If it is in plastic and it see sunlight... then 12 hours.
In glass and shade, then until it taste bad.
If something in between, then a time in between.
When in doubt, swap it out.
Walkers
Well-known member
The water itself is already billions of years old, it doesn’t spoil. It can grow algae if exposed to sunlight. The things that ages out water is the plastic from the container. A year is generally accepted as safe for non BPA containers.
This. Bottled water is good for 1-2 years depending on what brand it is.
DrinkMan
Well-known member
If container is properly sanitized prior to filling, if it is not exposed to light, and if somewhat cool (less than 75 degrees) - about 6 months to be safe. I'd use 3 months considering you can change it easily. If you keep it under 45 degrees - probably a year.
Sanitizing -for commercial use: properly diluted buffered chlorine solution (about 100 ppm) for about 10 minutes exposing all the surfaces and inside of the cap. For home use, a little bleach (about 4 teaspoons per gallon) for between 30 seconds and a minute would do since you may not have access to commercial chlorine sanitizers. Let it air dry completely before filling.
NOTE - THIS IS ASSUMING YOU ARE FILLING IT WITH SAFE DRINING WATER.
Sanitizing -for commercial use: properly diluted buffered chlorine solution (about 100 ppm) for about 10 minutes exposing all the surfaces and inside of the cap. For home use, a little bleach (about 4 teaspoons per gallon) for between 30 seconds and a minute would do since you may not have access to commercial chlorine sanitizers. Let it air dry completely before filling.
NOTE - THIS IS ASSUMING YOU ARE FILLING IT WITH SAFE DRINING WATER.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
The 1 gallon bottled drinking water from Costco has an expiration date of around 1 year.