Tips to Disinfect Water Storage Tanks

Every property in India has different varieties of water storage tanks. It is very important that you have a periodic maintenance schedule for your water storage tank to preserve water and maintain cleanliness. Few of the major sources of water contamination are the fill pipes and the tank vents. Most of the tank vents are loose and not screened which makes it easier for the insects to get into the tank.This further leads to the growth of airborne bacteria.

Water contamination is one of the major causes for mankind illness. About 60% of the diseases are caused by contaminated water among adults as well as children. Water storage tank is one of the major causes for the production of contaminated water. The cleaning of these tanks is neglected or unskilled people are engaged for the cleaning process. Since water is used for various household purposes, it is very essential that the water input has to be clean and well maintained in order to avoid water borne diseases.

Steps to clean the water storage tank

• Important considerations: You should ensure that your water tank should be easy to clean. They should be accessible to clean and should not have sharp corners which can accumulate dirt. It is advisable that you store water safely in order to have a hassle free cleaning. They should also be covered well and fitted with a lockable lid.
• Drain out the water: Once you have taken care of the initial steps, drain all the previous water from the tank or store it in a container for different use. You can make use of a suction pipe or a tap to drain out all the water. It is quite difficult to remove all the water and the residues in the end, so it is better that you use a sponge or a soft cloth which can absorb the water and the dirt easily.
• Scrub the internal surface: Once the water is completely drained out, you have to start the scrubbing procedure. Make use of a stiff brush a sweeper or a high pressure jet to scrub the walls and the rest of the areas inside the water tank. Use a mixture of detergent and hot water to scrub the internal parts. You can also scrub the internal parts of the tank without entering it by using a long pole with an attached brush.
• Sanitation:It is advisable that you sanitize your water tank at least twice in a year during the mid-summer and early winter. One of the best ways of sanitizing your water tank is to regularly bleach the tank with Clorox bleach. This bleach has 5.25% active ingredients and the amount of bleach required to clean the water tank is 1part per million (ppm).The usage of bleach will give you a slight chlorine taste and odour in your water. Avoid using too much of chlorine as this can have side effects and may potentially harm your health.

• Volume of the tank: You need to make sure that you measure the volume of the water in the tank before you add chlorine to it. Calculate the volume of common tank shapes and add the disinfectant to it accordingly.
• Through cleaning: It is very important that you do a thorough cleaning of the water tank corners and ensure that no dirt or the added chemicals are left in any of the corners. If any corner of the tank has chemical deposits, make sure you wash them off as this can lead to a bad odour or bad water taste. It is also advisable that you leave the water tank lidopen for the fresh air to circulate inside.
• Flushing and washing the tank: For washing and flushing the tank, you will require a pressure hose pipe or a water jet. A substitute for this is that you can fill in the tank with hot water and leave it for few hours and drain it later. Continue flushing the tank till the chemicals are vanished. There are various agencies which provide the water cleaning services like mechanized dewatering, sludge removal, high pressure cleaning, vacuum cleaning, anti-bacterial spray and UV radiation.

Also Read :
Water Tank Cleaning in your Apartment Complex