We drink a lot of apple juice and I reuse the jugs for water storage. The jugs are nice and sturdy for storing water in. Unlike some of the lighter weight plastics, it is Polypropylene (PP) which has a plastic code of 5 and is not known to leach chemicals into your drinking water. Polypropylene is the same plastic that yogurt cups are made from and they are safe to reuse. You need to be aware of this as some plastics breakdown over time and can cause serious health problems even cancer so beware of what you may be using to store water in.

You may be saying, yeah recycling those apple juice jugs is great but the water smells like apples. Well, I found a cure for that problem. First rinse out the jug thoroughly and then add about a half cup of white vinegar. Put the cap on and shake it well. Leave the jug to soak in the vinegar with the cap on overnight. Shake it a few more times if you get the chance to. The next day rinse it thoroughly again with water to get all the vinegar and odors out. Let the jug dry upside down on a towel until completely dry.

Now for the smell test. There shouldn’t be any apple odor at all. If there is, it will be ever so slight that it shouldn’t prevent you from using the jug for water storage. Fill your jugs right up to the top. Leaving little area in the jug does help prevent bacteria from growing. Also some people recommend adding 8 drops or 1/4 teaspoon of bleach to the jug if your water isn’t already chlorinated to ensure long-term clean water.

So if you have water stored in milk jugs that is wonderful. Use that water to flush the toilet or wash your clothes but just don’t drink it.