Keeping Water Clean and Fresh

Good old bleach is great, but treatment tabs have advantages.

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The stable residual and low aluminum corrosion rates make Clean Tabs Puriclean (far right) the PS Best Choice among tank sanitizing chemicals. Our Best Choice among tank freshening and disinfection chemicals are the Mega Tabs (far left).
The stable residual and low aluminum corrosion rates make Clean Tabs Puriclean (far right) the PS Best Choice among tank sanitizing chemicals. Our Best Choice among tank freshening and disinfection chemicals are the Mega Tabs (far left).

Beyond protecting the tank with basic filtration and securing the tank vent, you also need to take further action to ensure water quality, as the tank and its contents will always be far from sterile.

Municipal water is filtered to remove turbidity, disinfected (typically with chlorine, ozone or ultraviolet light), filtered once more (often very fine filtration to remove cryptosporidium cysts, which resist disinfection), and disinfected once more (with chlorine or chloramine) to protect the water while its in the distribution system. However, since we are storing the water on our boats, this process of secondary disinfection becomes our responsibility. So what are the options for treating water that is already in an onboard tank?

In the U.S., the chlorine residual from municipal waters secondary disinfection is usually enough to keep tank water clean. In most cases, a sufficient amount of chlorine—1 part per million (ppm)—from the municipal treatment process carries into the boats tank. You can easily check the amount of chlorine in your tank by using the test strips designed for aquariums. We like the Tetra EasyStrips (about 69 cents per test), which simultaneously test for nitrate, nitrite, hardness, chlorine, alkalinity, and pH.

Over-chlorinating, whether with bleach or commercial freshening chemicals, can shorten the life of elastomers in your plumbing. Chlorine is a leading cause of death for freshwater pump impellers. Excess chlorine also shortens the life of tap-water polishing filters. Finally, excess chlorine has negative health effects and is limited to 4 ppm by U.S. drinking water standards (0.5-1 ppm is normal). If you find that your tank lacks any residual chlorine, there are a few treatment options:

Bleach: Household bleach (unscented) typically contains 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite, which breaks down in water into hypochlorous acid and several other useful sterilizing agents. Only a few parts per million are needed to effectively deactivate bacteria and viruses, typically within two to 30 minutes, depending on temperature and contaminant levels. However, there are a few caveats. The water must be reasonably free of physical dirt, since the bleach will expend itself oxidizing organic materials and bacteria will hide within the dirt.

How much bleach should you use? More is not always better. The standard recommendation for emergency disinfection is 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons; this standard is frequently repeated in boating and camping texts. This allows for organic compounds chlorine demand and provides enough kick-20 ppm of free chlorine-to reach micro-organisms buried inside small dirt particles. This is appropriate for sanitizing and for dirty water, but it is overkill for routine treatment of good quality water, at least 10 times more than is typically used in tap water.

For treating water that is clear and chlorinated at the tap, 1 teaspoon of bleach per 50 gallons will provide a 2 ppm booster, the very most that should be needed. Chlorine aftertaste is the most common onboard water-quality complaint; however, chlorine at the tank can be efficiently removed with carbon filtration. In fact, chlorination is vital to performance of downstream filtration, controlling growth within the filter.

Dichlorisocyanurinate: Common in swimming pool tablets, chlorine in this form has several advantages. Chlorine levels are stabilized by a chemical equilibrium, resulting in a more stable and more durable treatment, and reducing the amount required. Additionally, the released chlorine generates cyanuric acid, an effective corrosion inhibitor for aluminum, reducing aluminum corrosion by 10 to 40 times compared to bleach treatment. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) approve this method.

Hydrogen peroxide: Internet forums frequently suggest the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a bleach alternative, but because of the lack of regulatory guidance (neither the EPA nor WHO recommend it as a treatment solely on its own) and numerous well-known shortcomings, we cannot recommend it as a sterilizing agent.

Quaternary amines: Common in non-bleach, anti-bacterial surface cleaners and hand soaps, quaternary amines (e.g. benzalkonium chloride) are effective against bacteria, algae, and most viruses. However, they are typically very toxic to marine invertebrates (a few ppb is lethal), so use around the water should be limited. If you are sterilizing a tank with these, they should be flushed from the system before drinking.

