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wikiHow to Store Water for Home Survival

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Many disasters that leave you stranded at home will cut clean and safe water supplies. Whether it's an earthquake, tsunami/floods, fire, terrorist attack, or some other disaster of natural or human-made cause, access to safe drinking water is essential for good survival. If you want to be prepared for such an event, place water storage at the top of your priorities.


  1. 1
    Work out your family's daily water needs. Add up the following to work out how much water you need to store (for a minimum of 3 days, preferably for longer) - each figure is daily:
    • For drinking, each person should have 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of potable water
    • For personal hygiene, each person should have 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of potable water
    • For sanitation (toilet), each person needs 2 to 7 gallons (7.6 - 26.5 liters) but this doesn't need to be potable water (drinkable water). If you are able to dig a pit toilet in your backyard, this level can drop a little provided you cover personal hygiene needs (hands, and cleaning up any fecal matter from the skin, such as for babies and diarrhea sufferers).
    • Don't forget pets. They will also need clean drinking water.
  2. 2
    Fill the containers with water to overflowing and then place the lid on top. Don't leave an air gap.
  3. 3
    Find suitable ways to store water. It is recommended that you have a variety of containers of varying sizes. While a tank or barrel of water might be a fantastic source of storing a lot of water, what if you have to take only what you can carry to go and survive somewhere else? What if older, frail, or sick people are left to fend for themselves and have to carry heavy water loads? A mixture of container sizes is better for covering all possible eventualities.
    • Choose food grade plastic for water storage containers, or storage tanks made for storing rainwater. Don't use plastics that will contaminate the water.
    • In the USA, you can use FDA approved DOT #34 opaque containers.
  4. 4
    Store the water. The length of time water can be stored is dependent on the container used, the temperature, the ability of light to get to it, etc. Contaminated water is no good to you, so follow these guidelines:
    • Use opaque containers for water. If you are buying bottled water as a back-up, revolve it every few months and replace with newer stock and either use the old stock or water your plants with it.
    • Store all water away from light. Don't give algae and other lifeforms the chance they're waiting for to grow.
    • Store the water away from anything that could contaminate it such as pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, gasoline, paint, or any other chemicals.
    • Don't store the water where it can freeze outside. An ice block isn't going to be useful when you have no heat to melt it. One exception to this is those living in a hot climate can store some of the water in the freezer as it will melt in the heat.
  5. 5
    Treat stored water if you intend to keep it longer than 6 months. If you don't want to treat the water, cycle it with fresh water and dispose of the stored water (or use it to water the garden).
  6. 6
    Label and cycle water. You need to date each bottle of water so that you know when it needs to be cycled. One rhythm that it's good to get into is changing your water supplies at the same time as placing new batteries in your smoke alarms and changing the clock for daylight savings.
  7. 7
    Learn how to treat water if needed. Water from the mains won't need treating, just cycling. Water from sources that are not treated can be treated as follows;
    • Use four drops of unscented household bleach per gallon of water (1 drop per liter of water).
    • Mix through well.
    • Alternatively, use a solution from a camping store or disaster preparation store that is made just for the purposes of treating water. Read up to find the one best suited to your needs and preferences.
  8. 8
    Store where it is easy to access. Think of storing it in different parts of the house in case there are problems getting to it, such as a collapsed or shut-off area. Having some in the garden shed or garage might be a good idea too.
  9. 9
    Know where else to get water from in an emergency. There are some other possible places to get water from in your home:
    • The hot water cylinder and header tanks contain potable water if supplied by mains water
    • Toilet cistern water is safe if you haven't used a chemical cleaner in it
    • Swimming pool water can be used for washing and sanitation but never drink it
    • Rivers and streams near your home can be used for fire-fighting purposes only; they are highly likely to be contaminated.

Community Q&A

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  • Always clean containers before storing water in them. Use household bleach or a suitable commercial cleaning preparation made for this purpose.
  • A portable container should not weigh over six gallons (22 liters). To see if a container is portable for you, fill it up and try carrying it. If you can't, then you need to get a smaller container for carrying purposes.
  • Supermarket supplied water is fine but needs to be cycled within 6 months to a year with fresh supplies.
  • Personal hygiene includes washing hands, cleaning teeth (also have plenty of floss available to make cleaning without water easier), and a quick body wash.


  • Discard any water that doesn't look clear. If you have no choice but to use it, treat it first.
  • If storing water that isn't from mains, such as a stream, well, or lake near your vacation cabin or cottage, etc., treat it prior to storage.
  • Don't use plastic milk containers to store water as these harbor bacteria and are very hard to clean.

Things You'll Need

  • Varied size water storage containers
  • Unscented household bleach
  • Water treatment liquid or tablets from camping store (optional but good to have; be sure to cycle these too to keep them in date)
  • Camping stove and fuel so that you can boil water if needed; never use in an unventilated space or indoors

Sources and Citations

  • Arthur T Bradley, Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness, pp. 85-86, (2010), ISBN 978-1453-67887-9 – research source

Article Info

Categories: Disaster Preparedness

In other languages:

Español: almacenar agua para la supervivencia en el hogar, Русский: правильно хранить воду дома, чтобы выжить, Português: Armazenar Água para Sobrevivência Doméstica, Italiano: Conservare l'Acqua per Sopravvivere in Casa

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