How Much Bleach- Water Quality

I recently emptied my 120 gallon fresh water tank after purchasing my Island Gypsy 32 that had been on the hard and not used for over a year.
I filled the tank bank up with fresh water. I was told to add ONE CAP of Clorox Bleach to the 120 gallon tank. I was hoping this would make the water at least ok for brushing teeth, showering, etc. Is this not the case?

Any ideas on how to make the water as clean and potable as possible?
Thanks

Best advice I can give is to always use water from the tank. I also added a whole house filter after the pump, using tank water all the time keeps it fresh. Don't sit in the slip and use dock water and let what's in the tank stagnate and then use tank water while cruising. If you use bleach I'ld put in a cup of bleach and about 10 gallons of water, then run water thru each faucet until you smell the bleach. Leave this in the lines for 24 hours then pump the tank dry, then add 20 gallons pump dry and then fill. If you have a filter I would by pass it during this process.

Capt.Bill11 said:

MCA Regulation M1214 Prevent Contamination of Ships Fresh Water Storage

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Wow Bill - That link contains w-h-o-l-e lot o' jargon.

My simple remidy:

1. Add approx 1/8 to 1/4 cup Clorox bleach with each or every other 50 to 100 gallon fresh water fill-up. If you forget to add bleach once in a while - that's OK too!

2. Should always have very-slightly detectable bleach smell in water. Smell gets pronounced - don't add bleach for a couple fills!

3. Feel free to wash dishes and rinse mouth with tank water

4. Use carry-aboard potable water for cooking/drinking

That works well for multi-day-weekend and couple of week long pleasure cruises. Has for decades of my boating. YRMV!

For those living aboard or for longer cruises then entire tanked water system should probably be made-ready to consistently provide clean, potable, consumable water... that is a whole other ball game then what I mention above. Plenty of threads/posts available for research on such in TF Search feature.

Happy Potable-Boat-Water Daze! - Art

I pretty much follow the same procedure that River Cruiser laid out. I never hook up to city water unless it's to fill my water tanks, and go through the water in the tanks fairly rapidly.

I bought a portable filter like this and hook it to my water hose, then run a hose from the filter town into the tank. NO water goes into my tank without first being run through this filter.


We never have a bad water taste or smell, and if we did I'd do the bleach for 24 hours again.

Google "Peggie Hall water treatment. " You will find some good suggestions

GFC said:

I bought a portable filter like this and hook it to my water hose, then run a hose from the filter town into the tank. NO water goes into my tank without first being run through this filter.

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I have a similar filter. Don't do as I did -- flip it upside down over the water to empty the water out. I guarantee the doggone o-ring will fall out and it does not swim well. Mine's had a temporary fix on it for a year now.

The model number is no longer sold. Of course not.

Eventually I'll get another filter assembly and do as we did on the 40'er. Aboard her, we had two of those filters, inline, and ran water from the shore-side spigot through the filters prior to filing the tank. We had an additional filter after the tank and before the pump.

GFC said:

I pretty much follow the same procedure that River Cruiser laid out. I never hook up to city water unless it's to fill my water tanks, and go through the water in the tanks fairly rapidly.

I bought a portable filter like this and hook it to my water hose, then run a hose from the filter town into the tank. NO water goes into my tank without first being run through this filter.

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Peggie answered the "how much bleach" question in the parallel thread, so I'll just comment on the filtration idea here.

We do the same thing only we use two filters, in line, for all freshwater into our tanks, no matter how good the source.

The first is the larger version of that pictured, with a dual-gradient 25-micron/1 micron filter element. (See Big Blue housing and Pentek DGD 25-01 filters at someplace like filtersfast.com.)

And then we run the output through a smaller filter housing -- happens to be a GE SmartWater housing, inexpensive from Home Depot -- with a .5 micron carbon block filter element (See Pentek FloPlus 10)

The carbon block filter to fill our tanks is overkill, and the flow rate is significantly diminished. Not to worry, it fills while I do something else.

