Combat the Mold Chapter 123 the saga continues...

[David Quinn]

I would love to hear about how some of you combat the mold that grows on the tanks. I currently use barkeeper's friend and a rag to wipe down the mold/scum etc, but love the idea of pressure washing. I also was considering a really light bleach mix to use on the outside of the tanks to keep the bugs down, is this bad? our sanitizer, peracetic acid, does not quite seem to work against the meanies

[zbrew2k]

Bleach!

Preclean with water & a brush or scrubbie to knock down any big pieces (oysters!)

Find an easy way to spray bleach on the moldy areas and give it time to get rid of the mold. Then rinse of the areas thoroughly.

Let the area dry.

Then use a Quaternary Ammonium compound at the manufacturer's recommended strength, (~200ppm) and then spray over all the equipment, walls, etc, (anything water resistant). The Quats are long acting, and as long as they aren't washed off, they help keep mold and bacteria at minimal levels.

I'm sure you know this already, but, while using bleach, make sure there is no acid in the area, use an organic vapor resipirator, and limit your exposure to your skin. It is an extremely corrsive chemical - be safe!

I have used things like pump type vegetation sprayers as an easy way to spray bleach, and a separate one for the Quat also. Sometimes your chemical supplier has a "foamer" for you to use, they rock.

Good Luck,
B

PS: You could go to the root cause, and eliminate the source of the problem, moisture from leaks or humidity.

[tarmadilo]

What he said!

I use a simple hose-end sprayer to apply a bleach solution, which I spray on and let sit for five or so minutes, then I rinse it off.

Cheers, Tim

[BigWilley]

Ganger has nice hose end foamers, but MAKE SURE you fill it with warm water when your done and spray enough to thoroughly rinse it or you will corrode them badly and quickly. I dont have a problem currently but the last place i worked did (Oysters!) I remember bleach working well, isn't bleach great?

[Ted Briggs]

I aggree w/ zbrew2k, Quat is the way to go after cleaning. Maybe a dehumidifier?

[Michael Murphy]

if you have a way to spray steam on mold spores it will kill them 100%.
I have a long 1cm diam. tube I use for steam cleaning my sample cocks, aeration stones, valves etc, if I have mold rowing in a dark crack somewhere I saturate it with steam and brush it clean. it works.

Bleach will usually make it white again only to reapear later.

I believe there are special UV lights some places use, I never have. you may look in to that.