Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Does anybody know how long water in gallon plastic milk jugs will hold up?

I'm mainly concerned with chemicals leaching into the water. We had a close encounter with a hurricane last year, and I've got a couple of cases left in our storage room. Was wondering if it's time to toss it and restock.

The room is dark, but can get pretty warm. Hard to deal with the southern heat.

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

I refill all jugs and water bottles. I keep them separated from the unopened water. the refills can be used for dish/clothes washing or can be filtered for drinking. I've yet to have a problem with the plastic breaking and leaking from old age.

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

I'm not familiar with "Ozarka", but I have some 5 gallon Culligan "office water cooler" type bottles, still sealed.

I mean, it's sealed water... it's never going to "go bad". Right?

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

http://tinyurl.com/4ktbyy

Water Preserver Concentrate

Emergency purification concentrate for treating large amounts of water for emergency storage. Treats 55 gallons of water using tap water. Water Preserver is the first and only product regognized and proven effective for 5-year water storage, registered and licensed by federal and state EPA. Water Preserver was scientifically tested for 10 years to ensure its potency for 5 year storage. Guaranteed 100% effective. Water Preserver is a proprietary formula of stabilized, ph-balanced sodium hypochlorite with highly effective residual action that kills bacteria, viruses, mole and fungus. Ensure that your stock of water is always ready, no matter when you need it.



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Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Sluggo,

If you really mean that those containers have at one time been used for milk then you should not be storing water in them at all. If that is the case throw them out and find new containers.

Maxine

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Bleach bottles make excellent drinking water storage containers

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Nah, they are new, sealed gallons of water in the same type of plastic container that milk comes in. I was just curious if there are known issues with the plastic breaking down. Don't want any invisible poisons in the water if I can help it.

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Milk and water are usually sold in HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene) jugs with the distinctive white pebbled appearance. You will NEVER get the milk taste out of the bottle, and the jug tends to crack at the mold seam. Not always, but there is a strong tendency.

Soda pop and fruit juices are packed in PET (PolyEthylene Teraphthalate) which is clear, withstands pressure, and doesn't crack.If your jugs haven't cracked yet, transfer the water to PET bottles before they do.

If you buy larger containers, make sure they are intended for water. If you don't, the water will be undrinkable because of the butylene in it. (I think it's butylene. It tastes like the inside of a tire.)

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

Here is some good info about plastics. Beware recycle symbols #7. Do not buy juices or water with these.
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http://planetgreen.discovery.com/hom...by-number.html


Get to Know Your Recyclable Plastics by Number
Here's the scoop on which ones are safe and easy to recycle

By Collin Dunn
Corvallis, OR, USA | Tue May 06 01:20:00 EDT 2008

We've all seen the little numbers living inside the telltale recycling arrows, and most of us know that they refer to the composition of the containers, which also determines whether or not they can be recycled. Recently, word has spread that some of these plastic leach toxic chemicals and nasties like hormone disruptors into whatever they are in contact with; not something you want to be putting on your lips or in your mouth. So which is which?

#1 - PET or PETE: polyethylene terephthalate is used in many soft drink, water, and juice bottles. It's easily recycled, doesn't leach, and accepted by most curbside municipal programs and just about all plastic recycling centers.

#2 - HDPE: high-density polyethylene is used in milk jugs, detergent and shampoo bottles, and, because it hasn't been found to leach, will replace polycarbonate in a new Nalgene bottle (more on that in a sec). It has also has not been found to leach, and is widely accepted and easily recycled.

#3 - PVC: Vinyl or polyvinyl chloride is a bad, bad plastic. Soft PVC often contains and can leach toxic phthalates, and can also off-gas chemicals into the air. It's used in some cling wraps (yikes!), many children's toys, fashion accessories, shower curtains, and detergent and spray bottles. To top it off, PVC isn't recyclable, either.

#4 - LDPE: low-density polyethylene is used most plastic shopping bags, some cling wraps, some baby bottles and reusable drink & food containers. It hasn't been found to leach, and is recyclable at most recycling centers (and many grocery stores take the shopping bags) but generally not in curbside programs.

#5 - PP: polypropylene can be found in some baby bottles, lots of yogurt and deli takeout containers, and many reusable food and drink containers (you know, the Tupperware- and Rubbermaid-types). It hasn't been found to leach, and is recyclable in some curbside programs and most recycling centers.

#6 - PS: polystyrene is used in takeout food containers, egg containers, and some plastic cutlery, among other things. It has been found to leach styrene--a neurotoxin and possible human carcinogen--and has been banned in cities like Portland, Ore. and San Francisco. Still, it persists and is not often recyclable in curbside programs, though some recycling centers will take it.

#7 - Everything else, and this is where the waters get a bit murky. First, and perhaps most notably, #7 includes PC, or polycarbonate, which has been making headlines lately because it's used in Nalgene's reusable water bottles and has been found to leach bisphenol A, a hormone disruptor that mimics estrogen; as such, Nalgene is switching to HDPE, a less harmful plastic.

But that's just the tip of the #7 iceberg; though you're less likely to see them in the grocery store than some of the others, the burgeoning crop of bioplastics (made from plant-based material rather than the usual petroleum base for plastic) also falls under this umbrella, for now, at least. Most common of these is PLA, or polyactide, which is most commonly made with corn, these days. It isn't easily recycled, though it can be composted in industrial composting operations--your kitchen composter most likely doesn't create enough heat to help it break down.

So, while cutting back on plastic packaging is probably the greenest way to go, when it comes to accruing new, we recommend you stick to the less toxic, more recyclable numbers. Learn more from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's ::Smart Plastics Guide.

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

water in any jug is better then no water

Re: Water in plastic milk jugs
 

What about the 5 (or is it 6) gallon office-sized Culligan water cooler bottles? I looked on the bottles I have stored and they don't have any identification marks like those above... just the arrowed triangle thing with a 7 in the middle.