Plumbing advice

Keeping your water storage tank clean and safe

Most Accra homes and businesses depend on a poly tank. Here is how to keep the water in it clean, the float valve working and the pump alive.

Why the tank matters more than the mains

When supply is intermittent, the tank is your water. Sediment settles in the bottom, biofilm forms on the walls in the heat, and a float valve that no longer closes can waste water continuously. The tank also decides the health of the pump: a pump that draws from a tank with a blocked outlet strainer runs hot and fails early.

How often to clean it

Arrange an inspection and a cleaning schedule suited to the water source, tank condition and building use. Schools, clinics and other managed facilities should follow their water-safety plan. Cleaning and disinfection need a trained professional: do not enter a tank or improvise chlorine dosing. The WHO guidance below describes cleaning and disinfection as separate steps, with safe disposal of waste water.

The float valve

Stand by the tank when it is full. If you hear water running or see the overflow pipe dripping, the valve is not closing. Replacing it is inexpensive; leaving it is not. On larger tanks a ball-float with a worn seat is the usual cause.

Pump habits that cost money

Do not let the pump run dry — fit a low-level cut-off if supply is unreliable. Do not ignore rapid on–off cycling; it usually means a leak on the delivery side or a failed pressure vessel, and it wears the motor and pressure switch quickly. Keep the pump under cover and off the ground, and give it a quick listen once a week: a change in sound is the earliest warning you will get.

When to call us

Discoloured water after cleaning, pressure that has dropped over weeks, a pump that trips the breaker, or an overflow you cannot stop — those are jobs for a plumber, and each is cheaper the earlier it is looked at.

Further reading

WHO: cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks and water safety in buildings. These support professional water-safety planning; they are not instructions to enter a tank yourself.