What To Do When You Unexpectedly Need To Store Water?

Anybody who has ever lived in a hurricane-prone zone and implemented any kind of preparedness measures is familiar with the notion of filling your bathtub with water in case local supplies become unavailable.

However, there are more devastating occurrences that may leave you without water than just storms. The kinds we're worried with here, on the other hand, are the ones that come with some kind of early notice, such as wildfires, floods, and other types of extreme weather.

We trust you have some water storage and water sources set up in advance to prepare for devastating catastrophes that occur with warning, as well as emergencies that come with no notice at all. This list might include indoor storage barrels, rain barrels beneath your downspouts, plastic bottles of water in the fridge, and maybe a well. In addition, a backup generator will also be needed for the pump.

However, for this brief part, we'll discuss how to "top off" your water supply in cases when there is a warning.

So, other than your tub, where else in the house might you keep additional water?

• The washing machine: Start the cold water cycle on your washing machine and then turn it off. Test yours to see if the switch or disconnecting it is the best method to turn it off.
  
  
• Garbage cans: Kitchen garbage cans come in a variety of sizes and can store anywhere from 5 to 30 gallons. When filling it, place a garbage bag in it to keep the water clean and to assist seal any gaps in the can that you may not be aware of. Tip: When purchasing a kitchen garbage can, purchase two. Check them out in the shop to see how nicely they stack one on top of the other, then maintain them that way when you get home. You'll forget you have two of them, but when the time comes to use them for water storage, you'll have twice the capacity of your garbage can.
  
  
• Outside garbage cans: Many households have big, wheeled plastic garbage cans with a capacity of 60 gallons or more. Most of us, however, do not maintain these cans completely clean, so if you store water in them, you will almost certainly just utilize that water for utility purposes, such as flushing toilets.
  
  
• Unorthodox water storage locations: There are a lot of locations throughout the home where we can store water or utilize water that we can fill off right now. Pet water bowls, counter-top water filtration pitchers, refrigerator water jugs, plant watering cans, and aquariums and fish bowls are just a few examples.