A better solution for secondary filtering could well be individual filtered-water faucets at the galley or in the head; we've just done a household install of Moen's under-counter system and it seems very promising so far.

FWIW, we usually filter through only the larger Big Blue when connected directly to shorewater. No flow issues, and I don't have to worry much about sediment build-up on our own internal freshwater lines either, as for instance if shorewater is coming from a well of varying degrees of quality.


But we seldom actually connect to shorewater. We usually cycle through our own tanks, which also seems to help keep the supply fresh.

-Chris

OK- Stupid question time.
Why the water filter from the hose which delivers clean and purified city water.
Is it because the hose can become contaminated?
Can you recommend an online source for such filters that aren't too expensive?
Thanks,
Rick

I've found eight "glugs" of bleach to 130 gallons or so of water to be a good balance between taste/smell (little/no detection) and bacteria.

I am assuming a glug is the sound made from the bleach bottle as the bleach is pouring???

islandgypsy said:

I am assuming a glug is the sound made from the bleach bottle as the bleach is pouring???

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islandgypsy said:

OK- Stupid question time.
Why the water filter from the hose which delivers clean and purified city water.
Is it because the hose can become contaminated?
Can you recommend an online source for such filters that aren't too expensive?
Thanks,
Rick

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The dockwater at our home marina is not "city" water, and it's common that many of the marinas we visit are also on a well. Usually good enough, certainly potable, but we use the big filter primarily to eliminate (well... reduce, at least) sediment.

The smaller carbon block filter can remove some other stuff, like chlorine from treated "city" water... but I've been more focused on removing any cysts, and I think I understand the big filter we use is too coarse for those.


(Our filter regime is heavily influenced by our household process, where we are also on a well with serious iron content in the water.)

Yes, hoses can become contaminated, especially left out in sunlight. We always drain and "dry" our "freshwater" hoses (which are separate from our washdown hoses) after filling our tanks, then store the hoses out of sunlight. Not perfect, though.

I use filtersfast.com, but I haven't really shopped to find if there are better prices somewhere else.

-Chris

islandgypsy said:

OK- Stupid question time.
Why the water filter from the hose which delivers clean and purified city water.
Is it because the hose can become contaminated?
Can you recommend an online source for such filters that aren't too expensive?
Thanks,
Rick

Click to expand...

If you get your city water in Florida, it may not be as clean as you think. Prior to going to an on demand system, we drained our water heater tank even year. You would be surprised at the sand and gunk that accumulates. Not the kind of stuff you want to make it into your boat water heater....or your ice maker.

A few years ago, for no particular reason I grabbed a clear gallon jug and filled it with water at a dock before filling the tanks. I was surprised to see very very brown water. It looked perfectly clear coming out of the hose. So I started the jug quality check as routine before filling the tanks. I check how it looks, smells and tastes. Well if it didn't happen again a few marinas later.

From the Homeland Security site regarding the storage of emergency drinking water which seems fairly applicable to storing water in our boat tanks.

Do I Need to Treat Water?
Once you properly clean containers, fill them with potable, or safe, drinking water. All public water supplies are already treated and should be free of harmful bacteria. However, as an additional precaution, it is recommended that you add 5-7 drops, about 1/8 teaspoon, of chlorine bleach per gallon of water stored. This precaution protects you against any lingering organisms in storage containers that may have been inadvertently missed during the cleaning process.

6 years and 3 boats- we've always just used the water from the tanks as is. Haven't gotten sick or suffered any ill effects.

The tanks are filled a couple times a week (2 souls onboard living life + a washer/dryer) and the water is fine.

Pau Hana said:

6 years and 3 boats- we've always just used the water from the tanks as is. Haven't gotten sick or suffered any ill effects.

The tanks are filled a couple times a week (2 souls onboard living life + a washer/dryer) and the water is fine.