Ultraviolet light (UV): Ultraviolet light, specifically those wavelengths between 250 and 300 nanometers, is a very effective sterilizing agent. UV is typically employed as a final sterilizing step, in the plumbing, and not in the tank. We’ve tested two portable UV devices for personal water purification, the Steripen and the CamelBak All Clear.

Desert island tip: Lets say you’re down to your last bottle of water, and although you have fresh water available, you have no chemicals or filters to make it safe to drink. What to do? WHO has studied this problem, as it is not unusual in the wake of a hurricane or flood.

First, collect the best water you can find in clear water bottles, allow the water to settle, and filter it through cloth until it is reasonably clear. Fill the bottles about three-quarters full, shaking vigorously to oxygenate the water, and then, leave the water in full sun (placing the bottles on a reflective surface helps) for three to eight hours. The suns UV will deactivate over 99.9 percent of the pathogens in the bottle.

None of the above methods will remove microscopic parasites (giardia and cryptosporidium). These are shell-like organisms that resist chlorine treatment; water suspected of containing parasitic cysts must be filtered to 0.5 microns to provide physical removal. We will deal with physical filtering at the tap in the final segment of this series.

What We Tested

There are commercial products designed to accomplish the same water-purifying tasks as bleach, but they claim they do it better. For this report, we tested tank-cleaning products, sanitizing chemicals, and tank-freshening chemicals, as well as a dishwasher detergent.

Intended to cleanse funky tanks before sanitizing, tank-cleaning products contain non-bleach cleaners and sanitizing agents. While they should not be needed in a well-maintained system, they may be helpful if things have been let go.

Sanitizing chemicals are for used after cleaning; all are based on chlorine, but the chemistry varies. Tank-freshening chemicals provide disinfection for clean tanks, supplementing the chlorine in the tap water. These are handy when you don’t trust the tap water-perhaps the water has been sitting for a while and seems less than fresh.

How We Tested

We dosed each freshening product into reverse osmosis (RO) water as directed by the manufacturer, measuring free chlorine and observing odor. We then transferred the water into 1-gallon, disposable ice-tea jugs made of thick-walled polyethylene, which we felt presented a reasonable surrogate for a lightly contaminated polyethylene water tank. Although well-rinsed when emptied, they had a uniform level of taste and smell saturated into the plastic; we graded how well the chlorine residual endured after 24 hours, and how well residual odor and taste were removed.

We then repeated similar tests for tank cleaning-chemicals and tank-sanitizing chemicals. We also placed aluminum corrosion coupons (SAE 329) in the solutions and graded them after regular checks during a three-week period; chlorine-induced corrosion is a major concern for those with aluminum tanks. Note that all testing was with high-quality RO water; other water types may exhibit some chlorine demand (some bleach is neutralized by the water), and some will contain chlorine. The only way to be certain of dosage is to test with swimming pool strips or equivalent.

We tested tank-cleaning products by soaking contaminated beverage containers and soaking dishes uniformly soiled with dried-on salsa. Water and a bleach solution recommended for sanitizing by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) were controls.

We also used each of the freshening chemicals during a summer of cruising, dosed as recommended. Because the filling water was variable, we did not attempt any quantitative measurement in the actual onboard field trials. We simply evaluated taste.

Observations

Here is a rundown of some important observations that testers made during the evaluation.

Any additives should be used during the first one-third of the filling process. This allows a thorough mixing. All of the tablets dissolved before the tank was full. For aluminum tanks, dissolve the tablets in a bottle of water first.

Bleach is a handling problem. We settled on a sturdy pint sports drink bottle with a cap that held the required amount. We kept the bottle in a deck locker to avoid dribbling the bleach on clothing, upholstery, or carpet. For annual sanitizing we filled a water bottle with the required dose at home and took only that to the marina. Camco TastePure Freshener contains diluted bleach and is less of a bleaching hazard if spilled. All other products were non-bleaching; nevertheless we would still clean up all spills and keep them away from fabric.

While some of the products left a detectable chlorine smell in the tank, none were noticeable at the tap, even without carbon filtration.

