Water Butt Cleaning
Bonsai-Marc
Posts: 444
just read it is something i should do maybe once a year.
Moved into house last year and one already here with lid.
should i buy some special disinfectant etc to add to and then rinse out and give a scrub
or any other advice?
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Posts
rinse and a good scrub is all I do.
I have 2 , I wait till they are nearly empty ,then disconnect , take them off stands and give them a good flush out with the hose, does the trick .
Sometime during the winter (i.e. when they're not needed) empty and scrub them. I wouldn't use disinfectant cos (a) it's likely to harm other stuff (b) it's supposed to kill bacteria whereas it's mostly other things you want to get rid of and (c) it costs money.
mines always full, i use best i can. ill have to empty it and see if can clean out
there are special disinfectants out there
I'd not bother with disinfectant unless it's particularly foul smelling,which is unlikely if you use them regularly.
They normally only get that bad if they're left for seasons without being emptied at all.
I think this post has appeared before. Usually during the summer (although not so much this year) there comes a time when mine (I have 3) are emptied so I take the opportunity then to disconnect them, get them on the lawn (preferably somewhere that needs a good water!) and then hose them out thoroughly. No disinfectants, no other cleaning fluids, just a good strong burst of water. Put them back up and wait for them to fill again...easy as pie!
ok, ill start empty it bit by bit so then can at least lift it then rinse out and scrub if i have something that will reach ok
empty it now (as it'll fill up quickly over winter) rinse it out and give it a bit of a scrub with a yard brush. most of the smell comes from rotting stuff that's washed in over the summer and autumn.
ill have to empty over a couple of days putting the water in a few locations
I inherited a water butt when I moved in 3 years ago and I've never emptied it completely or scrubbed it out. It's looked a bit green sometimes but I reckon that means it has extra nutrients and it's never been smelly. It is located on the shaded side of the house though so never has the sun on it, perhaps that's why.