Milton or Bleach

[Dave Bebb]

Been thinking of giving my fresh water tank a debuging our boat is eight years old and the lid has never been off ,do not like bleach as it a bit harsh, will Milton do the same job we do not live on our boat just holidays about six to eight week a year thanks

[WotEver]

I always thought that Milton was bleach?

[magnetman]

Is there a problem with the water? Rough taste or dodgy colour maybe.

 

I sometimes get a problem with one of my boats which has a built in tank not regularly "cycled" due to it not being the boat we live on and therefore used less often. I find emptying the tank and refilling it helps but at the end of the day a built in tank probably needs the lid taking off, drying out and painting internally with tank black.

 

That's quite a big job.

[Penfold]

I always thought that Milton was bleach?

It may be, but if it's safe enough to clean new born childrens bottles etc, then it must be good (and smell free) for water tanks of any sort. I use it to give my cycling bidons a swill through too

[Chewbacka]

If no one has looked in for 8 years I would have a look. You don't want rusty little holes forming and canal water leaking in.

On the other hand you would not have to go to the water point so often.

 

Earlier this year I cleaned my tank, which was much cleaner than I expected, but there were some big rusty patches. After prep I painted with 2 pack epoxy. Ten years ago it would have been an easy but messy job, but now I find it very cramped in there, and I have to be careful I don't get stuck. It's now a lovely blue colour and should last at least 10 years if I've done it right.

[Chertsey]

Milton is (or at least it was last time I used it) sodium hypochlorite solution, the same stuff as thin bleach but more dilute and a great deal more expensive for the extra water! So cheap thin bleach (not the thick stuff which is a different chemical) would be fine, just read a Milton bottle to work out the equivalent dilution.

 

Having said that, if there's no actual problem, just keeping it filled with fresh chlorinated tap water should stop bugs breeding.

[saltysplash]

Ive always used Thin Houshold Bleach as above and you can get about 5million gallons for a £1....almost

 

make sure it is the Thin stuff.

 

I also use it to sterilse the beer making kit

[Chewbacka]

I think the normal method is 1Litre of thin bleach per 1000Litres of water.

Leave for a few hours then empty the tank. I wouldn't use it for toilet flushing as it wont help the nice bugs in the waste tank.

 

Of course if you open the tank you can wash and rinse it by hand and get rid of any rust whilst you are in there.

 

 

Added this for advice on bleach concentration

http://www.community.gov.yk.ca/pdf/cleaning_disinfecting_water_holding_tank.pdf

Edited September 27, 2016 by Chewbacka

[ditchcrawler]

This is what Milton is from their web site

"Milton Fluid is made of an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite and 16.5% sodium chloride. The Milton Fluid that is available to buy is a strength of 2% sodium hypochlorite"

 

http://www.milton-tm.com/en/consumer/faqs

[Chertsey]

This is what Milton is from their web site

"Milton Fluid is made of an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite and 16.5% sodium chloride. The Milton Fluid that is available to buy is a strength of 2% sodium hypochlorite"

 

http://www.milton-tm.com/en/consumer/faqs

And my Wilko thin bleach claims to be <5%

You probably wouldn't want to add the salt.

[ditchcrawler]

And my Wilko thin bleach claims to be <5%

You probably wouldn't want to add the salt.

I am with you 100% when I worked Offshore we added thin bleach to the drinking water if the colony count started rising. We used a product called Champion Sterilising Bleach as we knew the Chlorine content of it

[tonyt40]

You could use Milton but personally I would use something like these:-

 

https://www.alexshanks.com/chlorine-tablets-c-81-p-1357?gclid=COe28ZmIsM8CFUSeGwode7wFCw

 

When we are cleaning potable water tanks we use a a solution of 50 parts per million (ppm) for 1 hour soak time. To use the tablets in the link you would need 1 tablet per 20 litres but you get 200 in the pack for £8 plus postage. Not sure how much Milton makes a 50ppm solution

[pophops]

So after treating your tank with Milton or bleach what are you going to do with the tank full of water?

If you propose to pump it into the canal then you are going to do damage to the environment.

I would suggest it is much better to empty the tank completely before cleaning and painting it.

[tonyt40]

So after treating your tank with Milton or bleach what are you going to do with the tank full of water?

If you propose to pump it into the canal then you are going to do damage to the environment.

I would suggest it is much better to empty the tank completely before cleaning and painting it.

