How long can you keep bottled H2o stored?

Forever?

It's water, there isn't exactly anything that can rot or go rancid.

Stupid question, I know.  I was trying to prove a point to the old lady.

Keep it out of direct sunlight, it should last forever.

Check the expiration date on the bottled water...[:)]

The one I'm drinking now says May 1, 2004.

There should be an expiration date on the bottle.

In theory it should last awhile. But depending on conditions, it might not.

Av.

Realistically I think it'll last a long time if not forever.  Sure, some might go bad but I think the bottles are more or less airtight.  Plus if it does go bad you can always boil it to kill the bad stuff...sure it might not taste good but if you're in a bad situation drinking the smelly bad tasting water is a lot better than dieing from thirst...

The water lasts as long as the container is intact. Plastic decays over time, cans rust, but other than that, indefinetely.

I told her "Take a few bottles of water with you in the 4runner" (We live 15 miles past the Indian Res, nothing, and mean nothing between the I-10 and our new house...)

She says to me, it goes bad!

I say, "No, honey- it TASTES bad, but its good.

She says "prove it to me"

For water to go "bad" in the biologic sense, it would have to contain some sort of microbe or algae.  Since bottled water (mineral or distilled) is supposed to be free of such contaminants, there's no worry.  

If your wife is worried about water going "bad" because of some sort of chemical breakdown, I think water (H-O-H) is already pretty stable.  It isn't going to break its bonds lose one of the hydrogen atoms. I've read somewhere that distilled water can become ionized.  If true, that doesn't mean it isn't potable, no?

So short of a breach in the container and subsequent contamination by some other element, you're good to go.

good point, she is always right, and I am always wrong, and i will never say "See!  I told you so!"

[xx(]

If this involved someone other than a spouse, I'd take the opposite and enforce the belief that water goes bad by acquiring an extra couple of neutrons and becomes heavy water.  And as we all know, heavy water is definitely post-ban.

Why you trying to argue with a woman?

Just go out, buy a couple of bottles of water, put them in her 4Runner, and tell her they’re there if she ever needs them.

Personally, I just fill up a couple of empty Pepsi 2 liter bottles with tap water and replace the water every year or so.  Water is also handy if your radiator goes or if you drop a Big Mac in your lap.

Take an unopened bottle to a local bacteriology testing lab.  They are in my Yellow Pages under "Laboratories - Testing."  They will give you the whole read out on bacteria, heavy metals, E. Coli & a lot of other things that you don't want to know about.

Take a sample of your tap water, too.  It's probably not as clean as the bottled water.

Many years ago, in WI, the state Dept. of Health would test the water for you for free if you had a new well or pump, but they probably won't do it anymore.

Tres apropos:
[url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020522/hl_nm/water_microbes_1]Bottled Water Can Harbor Microbes[/url]
[i]
Wed May 22,10:29 AM ET
By Anne Harding
[/i]
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters Health) - Just because water comes in a bottle doesn't mean it's sterile, according to an expert who spoke here Tuesday at the American Society for Microbiology's annual meeting.

"There is a misconception that bottled water is free from microbes. It is not," said Dr. Fred Rosenberg of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. But, he added, "If you are a healthy individual, there's probably little to fear from it."

However, it is not a great idea to share bottled water after it has been opened, or to leave an open bottle sitting around in warm weather for too long, Rosenberg told Reuters Health.

While there haven't been widespread outbreaks of illness linked to consumption of contaminated bottled water, Rosenberg said, bottled water can indeed contain microbes at levels capable of making a person with a weak immune system sick. Bacteria may come from the water source, or can be introduced during the bottling process.

The US does not monitor bottled water for the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause illness, is often resistant to antibiotics and is a reliable indicator that contamination has occurred during bottling, according to Rosenberg.

The US Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) (FDA) has said such testing would be too expensive, he noted, but both Europe and Canada monitor bottled water for this bug.

The FDA does watch bottled water for contamination with coliform bacteria. But standards for municipal water--which is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)--are actually tougher. While the FDA allows for the presence of tiny amounts of coliform bacteria in 1 out of 10 bottles tested, the EPA has zero tolerance.

Glass bottles, the researcher said, are less hospitable to growth of bacteria than plastic ones. And the organism that causes cholera can survive in flat bottled water, but dies off in carbonated water within a day.

                       As bottled water is capable of harboring "medically important" microbes, Rosenberg stressed that "frequent analysis and stringent regulation are crucial to maintaining human health."

the funky taste from bottled water thats been in the garage or wherever is from the plastic dont worry it justs tastes weird thats all.

If I owned a home in the city I would drive a shallow well and put a pitcher pump on it. The water could be boiled and run through a filter for a endless source of clean potable water. We are at war, to hell with city ordinances.

Thats actually an intresting idea...

Most brands of bottled drinking water are just slightly-filtered tap water. Best choice is probably distilled bottled water (not to be confused with "deionized" water). Any contaminants left after distillation aren't likely to support microbe growth, unless they were re-introduced after the distillation process.

Untill it dries.
GG

i have 6 carboys (6 1/2 Gal. each)full of water..., they been full of water for over 12 years now, no algae, no impurities just pure water that i made myself & run thru carbon/silver activated charcoal filter.........

Just curious if anyone knows the answer to this... I have 300 gallons in the hot tub on our deck.  Can this water be made potable by some process?

This is a SWAG, but I wouldn't have a problem drinking the hot tub water after it sat in an open container for a day or two to reduce the chlorine amount - boil it if you got the chance.  I would think that would be a pretty good source of emergency water.  Again - this was a SWAG.

I would look at the surrounding properties first there are many things that can contaminate groundwater in a city including:

Gas Stations
Underground Storage Tanks
Chemical Plants
Manufacturing Facilities
Septic Tanks
Sewers
Lawn Chemicals

Well....If she get worry about the water then get her the beer! [beer]