Water Tank Cleaning in your Apartment Complex
Water tank cleaning at regular intervals is important for the health of mankind. Water from water tank is used for bathing, brushing, washing and even for cooking. Not cleaning the tanks at regular intervals sometimes leads to compromising on the health of habitants. Around 60 per cent of diseases caused to humans are water-borne.Contamination of water is the major cause of illness to mankind and water getting contaminated mostly through improper maintenance or not cleaning water tank at regular intervals. Cleaning and disinfecting of the water tank is very important where a number individuals work or reside, such as apartment complex or a commercial building, medium or large office complexes, restaurants, etc. It is the duty of the water tank owner or property manager to keep the water tank clean and prevent contamination of water.
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How to Clean the Water Tank
Most of them do not know that they need to clean their water tank regularly. Water storage tanks must be kept clean to prevent sludging, sediment and prevent water-borne diseases. Keeping the water tank and reservoir clean is an important part of maintaining the water facilities of a building. There are two methods generally adopted in cleaning a water tank. One is the manual method where in a laborer would immerse himself in the tank and scrub the walls. Another method is tank cleaning with high water jet cleaners, anti-bacterial agents and disinfectants. This is also known as automated water tank cleaning.
Manual Cleaning of water tank
This method is the traditional method of cleaning the water tank where a laborer would get into the tank and scrub the walls. This method is time consuming and needs more effort to clean the water tank. In this method, first the tank is emptied either by using a pump or open outlet. Then the laborer or person who cleans the water tank gets into the tank and cleans the internal wall using detergent and water. Then all internal surfaces are washed with plain water to remove all traces of detergent.
After cleaning, disinfect the water tank with HTH chlorine. Let the chlorine stand in the tank for 12 to 24 hours to ensure that the tank is fully disinfected. Completely empty the tank and carefully dispose off the disinfecting water as it will contain a high concentration of chlorine.
Refill the tank with clean water and allow water to stand for 30 minutes. Test the residual chlorine left in the tank using a comparator. If the residual chlorine concentration is 0.5mg/l or less, the tank is safe to use for water storage. If the concentration is greater, again empty the tank and refill with clean water. Re-test to check if that the chlorine concentration is 0.5mg/l or less.
In this method, cleaning of water tank involves three important steps: First, clean the tank, second, chlorinate the tank and third, check the chlorine concentration. But this method is very difficult and time consuming where the size of the water tank is large. Manual method is suitable for individual homes or buildings having small sized water tanks.
Automated water tank cleaning
Automated water tank cleaning enables to save time and money. If you’re cleaning your tanks manually or by using the fill-and-drain method, you might be surprised at how much you can save by automating. Automated tank cleaning is best suited for apartment complexes and companies or buildings installed with large water tanks. Today professionals and companies dealing with automated tank cleaning equipments arrive at your door step with their equipment to clean water tanks within hours.
Advantage of automated tank cleaning equipment is that it saves you time. Besides, there is no need for you to get down into the water tank to clean it. The companies offering automated tank cleaning equipment generally offer a demo of their products enabling you to choose the right product you need for tank cleaning. Selecting the right tank cleaning nozzle helps in efficient cleaning. Ensure to use the filter to prevent particles in the liquid from clogging nozzles or stopping their rotations.
Automated tank cleaning process starts with cleaning the manhole and surrounding dirt, mud and algae. Then using special high pressure jet wall, all the interiors are cleaned. Dirt and sludge are removed using a vaccum pump and industrial pump. After cleaning the water tank, the water tank is disinfected using chlorine or antibacterial agents. Some professional cleaning service providers use UV Radiator to kill remaining bacteria. The process of cleaning ends with the testing of residual chlorine left in the tank.
Equipments for Automated water tank cleaning
Automated water tank cleaning enables to clean water tanks ranging from small or medium size to large sizes such as water tanks of huge apartment blocks which have one lakh liter capacity. The equipment you choose differs depending on the size and shape of the water tank. Several professional tank cleaning service providers come with high water jet cleaners, antibacterial agents and disinfectants for cleaning. Following are some of the important equipments used for cleaning a water tank.
- High pressure plunger pumps: High pressure cleaning and washing is normally done by high pressure water jet pumps to remove dirt, mud, oil, grease, paint, debris, scale etc. High pressure reciprocating plunger/piston pump develops high pressure due to smaller diameter orifice of the nozzle. Appropriate flow rate and pressure can easily clean the tank. Walls & ceilings of the tanks are cleaned using special high-pressure jet.
- Vacuum Cleaning:A vacuum pump is used to remove sludge after cleaning the tank’s floor with a high-pressure jet. An industrial pump is then used to clean the remaining dirt.
- Reactionary Force Tank Wash Nozzles: Ideal for clean-in-place and low-pressure cleaning and rinsing in harsh chemical and corrosive environments. The reactionary force of the fluid leaving the nozzle orifice rotates the nozzles
- Fixed-Spray or Fixed position nozzles: Fixed position nozzles provide complete coverage using full cone nozzles. Advantages include a simple design, no moving parts and wide range of spray coverage.
