Household Readiness
8 in 10 UK Homes Don't Even Have 1 Day of Bottled Water Stored. Here's What Happens When the Tap Stops.
The homes that cope aren't the ones with the most bottles in the cupboard. They're the ones who can make more water once the bottles run out.
MBy the MINIMLS Team
Updated November 2026 · 11 min read
Ask most people what they'd drink if the water went off, and they'll point at the cupboard.
A few bottles. Maybe a multipack from the last grocery run.
That feels like enough. It's what most of us would say.
This year, the Government checked.
The Cabinet Office asked more than 10,000 adults how much bottled drinking water they keep at home. Then it measured the answers against 3 liters per person per day, which is about the least you need just to drink.
Look down your street. That's more than 4 out of every 5 front doors.
Not a week. Not 3 days.
One day.
And when the water goes off, it doesn't always come back in a day.
In late 2025, a failure at South East Water's Pembury works hit Tunbridge Wells. The company put 24,000 customers on a boil water notice.
Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee says tens of thousands were left without drinking water for 14 days, and only three water stations stayed open.
Weeks later came Storm Goretti and a freeze-thaw. The same committee says outages hit up to 30,000 South East Water customers across Kent and Sussex.
Nobody attacked anything. One was a treatment works. The other was winter.
That's how easily the water stops in an ordinary British town.
There's a simple fix for that gap, and it fits in a kitchen drawer. We'll get to it.
See What Goes in the Drawer★★★★★ 4.8 stars, 2,318 reviews
But first, here's why the tap stops in the first place. Most people have never had it explained to them.
Your tap is the last link in a very long chain
You turn on the tap and water comes out. It feels like the simplest thing in your house.
But a lot has to happen first. Your water has to be cleaned at a treatment works, pumped through miles of pipe, and kept under pressure the whole way. Much of that runs on electricity.
So if the power stays off long enough, everything between the reservoir and your kitchen slows down.
Then it stops.
The Government has tested this. In the Commons in July 2026, Sir Oliver Dowden described Exercise Mighty Oak, which had more than 4,000 people testing a power outage. Here's what he said it did:
"very rapidly affected water supply"Sir Oliver Dowden, House of Commons, July 15, 2026
Take the power away, and your water goes with it.
In April 2025, a single blackout across Spain and Portugal affected about 60 million people. It shows how much can stop at once, in a modern European country, on an ordinary Monday.
And officials don't treat attacks on the system as far-fetched anymore.
- The Government's 2026 National Risk Register added a new entry: "cyber attack: water infrastructure."
- The National Cyber Security Centre says it managed more than 200 incidents affecting critical national infrastructure in the year to May 2026, with around 3 in 4 believed to be linked to state actors.
Then the same Cabinet Office survey asked how long people could manage if a power outage also hit their gas and water.
1 in 4 said a day or less before they'd need outside help.
In Tunbridge Wells, outside help was three water stations for tens of thousands of people.
None of that means your taps are going off tomorrow. It means the people whose job it is to worry about this are worried.
The number the Government has now put on it
In October 2026, the Cabinet Office launched a campaign called Be Ready. It's the first stage of a three-year effort, and it asks every household the same thing: plan for 3 days of disruption.
On water, it's specific: 3 liters per person per day for drinking. And that's only for drinking. Be Ready says you'll need extra for cooking and washing.
Now go and look in your own cupboard. Really. Count the bottles of water. Not the juice. Not the milk. Then count the people.
Could your home get through one day on what's in there? Would you bet the kids' next drink on it?
Now do it for the three days the Government is asking for. Four people. Three days. That's 36 liters, or 18 big bottles. It weighs 36 kilograms, about 80 pounds, before you've boiled a single potato.
And it isn't only Britain.
- Sweden's government brochure says to be able to manage for at least one week.
- Norway's DSB recommends one week, and 20 liters of water per person.
- Germany's BBK says households should ideally be able to supply themselves for 10 days.
Nobody on that list is telling you the tap will always be there.
People have started to notice. After Be Ready launched, Robert Dyas reported radio sales up 160% week on week. The aisle moves first. It always does.
