Thoughts on bleaching

[JDGreene]

I came from the pool world. Pool gone now but knowledge still lingers.

City water usually has 1-3 ppm of free chlorine. Been drinking it for years and years and still here. Adding 1/2 tablespoon of 6% bleach to 5 gallons of water will raise the free chlorine to 25 ppm. I wouldn't want to drink that.

The problem you are going to have is that the UV from sunlight breaks down free chlorine and it will dissapate within hours if sitting in direct sunlight. If it sits in a barn or room with no direct sunlight, it might make it all day without dropping to 0 ppm.

If your using city water that's already chlorinated, I wouldn't worry about adding bleach. Now if you want to try to clean the system once in a while by raising the FC to shock levels by running water through the system, that would be fine but don't let anything drink from it while you are "cleaning it out". If you have any metal in the system, the metal isn't going to like the raised levels of chlorine.

If your using well water then you can add some bleach to the water to sanitize the water. It takes ~18 drops of 6% bleach to raise the FC 3 ppm in 5 gallons of water. So 1 drop of bleach per gallon = 1 ppm FC as a general guide. If you have copper in your well water, the water may turn green from the chlorine, don't remember if it will at those low concentrations or not.

Do you ordinarily have calcium scale problems with your water or something?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

My father and a family friend, both of whom have raised chickens their entire lives. I figure it's safe since it can't be any more chlorinated than pool water, but I digress. I'm still pretty new to raising chickens.

It also is no more chlorinated than the water that comes flowing out of your water pipes whenever you turn on a faucet.

Chlorinated drinking water (for humans) is without a doubt the greatest advance in medical science in the history of human kind. It continues to amaze me however how some people label other people science deniers because they don't have faith in the United Nations Global Warming committee yet some of these same folks look at everything else in science as hokum despite all evidence to the contrary.

 

[TexasHomesteader1130]

I came from the pool world. Pool gone now but knowledge still lingers.

City water usually has 1-3 ppm of free chlorine. Been drinking it for years and years and still here. Adding 1/2 tablespoon of 6% bleach to 5 gallons of water will raise the free chlorine to 25 ppm. I wouldn't want to drink that.

The problem you are going to have is that the UV from sunlight breaks down free chlorine and it will dissapate within hours if sitting in direct sunlight. If it sits in a barn or room with no direct sunlight, it might make it all day without dropping to 0 ppm.

If your using city water that's already chlorinated, I wouldn't worry about adding bleach. Now if you want to try to clean the system once in a while by raising the FC to shock levels by running water through the system, that would be fine but don't let anything drink from it while you are "cleaning it out". If you have any metal in the system, the metal isn't going to like the raised levels of chlorine.

If your using well water then you can add some bleach to the water to sanitize the water. It takes ~18 drops of 6% bleach to raise the FC 3 ppm in 5 gallons of water. So 1 drop of bleach per gallon = 1 ppm FC as a general guide. If you have copper in your well water, the water may turn green from the chlorine, don't remember if it will at those low concentrations or not.

Do you ordinarily have calcium scale problems with your water or something?

Yes I do have a problem with scale without the added chlorine. If for any reason I have to disconnect my water hose or attachments I have to bang off the accumulated minerals or the gasket won't seal.

 

[JDGreene]

You use welll water or city water?
What color is the scale?