IN THIS POST:
– Inspect
– Clean
– Repair
Most homes and apartment buildings in Pakistan have two water tanks, one built underground to receive water supply from the main pipes and the other built overhead, on the roof, to supply water throughout the building or house. A motorised pump is generally used to send water from the lower tank to the upper one as and when needed. However, water supply and water quality can both be greatly affected if you do not perform water tank maintenance every few months. Let’s discover how to take care of your water tank below.
Top Water Tank Maintenance Tips
Water tanks are sturdily built to withstand water pressure and you might never need to perform repairs or replacements if you take care of your water tank promptly. Here are some of the best water tank maintenance tips for homeowners:
- Inspect the Tank Regularly
- Clean and Disinfect at Intervals
- Perform the Necessary Repairs
Let’s cover each of these tips for maintaining your water tank in detail below to get a better idea of what the process entails.
Inspect the Tank Regularly
Water tanks can easily last for decades after installation if they are properly maintained. For this, you should inspect your tank’s condition once every three months. Inspections can help you detect the need for cleaning or even help you identify potential leakages and repairs before they become a bigger problem.
Inspect the tank using a powerful flashlight when it is less than half-full. Observe the walls and note their colour. Green or black growth on the walls may point towards algae or mould, both of which can be harmful to your health and affect the quality of the water being supplied to your home or apartment. You should also make sure that there are no insects or dead rodents inside the tank to keep the water safe for daily consumption.
Moreover, check the quality of the water itself. A layer of substances floating on the surface can point towards contamination. If the water has a foul odour, a bad taste, or has become tinted with another colour (often brown, due to sediments and rust), this may be a sign that you need to clean the inside of the tank.
Clean and Disinfect at Intervals
It is recommended that you clean your water tanks at least once every year, preferably twice if possible. The signs explained above should tell you when you need to empty the tank for cleaning. The process of cleaning a water tank might seem complicated but only for the first couple of times. To clean a water tank:
- Turn off the water supply valve located near the water pump.
- Open up all of the water supply taps in your homes and let the water run out to empty the tank.
- You can choose to fill up buckets with this water for cleaning the tank.
- Use taps located on the ground floor to fill up the buckets so that you don’t have to carry them down the stairs.
- Once the tank is as empty as possible, use a ladder to climb down into an underground tank or up into an overhead one from its trapdoor.
- Use buckets to clear out any excess water, passing them on to people outside the tank to throw away.
- Use mops to dry up all the moisture in the tank first.
- Then begin scooping and sweeping out all of the mud and dirt sediments at the bottom of the tank.
- You will need to get all of the trash thrown out of the tank from time to time using buckets.
- Once the bottom of the tank is clean, focus on the walls.
- Use a hard scrubbing brush to clear off algae growth and mould.
- Spray a disinfectant on the walls as needed, especially if you have mould growing on the walls.
- Use water from the buckets to clean off the walls as you scrub.
- Once the entire interior has been scrubbed, get out of the tank using the ladder.
- Make sure all of your cleaning supplies have been taken out as well.
- Lastly, fill up the tank with water and add a disinfectant to the water to keep it pure and bacteria-free for longer.
- Potassium Permanganate solutions and Gandak (a solidified form of pure sulphur with a yellowish colour) are often used for purification of water storage tanks.
- Don’t forget to clean the lid or door of the tank as well.
Perform the Necessary Repairs
While inspecting the water tank, you should also check the structural integrity of the tank to prevent leaks, cracks, or damage in the long run. If you wake up one morning and the water level has gone down from what it had been last night without it being used, it may signal towards a hidden leak in the structure.
The lid of the tank also needs to be fitted properly to prevent insects and rodents from entering it. This is especially important for overhead tanks before a storm in the monsoon season, which may blow the lid away and contaminate your water storage tank.
The water pump and all of the pipework is also prone to cracks and leaks, which can lead to wastage of stored water, improper water pressure as the water is pumped to the overhead tank, and flooding in the area around the pump.
All of these repairs need to be performed in a timely manner to prevent any major damage. Call a plumber to help you out and they should be able to guide you on how to fix most of the issues you might be facing with your water tank.
Most homeowners and apartment buildings choose to clean their water tanks at the beginning of the annual monsoon season. It is also the right time to check your water storage tanks, pipes, and motors and to perform the necessary repairs.
However, if your area is prone to flooding in the monsoon, there is a possibility that all of this effort will have to be redone once the rains have passed and the flooding is over. In such areas, it might be a good idea to wait until after the monsoon season to perform all of the necessary cleaning and repairs.
Maintaining your water tank requires a lot of effort at regular intervals but most apartment buildings have a maintenance committee or a turn-based system between residents in place for performing the tasks. Family members also often share the responsibilities of maintaining and operating the water pump in a private residence, which includes keeping an eye on the water storage tank as well. You can, however, call professional water tank cleaning services for their assistance and expertise if needed.
Check out this detailed home maintenance checklist to prevent further repairs around the house. You can also use effective DIY home maintenance tips to take care of small repairs on your own as long as you have some of these essential tools at home.
Stay tuned to Zameen Blog for more home maintenance advice and tips. You can write to us at blog@zameen.com to share your comments and feedback on our posts.
