Hi,

I've got a question for y'all... I've been using natural spring water straight out of the ground for nearly 2 years and have never had any signs of trouble with this, despite a high trace mineral content. I occasionally (1-2 times/year) use lake water from a lake in NW Wisconsin where my family has a lake place. And previously, would only use rain water a few times a year when I was motivated to collect it or to set them all out in the rain for awhile. But I decided, since it's been raining here all month, to try collecting some. So I bought a funnel, and a hose, and took the gutter downspout apart, and channelled 70 gallons into two 35 gallon garbage cans in the garage. This was maybe 10 days ago. I'm leaving town for a few days tomorrow, and decided to soak the mounts tonight, so went out with the watering can to fill 'er up. And I have to tell you, the water smells like a swamp. It is downright foul! Is this normal when you store rain water, or do I have a problem here? How do others store it? Should it be airtight, or open to the air? Any thoughts/knowledge is greatly appreciated.

Clueless, ME