sterilizing household water storage tank

[lockwood74]

Advice would be great.

I have an underground water storage tank (6000 litre). This is used for everything, showering, washing, garden etc, as we do not have town water (Khao Hin Lek fai Mountain).

We come to our house for holidays, so the tank is left forperiods of up to 3 months at a time.

I am concious that when we next go the water will have attracted some bacteria etc.

The wtaer runs directly into the house and does not go through a filtering system.

I am considering adding some chlorine next time we come to kill off the bacteria.

Where can I buy chlorine, how much is it
is this the best option?

Any help would be great

Regards john

[Super Joe]

Hi,
Sorry can't help you about chlorine etc

We come to our house for holidays, so the tank is left for periods of up to 3 months at a time

Will it not be continually used by people watering the garden for you and/or topping up the pool if you have ?
You can buy sump pumps really cheap, sump it out before you leave, pain I know.

The water runs directly into the house and does not go through a filtering system

I'd recommend putting a water filter in outside where your tank/pump is, it's fairly cheap. Not the type that makes it drinkable, just clean

.

[Nereus]

Advice would be great.
I am considering adding some chlorine next time we come to kill off the bacteria.
Where can I buy chlorine, how much is it
is this the best option?

Any help would be great

Regards john

I would be very wary about adding chlorine to a storage tank. Google "chlorine in water" and have a read.

As mentioned, you should consider some form of filter after the pump for organic matter. For bacteria a "UV" tube type of sterilizer is a much better way to go. They are available either as a single point type for use on an individual outlet, or a larger "commercial" type whereby you pass all the water coming into the house through it.

[Hobiecat]

I would imagine a little dash of bleach would do the trick. That's what everyone does back home in there cabins and cottages when there left for prolonged periods of time. We used to us it on boats also. Just a few cap fulls won't hurt you as long as your not drinking it.

[Farang]

I rely on common household vinegar. Never had a problem with the water remaining
in the tank for quite extended periods of time. It also descales as an added bonus.
I pour about a liter of 5% vinegar into a 1.1 cbm tank.

[lockwood74]

I presume I can just get this at Tesco ...........?

Do you know where I can buy chlorine, the sort you get for the swimming pool

Regards john

[dtaai-maai]

I presume I can just get this at Tesco ...........?

Do you know where I can buy chlorine, the sort you get for the swimming pool

Regards john

I think you should be extremely careful about adding chlorine to your household water - haven't you noticed that there are showers next to every swimming pool? That's to get the chlorine off!

[Super Joe]

there's a few pool supply shops in town now where you can get chlorine, one on the petchakasem past market village, one on the pala-u road, one left at the main lights in cha am, coming from hua hin
plus some of the actual pool installation shops sell gear

but as others have said, i wouldn't fancy that option
.

[JimmyGreaves]

This site should give you all the information you need about water treatment John, you can always call them for advise, they are very helpful.

http://www.emwc.co.uk

[lockwood74]

Thanks for all the advice, thanks for the website Jimmy

I think I will probably go for a bottle of bleach, we will soon use up the tank full of water in a 2-3 days

My main concern is that leaving it for 3 months, there will be some build up of bacteria and its just a short term measure to kill the bacteria.

We also have a problem in that the builders used the tank by dipping in their dirty buckets to fill them to mix concrete, this has left some sediment at the bottom of the tank, not sure how to clean this out as the tank is 6000 litre and in the ground,

Do you think a small Thai person would go through the hole in the top and go down and clean it ?

Thanks again its been great

John

[norm]

John
You can probably suck the residue on the bottom out with a firefighter pump or the equivilent. Should get out the dirty water also. Not sure where you can rent one though.

We used a bit of bleach in our water tank. Take a sample of the water home with you when you go and have it tested. That should tell you if you have any problems. Running it through a filter is not a bad idea.