Cleaning water tanks

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reallycoliholic

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So what do you use and how often do you clean the tank? Been pointed towards a monthly rinse out with bicarb but no indication of strength of solution? We don't tend to drink tank water, use bottled for tea and coffee, but do shower and clean teeth in it. So how do you keep your tank clean and fresh? And do you emty the tank after each week or so away?

TIA
 
I add Aqua Tabs every time I fill the tank, that's all. With showers, there's a fairly good turnover of water. Never empty it. Use tank water for tea and coffee.
 
I use a hydrogen peroxide plus silver for commercial spraying to prevent algae and fungal infections in the tanks and pipe work.

https://www.endosan.com/

Satisfied customer only; no affiliation.

Usually there is enough left over in the bottle to use up economically in the boat water tanks, and also as a spray to keep the galley and heads free from any mildew. The spray also works in the bilges so there is no smell when I return to the boat. As a first aid spray for scratches from barnacles or rocks, it is also very effective.

The dosage rate for water tanks is 20ppm, so for a 100 litre water tank I put in a teaspoonful whenever I fill the tank. In 3 years that has kept the water sweet, and there is no taste of any bleach which one has when using chlorine products.. I have never had to empty the tanks, and all pipe work is visibly free from biofilm and other gungy stuff. The tanks are Vetus 'pillow' tanks.

The product also keeps the greenhouse free from all forms of mildew and blight,
 
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When did you last flush the pipework in your house? I suspect never.

I have added a chemical to purify my tanks only once in the 15 years I've had my current boat, and that was only when I had filled up from a dodgy source. We drink the water out of the tap - it tastes fine and we don't boil it first - and nobody among the scores of family & friends who have stayed aboard in that time has got the slightest bit ill from the water (the rum is a different matter;-). This includes sailing to Cape Verde, S America and the Caribbean as well as N Europe.

Seriously, I wouldn't bother cleaning except maybe once in a blue moon. Once a month you've got to be joking! Besides, bicarbonate of soda has little if any bactericidal effect, and almost certainly no anti-amoebal effect. Milton solution is about the only useful chemical for sterilising water tanks.

I do empty the tank (more or less, there's always a few litres left I'm sure) each time we haul out for winter, and just refill i spring. My tanks are stainless steel.
 
I have physically cleaned our two 225 Ltr stainless steel tanks once in the thirteen years of our ownership, primarily to see what they were like. Answer: spotless. We are almost never alongside, so in the sailing season, I work on the principle of using water very sparingly. We have a salt water tap at the galley, and where we are, the sea is clean.

When laid up ashore in the winter, when we live aboard for about a week each month, we use as much water as we like, which means that the tanks are frequently flushed. Have never treated the tanks, pipework, or water, with anything, and have never had any problems.
 
I'm a never man too. My tank is s/s and the advice in the boat manual is to open the access only when necessary. When the boat was a few years old we noticed particles coming through and blocking the shower head. Opening the tank revealed a load of gunk in the bottom. I then traced this to the filler pipe, which had a slight bend, allowing water to stagnate in the hollow. After replacing the pipe and cleaning out the tank I have had no more trouble. I empty the tank in the winter and flush through a couple of times before filling.
 
Never cleaned the tanks. 99% of the water is boiled for hot drinks. We carry 200l and I refill them about every six months... which reminds me, I best refill them next weekend as there will be four onboard the weekend after.
 
I used to and then stopped quite a few years ago. Last year on holiday I ended up cleaning (used a powder for tanks) both tanks due to black particles appearing. I can only assume that it was from a 'dirty' hose or other pipe work external to the boat. Anyway, they got a clean (using miltons) at the beginning of this year and I may do the same next year or leave it for a another year.
 
I have had my boat for 21 years and have never cleaned the water tank or even opened it up. We drink the water from it with no noticeable ill effects.

I have more than enough jobs to do on the boat without looking for more. :(
 
I drain the water off in the winter (for frost protection) and flush the pipes with a a tank full of fresh mains water in the spring. Over the season we use the boat regularly and tend to be adding fresh water most weeks.
We don’t drink from the tank preferring to use 5 litre containers which we refill from a mains tap. A lot of people we know do the same.
I used to use sterilising solution annually in the spring but gave that up when someone suggested fresh tap water (in the UK) contains sufficient chlorine. If buying a new to me boat I would use a sterilising solution in case the boat had been standing unused some time (which it had in the case of my present boat).
 
Telstarr said:
Our water tank is emptied over winter, then it receives a dose of Miltons baby sterilising solution on the first refill of the season. We don't drink from our tank (it's 36 years old) but do shower, wash up, clean teeth etc with it.

https://www.milton-tm.com/en/consumer/products/sterilising-fluid
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The cheapest Tesco thin bleach is less than 50p per 2 litres. MIx at between 0.25 and 0.5 % to your tank. Let is stand for a couple of hours or so, having drawn it through to the taps, drain and fill, drain again and fill - good for the season!
 
Rafiki said:
The cheapest Tesco thin bleach is less than 50p per 2 litres. MIx at between 0.25 and 0.5 % to your tank. Let is stand for a couple of hours or so, having drawn it through to the taps, drain and fill, drain again and fill - good for the season!
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Very true. Buy the very cheapest own-brand unadulterated bleach, and it's fine for use in water tanks. Don't buy the more expensive branded, thickened bleaches, which may contain colouring or fragrances as well as thickening agents. Milton is essentially quite dilute bleach with a fancy label (and a fancy price to match).
 
I use a powder sold for cleaning boat and caravan tanks. Maybe it’s an expensive way of buying bleach but for the quantity involved it hardly matters. I clean the tank and pipework with it annually in spring.

I drink a lot of water (often have a glass in the binnacle cupholder when under way) straight from the tap. Tastes just like from the kitchen tap at home. I see no need to fetch and carry bottles or faff with filters.

Obviously it would be different if I sailed somewhere where the shore water was suspect.

Pete
 
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