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I'm with you. I shock the tank in the spring at launch. I have a filter under the galley sink. That's it. Water always taste fine. Ice is good. Nobody's ever complained or gotten any bugs.
Must be the wonderful Great Lakes water.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Trawler

Not sure if this was already suggested ... stabilized chlorine instead of unstabilized contained in bleach. Comes in tablet or liquid form ... I prefer liquid (3R Purogene for example) as I can measure any quantity necessary to purify any volume of water.

My new to me boat came with slimy water tank. That slime and the associated unpleasant aura was gone after the first treatment and "rinse". Now, I treat the water regularly and never empty the tank for winter storage ... the tank is spanking clean, and water taste great, always.

Here is a link to product info (UK) ... Purogene | Tristel
Here is a link to product info (US) ... Purogene Fresh Water Treatment Information

Available via lesser known online retailers ... do the search for your country/region.

Two of the USA online vendors:
https://readymaderesources.com/product-category/water-filters-storage/water-treatment/
Cademaster/BillyDump Online Store (Powered by CubeCart)

BTW, after using Purogene for 5 years I feel like this is the best kept secret. Why bother with bleach and chlorine that stinks, burns, taste awful, and evaporates after a while?

I think the issues may be overblown in this article about bleach causing lung infections, but may be worth considering if you have children onboard.

How cleaning with bleach can make children ill | Daily Mail Online

Household liquid bleach usually contains 6-8.5% sodium hypochlorite. A flushing and disinfection of a tank should establish 50 parts chlorine to 1,000,000 parts of water. Let sit in the tanks and lines (turn of faucets, etc.. until you smell the chlorine) to establish a contact time of no less than 2 hours then flush out the tank. This disinfects the lines and tank. - No, one cap is not enough more like 4 oz. at every fill up you may wish to add a cap full to maintain a 2 parts per million chlorine free residual. A swimming pool test strip will register the 50ppm level but will not register the 2ppm.
dan

The State of Washington publishes a guide on how many ounces of bleach per X gallons of water should be used to treat water. It's on their website.

No "guide" or rule can tell you how much chlorine to use to disinfect YOUR water system. What the "safe drinking water act" and ALL STATE Drinking water agencies that comply with that act will do is require a 2 parts per million free chlorine residual. Chlorine will change chemical properties as it works on pathogens, bacteria, etc..The more bacteria in the water the more chlorine or other product you need to kill that bacteria. One of the reasons chlorine is used is that it is easily measured in water. If after the chlorine has a "contact time" in the water (2 hr. minimum) and you can measure a "residual" (Free chlorine) of 2mg/L or 2 ppm then the disinfection process is complete and there remains a small amount of chlorine available to treat any additional bacteria that may enter the system. In other words, if the water entering the system has a great deal of bacteria then it will take more chlorine to counter it.
What you are looking for is the residual chlorine after a contact time. "Hach" makes a test kit that will measure those very low concentrations of chlorine, about $20.00 I think.

Hi Boaties

I have read all the posts about disenfecting your water tanks on your boats with bleach [ chlorine ] and other products. Where I live in Laidley Queensland there is no council supplied water service to any of the houses.

The water I use, drink, bath in and flush comes off the tin roof when it rains. If it dosn`t rain then I buy a truck load of it to fill the house tank. Now there is No fil;ter between the roof and my taps so whatever comes off the roof end up drinking, that includes bird dropping et al.

I have never thought of putting bleach into the tank, when I first moved into here the tank was full of frogs and the water tasted very froggy, I fixed the inlet to stop them getting in and after a big storm fixed the outlet to keep them out, no harm done and an interesting flavour.

Now to using bleach,there is a product called Milton solution which is used to soak babies bottles and teats in between use wouldn`t this be a safer product to use then bleach. I will admit that I am not sure what it contains but it does no harm to babies.

Also there is a purifying tablet which the army uses to purify water while they are on manouvers. Just a thought.

Regards.

David.

Manly Q. said:

Hi Boaties

I have read all the posts about disenfecting your water tanks on your boats with bleach [ chlorine ] and other products. Where I live in Laidley Queensland there is no council supplied water service to any of the houses.

