Tips for maintaining apartment water tank

Apartment water tanks are used for storage of water used for drinking as well as for managing regular household activities for the entire complex. Therefore, proper maintenance of water tanks for retaining best quality of water is an integral part of apartment’s health and safety issue. As the water storage tank of an apartment works as a primary source for water for the society members, it is safe to follow international safety standards for maintaining it, so that best water quality is ensured.

It has been generally observed that for maintaining water tank of an apartment the concerned authority needs to take care of two major issues. These are:

• The existence of rotting vegetation captured in the system may cause bad smell in water as well as makes the water discoloured. Not only the foul smell; the residues of rotting vegetation build-up piles of sediments at the bottom of the tank which stands responsible for deterioration of general water quality and enhances the risk of health hazard, etc.
• Unless the water tank is cleaned thoroughly the existence of faecal coliform hampers water quality in a major way. This faecal coliform gets to form by natural accumulation of faecal substance of birds and small animals as well as decomposed animal carcasses in the water collection path or itself at the bottom of the tank.

While planning the maintenance schedule for water tank of an apartment these two issues need to be sorted by regular monitoring as well as by using professional expertise from skilled agency.

• Other than regular maintenance work for water tank, installation of UV ray light filter and iron removal filter in the water storage tank will help in purifying water at its basic level so that primary contamination can be avoided.

Besides building a well-designed collection as well as storage system for water tank in an apartment is a prerequisite. A few guidelines concerning the issue will help in keeping the water quality at its possible best condition:

• Regular monitoring of roof collection area, down pipes and guttering area is the best process for cleansing of debris, usual leaf matter, and other garbage materials which may block the pipes and create unhealthy position for mosquito breeding etc.
• You may consider installation of gutter guard, especially if the tank is surrounded by trees and all down pipes in the collection path should be fitted with a rain head. Insect proof mesh must be installed on all outlet and inlet openings.

The main maintenance jobs for a water tank in apartment are:

• Maintenance of water pumps and pimp filters-in every 6 months
• Testing of water quality-yearly
• Cleaning of tank-yearly
• Cleansing of water filter if any – In every 6 month time

Now the cleaning maintenance of water tank is done in 3-4 regulated phases depending on the condition of the tank. These are:

• Cleaning the tank with high pressure jet: this process detaches algae, calcification, and dirt accumulated at the wall, celling, and bottom of the tank.
• Removal of sludge and dirt by using suction pump and vacuum cleaner,
• Antibacterial treatment of water
• Application of ozonisation for removal of foul smell as well as for complete eradication of suspended impurities within the water tank.

In case these recommended tips are difficult to follow up with individual capacity, it is better to hire a professional service provider for regular cleaning and due maintenance of the water tank.