Nothing seems righter than being in control of the kind of water your household consumes. The cleanliness of your water largely depends on its source, the processing it undergoes, and, most importantly, the container it’s stored for use.
Cleaning your water storage tank doesn’t have to be a major activity where you need to hire the help of a professional. It’s something you can do on a routine basis on your own to prevent algae growth, which can cause taste and odor. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to clean your water storage tank.
Step 1: Empty The Tank
The first step to cleaning your water storage tank is to drain off any leftover water. Other subsequent steps would depend on how dry the interior of your tank is. Flush out water from the tank into an appropriate place. You could make use of a pump or wet vac for this purpose. You could also use a towel to dry out every form of moisture left in the tank. Look here for your water storage tanks.
Step 2: Scrub The Interiors
Washing the interiors of the tank is the crux of the cleaning process. This step is necessary to remove every form of dirt, debris, slit, and slime that have clung to the walls of the tank. A hot mix of water and detergent would do a great job.
The scrubbing should be done with a long-handled hard-bristled brush, a mop with an adjustable handle, or a pressure washer. This would help remove any sediment in the corners of the tank. You’d want to ensure that you reach every angle and apply the necessary force to remove the dirt. Your tank should look as good as new when you’re done.
Step 3: Wash And Rinse The Tank
After scrubbing, do a mild washing process to disperse the already scrubbed dirt clogs. Use a good quantity of cold water to rinse out the dirty water due to the scrubbing process. This may not be very thorough as other rounds of rinsing will still be required.
Step 4: Bleach The Tank
Your bleach solution can be one tablespoon of bleach for one gallon of water. This should be used to scrub the interior of the tank. The purpose of the bleach is to thoroughly disinfect the tank and rid it of harmful microbes. Ensure to put on protective wear like disposable gloves and eye protection while applying the bleach.
Reach every surface area of the tank so that no part is left out. If you have a pressure washer, it’ll work best. If not, you can use a mop with an adjustable handle.
Step 5: Give It Time
Don’t be in a hurry to rinse off the bleach. The disinfection process may take some time, so you have to be patient to ensure a thorough procedure. Let the bleach solution sit in that tank for about two hours. That way, stubborn microbes or bacterial contaminants which could attack the immune system will be killed.
Step 6: Clean Your Water Pipes
You may want to use this opportunity to disinfect your water supply lines. It’s not enough for your storage tank to be clean and not the pipes that deliver water. Therefore, you could use a pump to run the bleach solution from the tank to other water supply lines in your home.
Step 7: Rinse Out The Tank
This is a crucial step because bleach is toxic to the body system as it could cause chlorine poisoning. So, unlike the previous rinsing process, this has to be very thorough. After the bleach has done its job for a few hours, it’s time to let it go and rinse it out.
Ensure that the bleach is entirely gone by rinsing the tank with hot water. If you also ran the bleach solution through your pipelines, it’s essential that you also rinse them off thoroughly. Rinsing should continue till every trace of bleach is completely removed.
Step 8: Refill The Tank
After rinsing out, you can refill your tank with potable water. However, you may want to fill it just about halfway because you haven’t confirmed if all traces of bleach are gone. This will be done in the next step.
Step 9: Measure Chlorine Level In Water
Measuring chlorine level is done to check when traces of bleach are no longer in the tank. Chlorine test strips are useful for testing the water. If the levels are within the normal range, it’s safe and clean for drinking or other uses. If the levels are too high, you have to rinse all over again until the levels drop.
Step 10: Level Up Your Tank
It’s safe to use since your tank has passed the final test. Refill it to the top and enjoy your clean water.
Conclusion
Overall, cleaning your water storage tank isn’t as stressful or expensive as it sounds. Just follow the steps above and you’ll always have a clean tank. A great tip is to get dark-colored tanks when buying water storage tanks. Black-colored tanks inhibit sunlight, which would save you from algae growth and the need to wash the tank frequently.