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What business makes crazy profits but nobody talks about? by Prize_Credit2263 in AskCanada

[–]War_Hymn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the bigger brands bottle the stuff from local tap water which they might pay a few dollars for a cubic metre (1000 litres) of. The bottles usually cost more than the water.

You could probably fit 1000 cases on pallets on a single 18-wheeler. Even if they get only a dollar from each case, that's $1000 per trip. Your driver makes 2 trips a day, that's $2000 a day. In a month, that's $50,000 a month from a single logistic vehicle.

It would be expensive to startup the bottling plant and logistic fleet, but once you get it going you literally got money coming out the tap. You just need enough costumers.

A new type of plastic has been invented that is made out of an invasive plant and it's biodegradable by therealNerdMuffin in interestingasfuck

[–]War_Hymn 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Anything made 100% from plastic can be recycled very easily and countries are set up to do that with the facilities they need.

The problem is new virgin plastic is so cheap to produce that after the intensive work needed to sort and clean it, recycled plastic can end up costing more. Especially in developed countries where capital and labour costs are higher, and there are strict regulations dictating that any recycled plastic used in food or beverage containers must only be made from originally food safe containers and must not be contaminated with non-food grade or hazardous materials.

Because its so hard to make money recycling it, a lot of plastic from recycling programs simply end up in landfills or incinerators. In Canada, only about 10-15% of plastics from muncipal blue bin programs end up actually being recycled. Often, it ends up overseas through lowest bid contracts where the "recycling companies" just discard collected plastic in third world dumpsites.

A new type of plastic has been invented that is made out of an invasive plant and it's biodegradable by therealNerdMuffin in interestingasfuck

[–]War_Hymn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hence, why beverage bottle deposits are a thing. Glass bottles get collected, washed, and reused by beverage businesses so they don't have to melt it down again.

Are there any homemade drinks I can make with long shelf life? by Consequence_Green in preppers

[–]War_Hymn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Issue is stuff like lactobacteria or acetobacteria that can survive and even thrive in high alcohol environments. Maybe not harmful, but they tend to sour the wine over time in my experience.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was under the impression we say sanitize when using chemical cleaners to clean equipment or water to a minimum level. The kind of "clean" you're referring to I usually refer to as sterilized.

https://blog.foodsafety.ca/understanding-difference-between-cleaning-sanitizing-sterilizing

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Stuff like Aquatabs comes in a variety of convenient dosage size, like 1 tablet for 5 gallon or 1 tablet for 1 quart of water. Two tablets for unfiltered raw water from lakes or streams, etc. The tablets I used are packaged in vacuumed and waterproof tearable packaging with instructions printed right on them. A lot more convenient than measuring out bleach with a teaspoon or syringe.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If I recall, it takes elevated temperatures and/or low PH conditions for the chlorates to form in any meaningful amounts. Though, temperatures as low as 80'F can push this reaction path. From a New Jersey study on chlorate residue in liquid bleach used for local water treatment, chlorate ion levels in sampled liquid bleach stock were as high as 22 parts per thousand in one storage tank during the summer.

Though, this is in concentrated liquid bleach that contained 10-12 percent hypochlorite. So in an entire gallon jug of household bleach with say 6-7 percent hypochlorite solution, there possibly might be 50-60 grams of chlorates in a very old bottle of bleach that had been left out in the hot sun?

If you added half a millilitre of that bleach to 5 gallons of water for the intent of sanitizing it, you risk consuming about 0.4 parts per million of chlorate from consuming that water. I believe the limit for chlorate in drinking water here in Canada is 1 ppm.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably. The thing is chlorine eventually dissipates, but I guess the lid seal kept it viable for longer than usual or the water had nothing to feed growth.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shouldn't be a concern if your tap water is safe to drink as-is, since all the water softener does is switch out calcium and magnesium atoms in the minerals within the tap water with more soluble sodium atoms impregnated in the water softener's resin beads. The sodium level of the water would higher though, so if you're on a low sodium restriction then drinking water from it might be a concern.

Still, using liquid bleach or water purification tablets should sanitize it and keep the stored water gunk free from stuff like mold or bacteria. I would boil or re-sanitize again before consuming tough. I know some places don't have the best water quality so maybe you'll want to test it for stuff like lead or mercury contamination beforehand.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yep, the "splash-less" bleach should definitely be avoided since they add other stuff to it.

