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Topic starter
Good morning everyone,
OK - just checked our cistern yesterday and found there to be (here is the girlie description 🙂 ) white floatie stuff in it. It looks like clumps of "cotton" for the want of a better description, so hubby went out and bought a pool skimmer and skimmed it out and after looking at it,it has a type of skin on it......yuk !!!! so I came to the best resource for info - anyone know what it is???
We added bleach (I'll be blond by Friday 🙂 ) and hopefully he got it all out, but just would like to know if anyone else has experienced this and maybe knows what it is/was.
Thanks everyone
Pia
Posted : February 11, 2007 1:41 pm
Maybe a white frog.
Posted : February 11, 2007 2:15 pm
Very Odd - Suggest you Get your water from the tap tested by Caribbean Safe Water Lab. 776-5222. It's inexpensive if you bring the water sample to them.
Posted : February 11, 2007 3:31 pm
Yuk - get it tested for sure. Until you get the results back - don't drink your bathwater!!!!
Posted : February 11, 2007 7:26 pm
Yes, please have your water tested. It only costs about $25 and doesn't take very long. Less than a week for sure, but I can't remember if it took days or one day. Let us know!!!
Teresa
Posted : February 11, 2007 9:26 pm
I see a white skim of floating stuff on the surface of cisterns all the time when I am present at inspections on houses around the island. Some of the solid stuff that gets into the cistern sinks and some of it floats.
Posted : February 11, 2007 9:38 pm
Piaa, in dry season which is what we're experiencing now, odd things do happen to cistern water as the cistern level goes down. If your cistern is really low the pump can churn up bottom detritus which then comes to the surface, Do you regularly chlorinate your cistern? Best to do it once a month, just one cup of bleach basically and you WON'T turn blonde, I promise!
Seems to me that what you're describing could be bottom detritus churned up by your pump because your cistern is very low or, if you recently had a water delivery of desalinated water, a load which wasn't properly desalinated so you're getting salt scum, or you're in an area where either Montserrat ash or roadwork ash/dust may have settled on your roof and been swept down into your cistern.
I wouldn't worry too much about it but DEFINITELY put your mind to rest by calling Caribbean Safe Water Lab as advised and take a sample to them which they'll test for a reasonable fee. Cheers!
Posted : February 12, 2007 1:14 am
To add to STT Res's great recommendations, be sure your cistern drains have screens on them. We regularly check ours to make sure they haven't come undone and let in little creatures.
Posted : February 12, 2007 1:08 pm
Topic starter
Thank you all so much for your help.
It is still a mystery - have screens on the drains, haven't seen a frog but he could be "croaking" in there :), over 50" of water still in the cistern, bleach every month sooooo ????
Fortunately we do not drink the cistern water but we will still get it checked.
Thanks again everyone.
Your soon to be light brown Piaa 🙂
Posted : February 13, 2007 11:12 am