We were concerned about pitting in aluminum tanks. The highest concentrations were in the tank cleaning and sanitation products. Since these are only used once a year for no more than 90 minutes while the tank is being cleaned and flushed, we limited the test coupon exposure to only 48 hours. None of the products caused significant pitting, but Puriclean (dichlorisocyanurinate) was clearly less corrosive to aluminum than other sanitizing treatments. When we tested freshening treatments and tap water, we found the same trend; AquaMega Tabs (also based on dichlorisocyanurinate) were far less damaging than other treatments, and less damaging than tap water alone.

While most disinfecting products are based around 2 to 3 ppm of free chlorine, 0.5 ppm residual chlorine is enough for safe water, and owners of aluminum tanks should buy test tapes and use only the minimum amount of disinfectant required.

We tested some non-chlorine treatments (ozone and hydrogen peroxide), but found these to be either corrosive to aluminum or ineffective. Carefully regulated chlorination is the most sensible treatment.

Tank cleaning chemicals function a little differently than bleach and detergent, dissolving more material without agitation, but not loosening heavier deposits as well as detergent with light agitation. They did perform better than plain water or the ANSI bleach sanitizing solution. All were non-corrosive to aluminum. The sanitizing effect of the quaternary amines and peroxides may be valuable, if the user does not intend to follow cleaning with a bleach sanitizing process.

We placed aluminum corrosion coupons (SAE 329) in the solutions and graded them after regular checks during a three-week period; chlorine-induced corrosion is a major concern for those with aluminum tanks.
We placed aluminum corrosion coupons (SAE 329) in the solutions and graded them after regular checks during a three-week period; chlorine-induced corrosion is a major concern for those with aluminum tanks. For sailors with aluminum tanks, we recommend Aqua Mega Tabs and Puriclean because of much lower corrosion rates.
Tank Cleaning Chemicals

Star brite Tank Cleaner

Star brite’s Water Tank and System Flush, also labeled as AQUA™ Water Tank & System Flush, is based on alcohol and alkylbenzly chloride, a quaternary amine commonly used in anti-bacterial hand soaps and surface cleaners. It is more potent than plain bleach sanitizing solutions. However, we cannot confirm the effectiveness of this chemistry.

We do not advise adding bleach to the product, as an undesirable reaction will occur. Any bleach sanitizing, if desired, must be a separate step.

Bottom line: Recommended with a bleach follow up if fail-safe sanitizing is required.

Camco Spring Fresh

Camco’s TastePURE Spring Fresh Fresh Water System Cleaner and Deodorizer contains a food-grade surfactant and is a better cleaner than plain bleach sanitizing. As with the Star brite, we caution against adding bleach to the product as a bad reaction will occur. If you plan to do bleach sanitizing, do it in a separate step.

Bottom line: Recommended if fail-safe sanitizing is required. Follow up with bleach or Camco Dewinterizer.

Finish PowerBall Tabs

Our research into the chemistry behind tank-sterilizing tabs led us to regular dishwashing tablets. Finish Powerball Tabs were the ones we had on hand, so we included them in the test. They required slightly more agitation than the other test products, but they did a superior job when gentle swirling was added. Like all dishwasher detergents, Powerball Tabs contain a sterilizing agent (in this case, percarbonate, which releases hydrogen peroxide) to prevent the dishwasher from getting nasty. We used 1 tablet per 5 gallons of water, which we felt mimicked the solution used in a dishwasher.

Bottom line: This is the budget buy choice, if you have the time to take your boat for a rollicking sail to provide some agitation.

Tank Sanitizing Chemicals

These treatments are meant to be done once a season (often after winter storage) or when you suspect a contaminated tank.

Clean Tabs Puriclean

Clean Tabs Puriclean comes in 100g and 400g sizes. It is our top pick of the tank sanitizing chemicals tested.
Clean Tabs Puriclean comes in 100g and 400g sizes. It is our top pick of the tank sanitizing chemicals tested.

These tabs are based upon sodium dichlorisocyanurinate, and have the same basic chemistry as AquaMega Tabs (below), but are packaged in a tub suitable for tanks up to 60 gallons. To uses, you dissolve the tabs in about gallon of water, then mix it into the tank and allow it to sit for one to two hours. This concentration (about 20-30 ppm chlorine) sanitizes any pre-cleaned tank. Testers noted much lower aluminum corrosion rates than other sanitizing products; the aluminum is discolored by the formation of a dark passive layer, which stops further corrosion and pitting.

