just me wrote:
I have also used Clorox to
disinfect plastic water tanks....just a 1/4 cup to 40 gallons
Not enough to accomplish anything more than a tempory cure. If you want
your onboard fresh water to taste and smell as good as any that comes
out of a faucet on land, here's the right way to do it:
Although most people think only in terms of the tank, the plumbing is
actually the source of most foul water, because the molds, mildew, fungi
and bacteria which cause it thrive in damp dark places, not under water.
There are all kinds of products sold that claim to keep onboard water
fresh, but all that’s really necessary is an annual or in especially
warm climates, semi-annual recommissioning of the entire system—tank and
plumbing. The following recommendations conform to section 10.8 in the
A-1 192 code covering electrical, plumbing, and heating of recreational
vehicles. The solution is approved and recommended by competent health
officials. It may be used in a new system a used one that has not been
used for a period of time, or one that may have been contaminated.
Before beginning, turn off hot water heater at the breaker; do not turn
it on again until the entire recommissioning is complete.
Icemakers should be left running to allow cleaning out of the water feed
line; however the first two buckets of ice—the bucket generated during
recommissioning and the first bucketful afterward--should be discarded.
1. Prepare a chlorine solution using one gallon of water and 1/2 cup (4
oz) Clorox or Purex household bleach (5% sodium Hypochlorite solution ).
With tank empty, pour chlorine solution into tank. Use one gallon of
solution for each 5 gallons of tank capacity. (There's an easier way:
one pint of bleach to each 25 gal water tank capacity.)
2. Complete filling of tank with fresh water. Open each faucet and drain
cock until air has been released and the entire system is filled. Do
not turn off the pump; it must remain on to keep the system pressurized
and the solution in the lines
3. Allow to stand for at least three hours, but no longer than 24 hours.
4 Drain through every faucet on the boat (and if you haven't done this
in a while, it's a good idea to remove any diffusion screens from the
faucets, because what's likely to come out will clog them). Fill the
tank again with fresh water only, drain again through every faucet on
the boat.
5. To remove excess chlorine taste or odor which might remain, prepare a
solution of one quart white vinegar to five gallons water and allow this
solution to agitate in tank for several days by vehicle motion.
6. Drain tank again through every faucet, and flush the lines again by
fill the tank 1/4-1/2 full and again flushing with potable water.
People have expressed concern about using this method to recommission
aluminum tanks. While bleach (chlorine) IS corrosive, it’s effects are
are cumulative. So the effect of an annual or semi-annual "shock
treatment" is negligible compared to the cumulative effect of holding
chlorinated city water in the tank for years. Nevertheless, it's a good
idea to mix the total amount of bleach in a few gallons of water before
putting it into either a stainless or aluminum tank.
People have also expressed concern about the potential damage to rubber
and neoprene water pump parts. Again—the cumulative effect of carrying
chlorinated water is far more damaging over time than the occasional
“shock treatment.” And it’s that cumulative effect that makes it a VERY
bad idea to add a little bleach to each fill. Not only does it damage
the system, but unless you add enough to make your water taste and smell
like a laundry, it’s not enough to do any good. Even if it were, any
“purifying” properties in chlorine evaporate within 24 hours, leaving
behind only the corrosive properties.
An annual or semi-annual recommissioning according to the above
directions is all that should be necessary to keep your water tasting
and smelling as good as anything that comes out of any faucet on land.
If you need to improve on that, install a water filter. Just remember
that a filter is not a substitute for cleaning out the system, and that
filters require regular inspection and cleaning or replacement.
To keep the water system cleaner longer, use your fresh water...keep
water flowing through system. The molds, fungi, and bacteria only start
to grow in hoses that aren't being used. Before filling the tank each
time, always let the dock water run for at least 15 minutes first...the
same critters that like the lines on your boat LOVE the dock supply line
and your hose that sit in the warm sun, and you certainly don't want to
transfer water that's been sitting in the dock supply line to your
boat's system. So let the water run long enough to flush out all the
water that's been standing in them so that what goes into your boat is
coming straight from the water main.
and a little
stronger mix in the toilets to the holding tanks (stainless).
A VERY bad idea! As said earlier, you will have problems (prob'ly
already do if you've been doing that very long), but you won't recognize
your use of bleach as the reason why your toilet needs new seals and
o-rings or the sludge in your tank has turned to concrete (if you're
even aware that there IS an accumulation of sludge)...any odor from your
toilet will only drive you to pour more bleach down it...your sanitation
hoses will start to stink....all of which, and any other symptoms,
could have been prevented if bleach hadn't been used.
I dunno how old your steel holding tank is, but if it's more than a
couple of years old, you need to keep a very close eye on the welds at
seams and fittings...'cuz unrine is so corrosive that it's very rare for
any metal tank not to develope a leak at a seam or fitting within 2-5
years...and turn the tank bottom into a collander in about 10 years.
--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1
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