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O/T sour cistern

C

carman870ky

Member
Internal filters got flushed on accident. Leaves got in the cistern. Just cleaned it last year and no ground water or cracks at all. After 10 yrs only 8 gal of muck. What's the best way to un-sour it? Baking soda, vinegar,ag.lime, clorox? (Hope it doesn't come to cleaning again) Actually very few leaves so it may have been more warm water than anything. 17,000 gal in it now. Thank you all in advance. I always read great advice on here and now its my turn HELP: The wife is getting angry!
 
Dad used to get a product called "Old Settler" that came in a box about same size as baking soda. It was a powder that was sprinkled over the top of the water. No idea where he bought it, but maybe try googling it.
I remember the days of draining down the cistern and getting in there with shovels to clean it every year. Not a fond memory. Ours had two chambers, one flowing into the other, so most of the junk was on the one side
Paul
 
We had a cistern when I was growing up. I know what you mean about not wanting to clean it again. If you just cleaned it last year there must be more going on than just a few leaves. We had to occasionally add bleach to ours especially in the summer time. I think just the high humidity causes mold and mildew to grow and make the water stink like it is moldy. Opening up the access and letting some dry air in wouldn't hurt either.
 
Be careful about what you mix up to clean the cistern with. The wrong ingredients and you can produce chlorine gas which will kill you while working in a cistern.
 
Well diggers throw chlorine tablets in the well when they are done or after working on it.
 
I have a cistern that has sat unused since we got city water out here in the sticks......and I don't miss using it one bit! I don't know how many gallons it holds....it's 8x8x36.

I poured Clorox in mine ever so often....it's amazing how fast that chlorine assimilates through the water......I poured it in one end and the pump was in the other end....you didn't have to use much water before tasting the chlorine.

I think you got more than leaves in your cistern. I found all sorts of critters in mine and I took precautions to prevent it.....but some still find a way to get in. Japanese beetles would get washed down the downspouts and manage to get past the screens and I found a dead mouse floating one time....how he got in....I'll never know. Yep....that's enough to make you want to puke..but when you have a water hole...things are going to drown in it. When the lid was removed....the water always looked crystal clear and never had an odor to it. I'd be finding out what is making it stink.
 
In KY public water can't have more than 4ppm free Cl, I would not want to juice it much more than that. If you go the Cl route you will need to leave the lid off for a while before sticking your head in it. How much air space do you have in there? With "stuff" in it bleach or any other form of Cl is going to gas off pretty bad when it first hits it. Might want to get a pool tester that test for "free" Cl, and add a little bleach at a time and see what you get. There is about half pound of Cl in a gallon of regular (6%ish) clorox.

Good luck.

Dave
 
Based on 17,000 gallons, you could add between 2.3 lbs to 4.75 lbs of household bleach and it would be safe to drink. This equates to 1/3 to 1/2 gallon. If you would use pool chlorine, it equates to .46 to .95 lbs (granular). I would not use the pucks becuase there is no way to detemine dosage becuase it takes so long to dissolve. Baking soda would remove odor but nothing else in a cistern.
 
Many thanks for the fast replys. Think I"ll carefully go the CI route. I remember Grampa using chlorine in his cistern. I remember it left a funny taste, never did care for it. But this is the first time in 10 years this has happened. Also this has been a very damp and humid year, way more than usual. To clean it,I use a pressure washer on the walls and floor with a wet/dry vac. Took me about 4 hours by myself.
 
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