Bottom line: Recommended. The stable residual and low aluminum corrosion rates make Clean Tabs Puriclean the PS Best Choice among tank sanitizing chemicals.

Star brite Aqua Water Shock

A concentrated formula, Star brite’s Aqua Water Shock is intended to clear up any odors and tastes that tank cleaning leaves behind, and to sanitize the tank. It is also recommended for routine freshening at a lower dosage.

Bottom line: We don’t believe this outperforms the ANSI bleach sanitizing procedure (below).

Camco Dewinterizer

Camco’s Dewinterizer uses a somewhat lower chlorine content than recommended by ANSI. It is intended to clear-up odors and tastes that tank cleaning left behind, and to sanitize the tank.

Bottom line: We don’t believe this outperforms the ANSI bleach sanitizing procedure.

Tank Freshening, Disinfection Chemicals

These treatments are meant to be done on a routine basis, either to restore freshness to stale water or to maintain clean tanks.

Household Bleach

Unscented, 5.25-percent sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) is sold under countless brands. The baseline for comparison, WHO and the EPA has studied this ad nauseam. A solution of 1 teaspoon per 50 gallons gave us a 2 ppm residual; about right for most tap-water applications. Remember that bleach loses effectiveness after long storage and should not be kept more than six months after opening.

Bottom line: This is far and away the most affordable treatment, but you must measure it yourself-and don’t spill.

1. Baked salsa challenged the tank cleaners in our test (before). 2. Clockwise from top left (after): Starbrite Tank & System Flush, Finish Power- ball, water, Camco Spring Fresh. I tested to see if there were any differences in cleaning power of these solutions but found that they were insignificant. 3. I applied several solutions to red fabric and observed the degree of bleaching. In my test boat, the tank was behind the settee in the saloon, so this was always a risk. Dropping a dry tablet would have no risk. Among solutions, bleach was the most precarious to handle near fabrics. (Photos/ Drew Frye)
1. Baked salsa challenged the tank cleaners in our test (before). 2. Clockwise from top left (after): Star brite Tank & System Flush, Finish Powerball, water, Camco Spring Fresh. I tested to see if there were any differences in cleaning power of these solutions but found that they were insignificant. 3. I applied several solutions to red fabric and observed the degree of bleaching. In my test boat, the tank was behind the settee in the saloon, so this was always a risk. Dropping a dry tablet would have no risk. Among solutions, bleach was the most precarious to handle near fabrics. (Photos/ Drew Frye)

Clean Tabs Aqua Mega Tabs

Based on sodium dichlorisocyanurinate, the Aqua Mega tablets are available in amounts matched to tank sizes. We observed a more stable residual and much lower aluminum corrosion rates. There was a stable residual for weeks, versus only 48 hours with bleach products. Because of this stable residual, we suspect that the Aqua Mega tabs dose might be stronger than what most tanks will require for simple freshening.

The Clean Tabs Aqua Mega Tabs come in packs of 20 tabs. Each tab purifies 225 litres of water.
The Clean Tabs Aqua Mega Tabs come in packs of 20 tabs. Each tab purifies 225 litres of water.

If you are willing to test your water, you can tailor a smaller dose that more closely mimics the ANSI solution. If the 50-gallon size is more than you need, you can break tabs in half and wrap-up the remainder in the foil pouch for up to one month. Its also available in small pills (Aqua Minitabs) for individual treatments.

Bottom line: The convenient packaging, low corrosion rates and stable residual made this our Best Choice among tank freshening and disinfection chemicals. It was also our favorite to use.

Star brite Freshener

The Star brite Water Freshener was the only solution in the test lacking the distinctive chlorine odor, but it did not change the odor of our chlorinated tap water. The manufacturer did not share the disinfectant chemistry, so we could not confirm its effectiveness.

Bottom line: While the lack of chlorine smell in the concentrate suggested better tasting water, we observed no difference on the boat.

TastePure Freshener

Based on pre-diluted bleach, TastePure Water Freshener performed much like bleach. The resulting water had a barely discernible chlorine smell, and the taste was fresh.

Bottom line: Recommended as an effective freshening product.

