Water tank sanitation

[GpaMoose64]

I am a little confused on the amount of bleach to sanitize my 55 gallon water tank. Is it 1/2 cup per gallon or 1/2 cup per 15 gallon?

[youroo]

NOT 1/2 cup per gallon! Youroo!!

[GpaMoose64]

I didn't think that was correct. Just found the correct mix set up so I'm good to go. thanks again.

[270S]

'come on people, it may be easier just to do a simple Google search. - correct ratio of bleach is ½ teaspoon bleach per 10 gallons of water

Directly from Clorox website:
Here are some potential uses that may apply to your situation:
1. If you have a tank with clear water that you simply want to make sure is safe to drink or use for human contact (hand washing, laundry, etc.), then you can follow the protocol for emergency disinfection of drinking water. In that case, the correct ratio of bleach is ½ teaspoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 10 gallons of water (or for a smaller size container, 2 drops per quart). Stir the bleach into the water and let stand 30 minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor—if not, repeat the dosage and let stand an additional 15 minutes.
2. To clean out a water tank, first thoroughly flush the tank using a bleach solution of 1 part Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 150 parts water (a 500ppm bleach solution). I’m not sure of the size of your tank or how much bleach solution you will need, but here’s one example: if you want to make up 10 gallons of bleach solution, then you would start with 9 gallons + 15 cups of water, and then add 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon bleach. After flushing the tank with the 500ppm bleach solution, then rinse with a 10ppm bleach solution (1 teaspoon bleach per 10 gallons of water).

Read more at https://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/bl...j19jLErxuth.99

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by 270S

'come on people, it may be easier just to do a simple Google search. - correct ratio of bleach is ½ teaspoon bleach per 10 gallons of water

Directly from Clorox website:
Here are some potential uses that may apply to your situation:
1. If you have a tank with clear water that you simply want to make sure is safe to drink or use for human contact (hand washing, laundry, etc.), then you can follow the protocol for emergency disinfection of drinking water. In that case, the correct ratio of bleach is ½ teaspoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 10 gallons of water (or for a smaller size container, 2 drops per quart). Stir the bleach into the water and let stand 30 minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor—if not, repeat the dosage and let stand an additional 15 minutes.
2. To clean out a water tank, first thoroughly flush the tank using a bleach solution of 1 part Clorox® Regular-Bleach per 150 parts water (a 500ppm bleach solution). I’m not sure of the size of your tank or how much bleach solution you will need, but here’s one example: if you want to make up 10 gallons of bleach solution, then you would start with 9 gallons + 15 cups of water, and then add 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon bleach. After flushing the tank with the 500ppm bleach solution, then rinse with a 10ppm bleach solution (1 teaspoon bleach per 10 gallons of water).

Read more at https://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/bl...j19jLErxuth.99

Way to complicated and seems to be designed for actually using that water afterwards I use one cup or so of bleach to full tank with water run thru faucets until I smell bleach let it set 24Hr flush the system and then only straight water.

[eye95]

K.I.S.S.

[270S]

Missed the point, example 1 is so that you can drink "unsure already safe water" - add 2.5 teaspoons (0.5 oz half of a single ounce) to a 50 gallon tank, let rest for 30 minutes, then you can use it with bleach included - just like hiking in the wild . If need to clean a tank thoroughly, then do item 2 - 1 cup (8oz) per 10 gallons (5cups = 40oz = 1.25 quarts), then do step 1 after that.

Personally my KISS is to drain the water tank every 30 days, the refill with apx 4 ounces of bleach (keep dedicated 4oz chlorine bottle) added into a flushed water hose to refill the tank. Bleach disinfects hose and tank simultaneously. I let it stay that way for 30 days, then repeat if not using TT or RV. When leaving on a trip within that 30 days, I will drain and refill tank 2 times with fresh clean city water only to remove the chlorine from the system. It's less than a 30 minute evolution - 10 minutes of easy work with 20 minutes of hurry up and wait as tank drains, sometimes on turn on electric drain to cut time by 75%.

My family's safety is too important to try and make it any more simple than that.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by 270S

Missed the point, example 1 is so that you can drink "unsure already safe water" - add 2.5 teaspoons (0.5 oz half of a single ounce) to a 50 gallon tank, let rest for 30 minutes, then you can use it with bleach included - just like hiking in the wild . If need to clean a tank thoroughly, then do item 2 - 1 cup (8oz) per 10 gallons (5cups = 40oz = 1.25 quarts), then do step 1 after that.

Personally my KISS is to drain the water tank every 30 days, the refill with apx 4 ounces of bleach (keep dedicated 4oz chlorine bottle) added into a flushed water hose to refill the tank. Bleach disinfects hose and tank simultaneously. I let it stay that way for 30 days, then repeat if not using TT or RV. When leaving on a trip within that 30 days, I will drain and refill tank 2 times with fresh clean city water only to remove the chlorine from the system. It's less than a 30 minute evolution - 10 minutes of easy work with 20 minutes of hurry up and wait as tank drains, sometimes on turn on electric drain to cut time by 75%.

My family's safety is too important to try and make it any more simple than that.

Only question I have about your method where the bleach solution sits for 30 days is whether or not any metal the solution is coming in contact with is subjected to corrosion. (Hot Water Tank?)

If everything is plastic, no problem but what about rubber parts like those in the water pump. Bleach, however can be very corrosive as when it's mixed with water it becomes an oxidizer. That's the part that works on bacteria, etc, but does it require that long an exposure time?

[Dp26]

Most municipal water has chlorine in it. If you do not use outside sources, drain and refill every month is likely good. If you filter your inlet, you may be filtering out the chlorine and will need to sanitize, no matter the source.

I use a municipal source to fill. If I hook to another source, I drain, fill, drain, fill (from municipal) or sanitize every month.

My muni source is 2ppm chlorine l. My hot tub is 2 to 4ppm when we get in. 4ppm or less is safe to ingest.

For Clorox, make sure to check the strength, and do NOT use the no spill type.

I already have a test kit, but you can get test strips cheaply to actually test your water out of the faucet.

Proper hot tub care and use, water is good for months with no cloudiness or slime. I went 6 months for a test, but now change once a quarter for ease of memory (am an accountant). I drain and refill rv once a month, while running gen, for the same reason.

[270S]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Only question I have about your method where the bleach solution sits for 30 days is whether or not any metal the solution is coming in contact with is subjected to corrosion. (Hot Water Tank?)

If everything is plastic, no problem but what about rubber parts like those in the water pump. Bleach, however can be very corrosive as when it's mixed with water it becomes an oxidizer. That's the part that works on bacteria, etc, but does it require that long an exposure time?

I've been doing this for 3 decades in the marine environment. By now, if it had caused problems, I would know - seen damage. Again, my concentration is not the high amount to purify 3rd world water. It is to just boost city supply, due to the heat of Florida enabling a longer "shelf life". I would not trust an open environment (TT & RV are not 100% sealed systems - open to air via vents) system in the high temps of Florida. Stuff will find a way to grow.