Published 08.38
Few Swedes have saved drinking water at home should the crisis strike. The recommendation is 25 liters of drinking water, but only one in 14 has enough emergency water at home.
– Society may need a week to have time to adjust. The amount of recommended reserve water may seem high. If the household cannot resolve the storage, it is better to have something than nothing at all, says Åsa Rosengren, microbiologist at The Swedish Food Agency.
Six out of ten have no water saved at home. This is shown by a recent Novus survey, carried out on behalf of Water Aid and Swedish Water.
Cooking and hygiene
Households should have extra drinking water that is enough for a week when they do not have access to tap water. The Swedish Food Agency recommends three to five liters of water per person per day.
The water reserve should be enough for cooking and basic hygiene, but not for flushing toilets.
The easiest way to put up your own stock of drinking water is to buy home plastic cans, which are intended for just water. Or use cans that are clean and that have not been used to store anything other than just water.
How long the water lasts in the cans depends on
– If you store the water dark and cool and in clean plastic cans, the water can last for several months as drinking water. The plastic container does not have to be sterile, but it must be whole and clean. The water you rinse in must be water that has been checked to be of good quality, for example municipal drinking water.
If the household has no cool place to store the water, make sure it is at least dark.
Although the plastic container is not sterile, it does not mean that it is dangerous. There may be small, completely harmless bacteria that can live on sunlight. They can cause the water to become slimy and smelly over time.
Store in the dark
– The water can also smell of the plastic and start to smell pungent and unpleasant. You can decide for yourself whether you want to drink it by smelling, looking and tasting, says Åsa Rosengren.
For people with a severely weakened immune system, it is recommended to boil stored water. For that group, it can be practical to buy bottled water. That water should also be stored in the dark.
Another tip is to buy a few extra cans to fill up when the water company has had time to set up so-called security points for water refills.
– Households with their own well are themselves responsible for having access to drinking water in the event of a crisis. If the electricity goes out, the water pump doesn’t work – therefore those with their own well should get a spare unit, Rosengren points out.