Conclusions

The United States has perhaps the highest quality water in world, regardless of what we read in the papers. Do we need to disinfect if the source water is chlorinated and of high quality? Perhaps not for safety alone, if the tank is cleaned and the water is turned over every few weeks, though often potability is improved. If traveling outside the U.S. or if cautious by nature, providing secondary disinfection is easy and safe.

We like bleach, particularly for annual sanitizing. Its cheap, its known to be effective, and any aftertaste is easily removed with carbon filtering. However, the two test products formulated with dichlorisocyanurinate—Aqua Mega Tabs for freshening and Puriclean Powder for sanitizing—lasted longer than bleach. We also like Aqua Mega tablets for convenience; they have a long shelf life and are simple to use, with nothing to measure, nothing to spill and nothing to return to stowage after use. If your boat is not in the water and you can’t agitate your tank, the cleaning chemicals seem to help loosen deposits better than bleach sanitizing solutions and dishwasher detergents. However, dishwasher detergent did very well when a little sloshing was provided.

Although we began this project expecting cheap and effective bleach would win out, the convenience of some of the commercial products won us over.

For sailors with aluminum tanks, we recommend Aqua Mega Tabs and Puriclean because of much lower corrosion rates—even lower than tap water. Additionally, we believe that the manufacturer’s recommended dose may be quite conservative; half this amount may be sufficient. We recommend that you buy test strips and use the smallest dose that is detectable or produces any chlorine smell in the tank. Aluminum corrosion will be reduced.

Point-of-use filters will remove any last trace of odor, taste, or contaminating chemicals, leaving water as fresh, pure, and safe as bottled water. The steps we explored in this and the water tank filter report are just as critical as that final filtration step. Protection against biological growth begins at the tank fill and the tank.

Water Treatments & Tank Sanitizing
Keeping Water Clean and Fresh
Tank Cleaning
Keeping Water Clean and Fresh
Drew Frye
Drew Frye, Practical Sailor’s technical editor, has used his background in chemistry and engineering to help guide Practical Sailor toward some of the most important topics covered during the past 10 years. His in-depth reporting on everything from anchors to safety tethers to fuel additives have netted multiple awards from Boating Writers International. With more than three decades of experience as a refinery engineer and a sailor, he has a knack for discovering money-saving “home-brew” products or “hacks” that make boating affordable for almost anyone. He has conducted dozens of tests for Practical Sailor and published over 200 articles on sailing equipment. His rigorous testing has prompted the improvement and introduction of several marine products that might not exist without his input. His book “Rigging Modern Anchors” has won wide praise for introducing the use of modern materials and novel techniques to solve an array of anchoring challenges. 

27 COMMENTS

  1. Excellent article(s), all 3 of them. I learned a lot. Biggest frustration is sourcing the Best Choice Aqua Mega Tabs. They are not available in the US. I can’t imagine why more marine supply stores don’t offer them.

  2. I seem to be having trouble finding the Aqua Mega Tabs in the US and even in England it seems to be hard to come by and with shipping it will be too expensive.
    Is there any US source with stock of this product? I tried to leave a message on the www site for Aqua Mega and it did not seem to work.
    thanks Kent

  3. My mother would like to keep her water clean and free from contamination, which is why she’s thinking of installing a system that will help keep it clean. Well, I also agree with you that it would be smarter to use chlorine too. Thank you for clarifying here as well the importance of sterilizing.

  4. My marina on West River, in Maryland, uses well water. Assuming the well water passes the county or state requirements for potability, how, if at all, does this fact change your recommendation about the amount of bleach to use, i.e., 1 tsp per 50 gal water, where water is clear and chlorinated at tap?

  5. I’m not far from the West River, just 10 miles down the Chesapeake Bay, in Deale, MD. My marina is also on well water, and I’m guessing the well water is similar. Often it goes a little skunky over time, as the sulfate in the well water is converted to sulfide by native bacteria.

    The above advice on chlorination assumes potable quality water that is not chlorinated, and is based on EPA, WHO, and ANSI guidance, and on personal experience and testing. It should apply to your well water. For those that use chlorinated tap water, as long as you rinse the hose out well before use, chlorination of the boat’s tank is not required.