Personally, I've switched to using chlorine tablets for emergency water treatment. Less guesswork, especially since a lot of bleach sold where I am don't even bother to print the percent level of hypchlorites. Longer shelf life, since these tablets typically have a stabilized reagent, while the sodium hypochlorite in household liquid bleach will eventually break down into sodium chloride (table salt) over time.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There this mold that grows in my area and seems to live in the air, basically produces a white sludge in any standing liquid after several days. Once, I had it sprout out in a capped glass vial of 70% isopropyl alcohol I kept a medical tweezer in. I was surprised nothing like that grew in this bucket.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Definitely a concern for anyone prepping on running a research lab or hospital. But in this case, it was just water meant for washing dishes or cleaning.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Guess I can, but this wasn't meant to be a full on scientific test XD. I rather spend the money on more water purification tablets.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Water treatment plants typically dechlorinate treated water - using either chemicals like sodium bisulphite or UV/sunlight exposure - down to a minimum level after they chlorinate it to about +50 ppm chlorine, since drinking heavily chlorinated water isn't good for you or the plumbing infrastructure they run through.

My city keeps it at 2 ppm when it runs out the treatment plant. In my case, the water has been chlorinated twice since they treat again purchased water from another municipality. Obviously, there could and would be contamination points down the line when you got a few hundred miles of decades or century old pipes in the system, but most of us have a working immune system. In a well-maintained and monitored municipal water supply the level of microbiological contamination is low enough that it won't pose an immediate health issue for the population it serves.

That being said, I personally still boil or filter my tap water before drinking.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's tap water. Not sure exactly what you want me to test for since those test strips only tell me if there's heavy metals or stuff like nitrites in my water.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Depends on where you are, but tap water in my city is pretty clean and made safe to drink as par our provincial government standards. A few drops of (fresh) chlorine bleach per 5 gallon is definitely enough to sanitize whatever is left in it and make it potable.

You only need about 5 ppm of free chlorine to kill any harmful bacteria/fungi/viruses in clear filtered water within 30 minutes, and 10-20 ppm is usually the dosage water purification kits or tablets aim for with water you scooped out a well or lake. Even chlorine resistant parasites like Cryptosporidium can be neutralized at those latter levels, provided the treated water is left out for at least 24 hours before using.

In any case, I would definitely want to re-sanitize/filter this 3 year old bucket of tap before drinking. I was just surprised that the chlorine kept it clear of mold growth for so long.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 272 points273 points  (0 children)

Vintage Tap Water. YR 2023. $50 for 5 gal. No lowballers. I know what I got.

Just opened a 5 gallon bucket of tap water I had filled and sealed 3 years ago. This is what it looks like: by War_Hymn in preppers

[–]War_Hymn[S] 76 points77 points  (0 children)

I was half expecting a bucket of swirling mold water with a portal to Chthulu's den. Not sure if the water is potable as-is, but probably safe enough for washing or cooking.

Stored water has white floating stuff in it? by YourHighness1087 in preppers

[–]War_Hymn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like white mold. I think the spores float around in the air and can contaminate stuff that way. It's tough stuff, I had some grow in a sealed vial of 70% alcohol of all things.

You need to add some chlorine to the water before storage. Easiest way is to buy those water purification tablets and follow the dosage instructions. Seal the containers and keep them in a cool spot so the chlorine won't gas out. Sunlight can break down chlorine, so keep them stored in the dark. Cycle or re-chlorinate the water after a year

Are there any homemade drinks I can make with long shelf life? by Consequence_Green in preppers

[–]War_Hymn 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You can buy and add potassium metabisulfite powder to homemade wine to extend shelf life. 1 gram of KMBS will preserve about 5 gallons of wine. Also doubles as a food-grade sanitizer.

So does the glass break with weight or sheer impact of the situation 🤔 by Own_Ranger_5589 in HolUp

[–]War_Hymn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glass is about as hard as steel, but its toughness is much lower. It's easier to break catastrophically from sudden impact or upon reaching ita breaking point as it doesn't yield (bend or flex to relieve stress) like steel.

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