How to secure a tote before a storm

Empty totes

An empty 275 gallon tote weighs only about 130 to 150 pounds and presents a large flat side to the wind. In a strong gust it will slide, roll or lift. Move empties inside a building or a container if you can. If you cannot, lay them on their sides on the lee side of a wall, strap them to a fixed anchor, and take the caps off so wind does not pressurize the bottle.

• Strap to a fixed anchor, not to another loose tote.
• Use rated ratchet straps, not rope.
• Keep them away from windows, cars and power lines.
• Never stack empties outdoors.

Full totes

A full tote is heavy enough to stay put in most wind, but not in flood. Water rising around a tote can float an empty one and shift a full one if the bottom is soft. Keep full totes on high, level ground, away from drainage paths, and strap them to a post or a slab anchor. Leave a little air in a drinking-water tote and keep the cap closed and screened.

A checklist before landfall

1. Fill the totes you want as storage; shade and close them.
2. Move empties indoors or lay them down and strap them.
3. Check caps, valves and gaskets.
4. Remove anything loose from the yard.
5. Photograph the yard so you have a record.
6. Charge phones and keep the important papers dry.

After the storm

Walk the yard before you touch anything. Look for cracked bottles, bent cages and leaking valves. A tote that took a hit is a damaged tote and should not be filled. Photograph each, then see our damaged grade for what happens next. Water that sat in an open tote through a storm is not drinking water.

Tying down with the right hardware

Use ratchet straps rated well above the tote's weight, wrapped through the cage and around a fixed post or ground anchors set in concrete. Corner protectors keep the strap from cutting. Check the straps after the first gust. Do not tie two totes together; they may drag each other.