  6. My Beneteau Oceanis (2002) manual section on the fresh water system recommends “When the system has not been used for a long period of time, the tanks and pipes should be cleansed with an acetic acid solution (white vinegar).” But I find no mention of acetic acid here. What are your thoughts about this?
    Thanks
    Arthur

    • Excellent question (cleaning plumbing with vinegar) and excellent topic. Unfortunately the manual gives no information beyond this: “When the system has not been used for a long period of time, the tanks and pipes should be cleansed with an acetic
      acid solution (white vinegar).” I will be digging into this more deeply.

      First, avoid contamination of the lines by “pickling” them with polypropylene glycol winterizing chemical, even in warm climates. So long as the solution is greater than 25% glycol there will be no growth. If you skimp on the agent or there is water in the pipes when you start and you use the typical -40F burst point antifreeze, the bugs will use it as food and grow a nice thick film, which is not dangerous itself, but tastes nasty and makes it impossible for chlorine to work properly through the season. The hot water tank and freshwater tanks should be stored empty and dry.

      Bleach is the standard and recognized method for sanitizing relatively clean systems. But if there is a substantial film, there can be advantages to soaking with an acid to eat away the film. Vinegar will work, but the literature and PS testing agree that citric acid (Amazon or the grocery store) is 3-5 times more effective both for removing the film and deactivating chlorine resistant bugs, such as gardia. For every descaling, cleaning, and sanitizing use, citric acid is the more effective, less expensive choice. Vinegar is suggested simply because everyone has it in the shelf.

      We’re going to follow-up on this topic, since freshwater systems can get nasty.

  7. Good article. We do something different. We have one tank with a 125gal capacity and we do fresh water cooling of both our refrigeration and freezer from this tank. We run the cooling return line through a canister filter using a charcoal filter. Yes that takes the chlorine out of the water. But we also use tank water through another charcoal filter to flush our water maker, so we don’t have to do the capture RO water and use that for flushing. When in the US we use dock water, but we always run the hose for a good bit to clear bacteria in the hose and I suspect the choline in the municipal water help keeps the tank good since we live aboard and fill about every two weeks.

    We did a near circumnavigation of 10 years and 35K miles and when we take water off a third world dock we have a triple filter we use. The first filter is 20 micron, the second inline filter is 5 micron and the last inline filter is a half micro filter with a polarized agent that will remove viruses. We hook the hose up to one end of the filter and the other end of the series goes in the tank. Of course we test water before using it to find out the ppm of the ions. If it is over 750ppm we try to do something different.

    While we have a water maker, there are some places where you are at a dock, but you would not dare pull the harbor water into your water maker, so the three stage filter works well. Otherwise it is time for day trip to find clean salt water and run the water maker.

  8. You do NOT want hypochorite- or chlorine-containing chemicals in the flush water tank. There is a carbon pre-filter to remove the chlorine, but I’d tend to play it safe. A common recommendation is to scrub the tank as practical, shock chlorinate (not a lot–generally a few tablespoons of bleach) the tank at the start of the season, then rinse vigorously and call it good for the year. You will still get a trace of chlorine with city water (about 1 ppm) but the filter can deal with that.

  9. Plain household bleach is becoming harder to discern. Between many options, scented, low foaming, disinfecting etc even just plain bleach is hard to identify on a store shelf with all the advertising hype.

  10. I noticed that sodium dichloroisocyanurate found in Aqua Mega tabs was recommended, but are difficult to find in the US.
    I wanted to make you aware of a newly available product, Aquatabs-Marine, which uses the same disinfectant compound and is now widely available in the US at http://www.AquamarineWaterSolutions.com. One tablet treats 4 gallons at about 1.2 ppm, so it can be removed by the active carbon filter on the freshwater flush of most watermakers. This is a drinking water quality tablet that is EPA registered, NSF certified and recognized by the WHO as a routine household drinking water disinfectant.
    I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

    • Thank you for this link. I’ve been adding sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets to my water tank for years, but until now, only the small tabs sufficient to treat ~2 liters were available in the U.S. In the past I resorted to buying the larger tabs from “gray market” sources on ebay and amazon

