[Mr Ed]

I recently got three rectangular plastic tanks (40 gal or more 2 sizes) . I believe they are for RV/bus use. I thought about using my dehumidifier water to fill them.Then I read that it would make you sick. Although I would boil it if was for drinking or cooking or Use it the way it is to flush toilets. Or I could fill them with city water now. What problems arise in storing water as far as bacteria, algae? Also i was going to use a 12v bilge pump I can connect to a small solar panel/batery thing I got going. That way I could pump out older water as I add new. Thanks for any advice

 

[HuntingHawk]

The water from a dehumidifier is the same as water from an air conditioner. Its the bacteria that grows on the pan. Simply put, you are better off finding another source of water. And if you are having problem with lack of water, you probably don't have electricity either.

City water probably has a good amount of bleach in it. But for storage I would add another three drops per gallon.

55gal plastic barrels are cheap. You really want to look at a rain collection & storage system. This gives you a renewable source of water. From the barrel(s) you can take out what you need for flushing & such but only purify what needs purified. A 5gal bucket with a ceramic filter that drips into another 5gal bucket will give you the palatable water you need.

 

[Will2]

If the dehumidifier is clean perhaps you would be ok, not sure if there are salts but I know drinking pure distilled water or pure h20 is bad in large amounts.

None the less all water is yummy if you don't have any after about a week.. who cares you are dead anyway.. the last thing you are going to be worrying about is a bacterial infection the first will be your kidneys failing and dying of dehydration.

Get a water filter if you can then you should be good if it is like 0.002 micron etc.. I'm pretty sure you can drink piss with a suitable filter.

 

[Seneca]

I'd clean the tanks up with a 10% bleach solution and thoroughly rinse them out afterwards and then fill them with potable water. I like the idea of a 12v pump and solar for getting the water back out of the tank. Most RV water tanks are made from a whitish opaque nylon material that will let light in. These types of tanks should be stored in a darkened area after being filled.