Try this:-

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000g-LEATHER-TANNING-AQUARIUM-DECHLORINATOR-SODIUM-THIOSULPHATE-1KG-/161163226086?hash=item258613abe6:g:374AAOxyXDhSmRvv

 

Add to tank To do it properly.

Edited September 27, 2016 by tonyt40

[Alan&sue]

We prefer to usee Milton tablets once a year to clean the water tank & it cleans the pipes, shower head etc.

[pophops]

Try this:-

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1000g-LEATHER-TANNING-AQUARIUM-DECHLORINATOR-SODIUM-THIOSULPHATE-1KG-/161163226086?hash=item258613abe6:g:374AAOxyXDhSmRvv

 

Add to tank To do it properly.

 

So at exactly what rate do you add sodium-thiosulphate to a tankful of water treated with Wilko bleach or an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite and 16.5% sodium chloride in order to make it safe for release into watercourses?

[tonyt40]

So at exactly what rate do you add sodium-thiosulphate to a tankful of water treated with Wilko bleach or an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite and 16.5% sodium chloride in order to make it safe for release into watercourses?

Absolutely no idea really because you don't know how strong you bleach solution is. Your solution ideally is at 50ppm. At 50ppm it would be approx 100g per 1000 litres based on products I have used before. Unless you have some kind of test kit you would have to guess.

[Chertsey]

Is it significant? In the context of all the other pollutants, especially agricultural run off, detergents, and masses of chlorinated tap water? In the very dilute concentrations we're talking about?

 

Although returning to the OP, I would still suggest that provided you've had a reasonable throughput of tap water, and no external contamination, the tank shouldn't need routine sterilising.

[tonyt40]

We prefer to use Milton tablets once a year to clean the water tank & it cleans the pipes, shower head etc.

All good practice. Bugs love water that is "stagnant" (not regularly used) and at a temp between 20 and 45 degrees C. If you leave your boat for any length of time give your water system a good flush through. Cleaning the shower head in a bleach solution is important . Shower heads are known to breed Legionella and particularly as they are not used regularly. In health care we clean the shower heads monthly.

Edited September 27, 2016 by tonyt40

[Chertsey]

All good practice. Bugs love water that is "stagnant" (not regularly used) and at a temp between 20 and 45 degrees C. If you leave your boat for any length of time give your water system a good flush through. Cleaning the shower head in a bleach solution is important . Shower heads are known to breed Legionella and particularly as they are not used regularly. In health care we clean the shower heads monthly.

Fair point, it's really more about cleaning the pipe work etc than the tank itself isn't it. I'd overlooked that because I've just got a big tank with a tap at the bottom!

[ditchcrawler]

Is it significant? In the context of all the other pollutants, especially agricultural run off, detergents, and masses of chlorinated tap water? In the very dilute concentrations we're talking about?

 

Although returning to the OP, I would still suggest that provided you've had a reasonable throughput of tap water, and no external contamination, the tank shouldn't need routine sterilising.

Agree. Unless you treat your hose like we saw at a hire base where they just pull it back across the marina through the water when the tank is full.

Shower heads are known to breed Legionella and particularly as they are not used regularly. In health care we clean the shower heads monthly.

Of course you do as the elderly and sick are more susceptible to Legionella, but I don't think the risk is that high for a healthy person

[Peter-Bullfinch]

No. Legionnaires recently killed a dear friend of ours who was fit and active. He caught it from an outdoor jacuzzi at his son's house.

[tonyt40]

Agree. Unless you treat your hose like we saw at a hire base where they just pull it back across the marina through the water when the tank is full.

Of course you do as the elderly and sick are more susceptible to Legionella, but I don't think the risk is that high for a healthy person

I agree hoses need to be kept clean. Hoses need flushing before you fill the tank as any water left from last time will have probably stagnated and during the summer have been stored in a locker at 20 degrees C or more giving bacteria the ideal breeding conditions.

 

I work in Mental Health with the majority of patients being working age adults. The risks are the same.

 

Over 50, male, current or past smoker, weakened immune system (diabetic, kidney problems, medication), chronic Lung/breathing issues? How many boaters fall into these categories? The risk is probably higher than you think. The UK currently doesn't screen routinely for Legionnaires disease as a cause of death but how many older people die from "pneumonia"? A few years ago Germany (iirc) started this screening. The reported death rate from legionnaires disease went up from 30,000 to 300,000 in a year.

 

There is more info here:

http://patient.info/health/legionnaires-disease-leaflet

Edited September 28, 2016 by tonyt40