  11. Good series but mostly applicable to those without a water maker . While tank purification remained one of our concerns, we tap danced around the issue. We developed a simple plan which was to make all our drinking water directly into a couple of dedicated Jerry jugs. The rest of the water used for cooking and ablution was directed into the vessels tankage. For drinking water only, we kept a couple of one litre plastic jugs in the fridge topped up from the two dedicated Jerry jugs. Never had a water purification issue. Most of the time, our water maker product has was about 200 to 250 ppm. Hugh

  12. This is the most thorough boat water treatise I’ve seen yet. Thanks all. Long shelf life bleach is less effective. Get it as fresh as possible. For clear water I use two drops chlorine per gallon, with a contact time of 48 hours before drinking. For immediate consumption I use eight drops per gallon (of un-chlorinated water), which will make me queasy. To get rid of chlorine taste, I use three cap fulls of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water, and that will kill the chlorine taste. It also de-activates the chlorine. So, for chlorinated water that tastes bad to me, I add hydrogen peroxide to my glass of water a couple minutes before drinking. Peroxide can be added to the tank with equal results, but the chlorine will be de-activated, thereby defeating its purpose. Hydrogen peroxide by itself is basically useless for sanitizing water.

    Personally, I won’t drink anything from a tank until I treat it in my glass or bottle. We typically treat a few gallons at a time and put it in containers in the kitchen for people to drink from. Either that or load up with bottled water (wasteful). No one ever got queasy from this technique, and the peroxide imparts a pleasant sweet taste to the water. Maybe a chemist can explain why this does/doesn’t work. Notwithstanding, I’ve been doing water this way for thirty years and no two-step. Cheap and easy.

  13. Hydrogen peroxide can certainly be used to dechlorinate water (it oxidizes the chlorine to chloride–about 0.4 pounds of H2O2 per pound of chlorine is required); this is a common commercial scale method. However, proper sanitation demands that a chlorine residual is maintained in the tank and throughout the plumbing, if only 1 ppm. Subsequent treatment with carbon is VERY effective at removing the chlorine residual. Carbon removes organic materials by adsorbing them on the surface of microscopic pores. It removes chlorine differently, by sacrificial oxidation of the carbon itself, and as a result it can remove a LOT more chlorine, far more efficiently, than removing odors and tastes without chlorination, by adsorption alone.

    We do not recommend dechlorination in the tanks by any chemistry. You want a chlorine residual. Remove the chlorine with carbon. We like carbon block filters, because they also remove cysts, an economical and practical two-for-one.

    • Thank you Drew. I left out something important that we do with water. Sometimes we rent, sometimes we fly our own boat. Anymore, we carry two Steri-pens when we leave municipal water behind. You mention this product above. Ashore in foreign lands we never allow ice in a glass of water, and we don’t eat salads. Rent boat water tanks are sometimes pretty bad smelling, leaving me to wonder what’s in there. Here’s a link to Steri-pens: https://www.katadyngroup.com/us/en/ado-mp-efg-steripen-adventure-opti-uv-water-purifier~p6693. They run about $70. Not cheap, but it beats the alternative. This was a great article and bears re-posting from time to time.

  14. I just came across this article (March 2023). Unfortunately, like a few others have commented on since 2021, the items that were specifically recommended for aluminum tanks are not available in the US. The Aqua Mega Tabs are not available via Amazon or Hopkins-Carter, nor is the PuraClean for sanitization. There is a product called AquaTabs with same ingredient, but the pills only treat 4 gal vs. the 50 gal, and the price makes it much less cost-effective.

    If PS is going to redistribute these articles year after year, it would be great to have them updated for us US subscribers.

  15. Regarding Cleantabs / Aqua Mega Tabs products that are mentioned in this article, please stay tuned for some exciting news around their availability in the US and Canada. The tests are very relevant to US boaters and the availability issue is being addressed.

  16. We are bringing Clean Tabs to North America – Aqua Mega Tabs, Aqua Midi Tabs, Puriclean etc. We hope to start shipping over the next 3-4 months. If you’d like to be kept informed of availability, please sign up for notifications at cleantabs.com

  17. “In the first part of our three-part series covering onboard water quality, we discussed protecting the tank with basic filtration and securing the tank vent.”

    Can you link the referenced first part? I can’t find it.

    Thanks,
    -Bruce