It’s just rained, and your water tanks have filled up for the first time in months. But the water has a slight discolouration and tastes much different. It’s not as fresh, and it has a little texture to it.
Failing to maintain your water tank when it isn’t raining can turn your freshly harvested rainwater into undrinkable mud almost immediately. So here are five tips for keeping your water clean and healthy.
1. Keep your gutters and roof clean
This is simple but often neglected, especially during droughts or periods without rain.
It’s not just leaves and twigs that fall onto the roof and get caught in the gutters. Dirt, dust, and animal faeces also accumulate on the roof and, when it rains, are washed into your water tanks.
Not to mention peeling paint or deteriorating metal roofs. Although you might visually think everything is fine when you look at it from the ground, the weather slowly breaks down paint, metal, and plastics, leaching into your tanks over time.
Regular checks and debris clearance will help you maintain a clean base from which to collect your drinking water.
2. Remove any overhanging trees and shrubs
Don’t just think about the trees around your house as the only cause of debris and tannins leaching into your water supply. Having Trees and bushes around your water tank can cause great problems.
Not only can debris make its way into the tank (with or without a filter), but root systems will gravitate towards water sources, especially if you have a concrete tank.
It is more common for concrete tanks to experience damage from tree roots, which work their way through the concrete, causing cracks to form. Vines will grow up the sides of tanks, searching for a way into the water source.
3. Fit a Whole of House or Under-Sink Filter system
Keeping the roof and gutters clear of debris and ensuring tree roots don’t work their way into your water tank will not prevent your water from being contaminated.
Dirt and Dust will always enter your tanks whenever it rains. This includes faecal matter from birds, insects and animals.
You should install a whole-house filter with an Ultraviolet system to ensure healthy drinking water. The filters will remove minute particles of sediment that the naked eye cannot see, and the ultraviolet system will kill 99.99% of all bacteria.
Installing an under-sink filtration system will provide you with filtered water, at the very least. However, showers and bathroom basins are still susceptible.
4. Inspect and clean insect & overflow screens
You would be surprised to find out how many people neglect these!
Debris from the roof can reach your tank, and a strainer can help by holding back some of it. But it’s rendered useless unless you clean it regularly and remove the rubbish that builds up.
In this photo, dirt and debris have built up in a strainer to the point where vegetation has started growing! Not only does this make it harder for the water to flow into the tank, but you are washing smaller particles of dirt and debris every time it rains.
5. Have your tank professionally cleaned and sanitised
If you leave the internals of your tank for years, even if you implement the above 4 approaches, sediment will slowly build up on the floors and walls of your water tank.
Simply “washing it out” with a pressure washer will not clean your tank to a level suitable for drinking water. Besides, you will need the tank to be empty and use a lot of water.
Pristine Water Systems has developed the QuadClean™ process for cleaning water tanks. We vacuum the sludge from the bottom of the tank, aerate and filter the water to give it life, sanitise it to remove bacteria, and test the water to ensure it is ready for consumption.
All this is done with minimal water loss while you still have water in your tank!
If you follow the above 5 tips for crystal clear tank water, you will have few problems with your water supply.