I collect and use rain water whenever I can. I have not installed a rain barrel yet, and instead catch rain water in a set of nesting plastic pans that go out on the deck when a good rain is expected. Everything I collect gets filtered through one of those re-usable plastic coffee filters as it is funneled into clean gallon jugs for storage. If you want a higher level of filtration, place a paper towel between the plastic filter & funnel as you fill the jugs for storage.
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Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa
I also put mine in plastic jugs. I really like the bigger cat litter ones that hold more than a gal. I do get some bird poo from the roof but I don't worry about it. I have found some that has been in milk jugs for about 3 years I thought were empty, do you think it would be OK?
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If the container was clean and the water was well-filtered before it went into storage, you could probably use the older stored water. Pour some into a glass jar so that you can look at it; if it looks clean/clear, no organic films / flocs in it, no odors, it is probably ok. If it is not ok, just discard & start over.
BTW, I have noticed that plastic milk jugs can start developing tiny leaks after a year in storage. You might want sturdier containers for long-term storage, though milk jugs work OK if you are only storing for a couple of months.