How To Clean and Disinfect a Rainwater Tank

When tank water is not clean enough, it may end up compromising the user’s health. It can also drastically cut down the number of uses that a family can think of. In that sense, it is good to clean the rain water tanks at regular intervals, but tank owners also need to realize that cleaning a water tank is more than just sludge removal. The whole process of cleaning a rainwater tank should also involve a thorough inspection of the whole harvesting system so that the integrity of the water quality can be maintained.

The rainwater tank cleaning process

Carry out an inspection for circumstances that can degrade water

Expert cleaning of water tanks begins with a thorough process to find the issues that could be degrading the water quality. Some of these include broken down inlet systems that can let vermin into the tank. System improvements can then be made if potential issues have been found. Some tale-signs include sediment build up, foul smell or worms.

Tanks can be cleaned when they are full

One common misconception is that a tank needs to be drained in order for it to be cleaned. This would mean that a lot of wastage would take place just to clean the water tank. To the contrary, there are cleaning methods that work better if the tank has water. The no-drain methods can still remove the layer of sludge from the bottom of the tank and filter any suspended particles from the remaining water.

Safe disinfection of rainwater tanks (after cleaning)

After cleaning the tanks, further disinfection is usually carried out using non-chlorine based chemicals. These chemicals are food-grade so that there can be no poisoning in case the water is afterwards used for food preparation or for drinking. Cleaning and maintenance of the rainwater tanks go hand in hand and for that reason, any upgrades to the guttering or the roof catchment system can be carried out promptly.

A professional rainwater tank cleaning service can also offer some services like:

• Advice on the best water rotation routines.
• Multiple tests on the greater tank installation to detect any stress on the piping and tanks.
• Bacteria and pollutant testing so that early detection can prevent poisoning.
• Location-sensitive reports on when the desludging and tank disinfection should take place to prevent unpleasant situations.