The water I use, drink, bath in and flush comes off the tin roof when it rains. If it dosn`t rain then I buy a truck load of it to fill the house tank. Now there is No fil;ter between the roof and my taps so whatever comes off the roof end up drinking, that includes bird dropping et al.

I have never thought of putting bleach into the tank, when I first moved into here the tank was full of frogs and the water tasted very froggy, I fixed the inlet to stop them getting in and after a big storm fixed the outlet to keep them out, no harm done and an interesting flavour.

Now to using bleach,there is a product called Milton solution which is used to soak babies bottles and teats in between use wouldn`t this be a safer product to use then bleach. I will admit that I am not sure what it contains but it does no harm to babies.

Also there is a purifying tablet which the army uses to purify water while they are on manouvers. Just a thought.

Regards.

David.

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David

Good suggestions. If I had time would research Milton solution as well as army purifying tablet. Looking forward to see others outcome to research efforts.

Regarding teats... I have a whole different consistent process for checking em out to make sure they're always in fine condition. Oh whoops... guess you are referring to them rubber kind o' teats on baby bottles, I'm not! - LOL

Milton Solution is a chlorine based solution along with many of the water purification tablets. Other emergency water purification tablets are iodine based. I have used solid, swimming pool type tablets in order to disinfect new wells both here and in Latin America, They are readily available and are fairly inexpensive even in third world countries. Likewise, regular household bleach containing a 6-8% chlorine solution is readily available safe to handle and can be obtained just about anywhere in the world.
Most of the concern over using "bleach" is based upon the smell, or taste. If that is a problem then you used way too much. At a concentration of 2mg/liter or 2 ppm you will not smell or taste the chlorine.
It is difficult to test for coliform bacteria in water a sample must be incubated for 24 hours in a special solution and then viewed under a specific light condition, usually performed in an approved lab setting. On the other hand a test for free chlorine residual is simple and can be done by most anyone (my 4 year old granddaughter does them regularly) at a cost of about $0.03. If there is a free chlorine residual then the water is bacteria free. Simple easy cost effective.

Pau Hana said:

6 years and 3 boats- we've always just used the water from the tanks as is. Haven't gotten sick or suffered any ill effects.

The tanks are filled a couple times a week (2 souls onboard living life + a washer/dryer) and the water is fine.

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It's people like you who always have to spoil it for the rest of us.

30 years ago, no on bought water and few even filtered it.

Now, we'll all die if we don't filter it five times just to ...

I've done various schemes based on what I've read here in the last two eyars. I'm pretty much back to the beginning, with using jsut the one house filter after the water pump.

I run the dock water for 5 minutes before i start filling the tanks.

Water tastes fine. I did have occasion to clean out one water tank. There was about a cup of gunk on the bottom. But, it's not worth the trouble to clean out the other tank.

While The Clorox Companyhas done very well with this paranoia; if anyone is paying attention, we now have far more problems with superbugs and more kids developing asthma than ever before.

If you live, boat, or keep your boat in the U.S. chances are you obtain your water from a "permitted" water system that routinely produces and supplies filtered and disinfected water. There should be greater than 2ppm chlorine in the water you are filling your tanks with. Chances are also if you maintain the vents and fill lines probably your tank is NOT a breeding ground for bacteria. Good water in = good water at the faucet. In other parts of the world this is not the case.
I attended a water conference (continuing education points) about 12 years ago and the keynote speaker addressed the issue of 3 out of every 4 children born in Latin America die their first year from water born diseases. I felt this was BS so I investigated those figures and they were true.
Since that time I have spent about a month or two every year working to reduce that number of infant deaths by drilling wells and treating water in rural areas of Nicaragua. I have held one of those children while she died and thought that $0.20 worth of bleach could have saved her life and many others in her village.
While it may be "paranoia" where you live, it is a very real and present danger in many parts of the world. If you are boating or visiting those places please take all the precautions you can in filling your tanks.
dan