Why "I've got bottled water" isn't a water plan
Stored water is the right place to start. Be Ready tells you to keep some. Please do.
The trouble is that bottles only go one way.
Down.
Over a week, a family of four needs 84 liters just to drink. That's 42 big bottles, weighing 84 kilograms.
Now add the rest of it. Boiling pasta. Washing dishes. Washing your hands after the toilet. Cleaning up after a child who's been sick.
Almost nobody has room for that in a hallway. And whatever you do keep starts running out the moment you open the first bottle. Nobody comes around to top it up.
You can go a long time without food. Without water, it's days, not weeks.
Bottled water doesn't solve the problem. It buys you time. So what do you do when that time runs out?
What the first 5 days look like
Picture an ordinary week in January. Your daughter and her two kids are staying with you. A storm goes through overnight, and by breakfast your tap is spitting air.
Day 1 is fine, honestly. You've got a few bottles in the cupboard. The kids think it's a bit of an adventure. You flush the toilet with a bucket and have a laugh about it.
Day 3, the bottles are nearly gone. The water company has opened a collection point across town. You stand in line in the cold for whatever they're handing out, and you know it won't go far.
Day 5, you're rationing. The dishes have stopped. The kids haven't had a real wash in days. Every time someone asks for a drink, you're doing math in your head.
And all that time, there's water right outside. In the rain barrel. In the stream at the end of the road. Running off the roof.
You just can't trust any of it.
That's the real emergency. Not no water. Water you can't drink, everywhere you look.
Now run the same week again
Same storm. Same dry tap. Same line across town.
The only difference is a filter straw in the kitchen drawer for each person in the house.
On Day 3, when the bottles run low, you fill a clean bottle from the rain barrel, screw the straw on and squeeze the water through into a cup. The kids drink. You filter a pitcher for the dishes.
You can still go to the collection point. You just don't have to count every sip.
That's why we sell one small thing
The MINIMLS Emergency Water Filter Straw is about 8 inches long and weighs 2 ounces. That's about 20 cm and 57 grams, lighter than a bar of soap.
You put one end in fresh water and drink straight through it. Or you screw it onto a bottle and squeeze the water into a clean cup or pan.
It has no batteries, no pump and no moving parts. It works when the tap, the power and the stove have all stopped. It doesn't replace your bottled water. It's the second line, for when the bottles run out.
3 questions to ask before you buy any filter straw
A lot of these straws look the same in an ad. Here are the 3 questions worth asking, and our answer to each one.
1. What does it actually filter out?
Ours has four stages. A screen takes out grit. A medical-grade PP cotton layer takes out fine silt. A flow layer evens things out.
Then a hollow-fiber membrane with pores of 0.01 micron removes 99.99% of bacteria and protozoa, including E. coli, Salmonella, Cholera, Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Legionella. It also blocks microplastics, and it's BPA-free. Tested to the rated figures, and third-party lab tested for bacteria and protozoa removal.
In the factory's lab test, about 210,000 E. coli per milliliter went in, and none were detected coming out.
That matters, because water can look clean and still make you sick. It clears cloudy water, too.
2. How much water can it handle?
Each straw is rated for 1,800 US gallons. That's about 6,800 liters, or about 3,400 big 2-liter bottles, in something that fits in your glovebox.
Murky water clogs any filter faster, so you'll get less from a muddy source. Start with the clearest water you can find.
3. Will it work after years in a drawer?
There's no battery to go flat and nothing to charge. It's also been drop-tested from 1 meter, about the height of a kitchen counter.
It has no expiration date when stored dry. Leave it in the drawer until you need it, for 5, 10, even 20 years. Keep it from freezing, and let it dry before you put it away. The 1,800-gallon rating means years of clean water from a single straw.
What it can't do
You should hear this from us first.
It doesn't remove viruses, chemicals, heavy metals or salt. When viruses are a concern, boil the water or add tablets. Don't drink water you suspect is chemically contaminated. Stay away from floodwater and seawater.
If your water company gives you an instruction, follow it. And be wary of any straw that says it makes any water safe. That just isn't true.
More than just a straw
- Drink straight from it. Put one end in a pitcher of rainwater or a rain barrel and sip.
- Screw it onto a bottle. Squeeze the water through into a cup, with no hard pulling.
- Fill a pan or a bowl. Run water through into a clean container for cooking, dishes and keeping clean.
- Put it away. Stored dry, it has no expiration date, and there's nothing to charge or top up.
One per person. Home, car and bag.
Water is personal. With one straw in a family of four, someone's always waiting their turn. So start with one for every person at home.
Then think about where you'll be. A straw in the kitchen drawer doesn't help if you're stuck in the car on a closed road. So keep one in the car and one in your bag too.
And think about who else counts on you. Your grown kids. The in-laws. The neighbor who lives on her own.
Bought one at a time, five straws cost almost twice as much. The Family Pack is 5 straws, 1 free included. It covers a family of four and a go-bag. A couple can cover the car and the go-bag and still have one left for the people they'd worry about.
Emergency Preparedness Sale ends in
- Filters 99.99% of bacteria and protozoa
- Rated for 1,800 gallons
- No batteries, no pump, no expiration when stored dry
Up to 67% off. Try it for 30 days. If you're not happy, email us and we'll refund you. Not sold on Amazon. 100,000+ happy customers.
The questions we'd ask if we were you
"Will I manage it?"
Yes. The first sip takes a firm pull. Squeezing from a bottle is easier, which is the way we'd show the kids or an older relative.
"Can't I just boil it?"
Yes, and if you can, you should. Boiling is still the reference method for dealing with germs in water. But it needs a working stove or a fuel source, and it doesn't take the grit out. You'll also be doing it pot after pot, all day, for a house full of people.
"The water company will bring bottles, won't they?"
They do. Ask Tunbridge Wells how many stations stayed open, and how far the bottles went.
"Does it really work?"
The 0.01 micron membrane removes 99.99% of bacteria and protozoa. Tested to the rated figures. Buyers give it 4.8 stars across 2,318 reviews. Try it at your own sink inside your 30 days.
"What if I don't like it?"
Try it for 30 days. If you're not happy, email us and we'll refund you. Unused or used.
"Isn't this all a bit much?"
It would be if we were asking you to dig a bunker. We're asking you to buy some water and put a small tube in a drawer. Most people who do this aren't preppers. They're parents and grandparents who'd rather not think about it twice.
Do it while the tap still works
You don't have to call yourself a prepper. You don't need a bunker. You need the bare minimum.
And you need an answer to one question.
When the bottles are gone, what will your family drink?
The time to answer that is a normal day, when the stores are calm and the tap is running. A package takes days. A burst main gives you none. When the water goes off, everybody in town goes looking for the same things at the same time.
Back to that same January week. Same dry tap, same empty shelves. This time, when the bottles run low, there's a straw in the drawer and water in the rain barrel.
The Government has counted. 82% of homes came up short. Which side of that number do you want to be on tonight?
Emergency Preparedness Sale: up to 67% off.
Try it for 30 days. If you're not happy, email us and we'll refund you. Unused or used.
Ordered Monday, here the next Monday. Works as described.
Lou C.Tested it on pond water behind the house. Clear, no taste to speak of. You do have to pull harder than you think at first.
Tom W.Family Pack made the most sense. One for each of us and one for the car.
Linda P.
Try it for 30 days. If you're not happy, email us and we'll refund you.
Get the Family Pack: 5 Straws30-day money back.
P.S. Did you go and count the bottles? It takes one minute. Under 12 liters for a family of four, and you haven't got a single day by the Government's own number.
Sources, checked October 31, 2026: Cabinet Office, UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness 2026, 19 August 2026. Cabinet Office, Be Ready. Cabinet Office, National Risk Register 2026. NCSC, 17 June 2026. Hansard, House of Commons, 15 July 2026. South East Water. Drinking Water Inspectorate. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Failures at South East Water. Sweden MCF. Norway DSB. Germany BBK. ENTSO-E. BBC, on Robert Dyas sales. CDC. WUNC.