Bacteria growth - how to prevent and clean it?

Jerky · 05-07-2003, 05:33 PM

Hey everybody.

I hope to pick at your collective consciousness with a little farming project I accidentally started.

It seems the water system I set up about 1 month ago is growing bacteria. I don't think it's algae since it's white and in clusters (but I could be wrong).

Here are some pics:

Notice the little chunkies floating in the bottom of the coolant? Yep, that's wildlife.

I've looked through airspirit's thread Sick algae growth and found it really informative and I hope to use the same solution/mixture in my case (i.e. Pinesol-lysol-water flush, then cleanser-killer-water cleaning).

But before I do this, is this the right approach? Is there an easier way to do this?

Also how would I prevent this from occuring in the future? I like the idea of using black tubing, but I like seeing the coolant. I can find myself some better distilled water I suppose and perhaps increase my antifreeze ratio from 10% to 20%.

Any thoughts much appreciated!

- Jerky.

airspirit · 05-08-2003, 08:55 AM

Your alternative is manually scrubbing and sterilizing your system. While you will still probably have to manually clean your reservoir, the rest can be cleaned very easily by the *sol solution.

There is no right way to do anything ... it's just some may work better than others. This is one of those types of solutions.

Cyco-Dude · 05-08-2003, 01:32 PM

some sort of biocide / algaecide would probably help to prevent future outbreaks...
perhaps some water-bed addatives might also work?? (hey, u cant have plants growing in your waterbed matress can you?? lol)

Jerky · 05-08-2003, 01:53 PM

Cyco-Dude. How is antifreeze different from biocide? Isn't antifreeze toxic enough to act as one? I guess in my case, it wasn't enough to prevent whatever was growing in there. Water-bed additives is an interesting idea. I'll look into that.

airspirit. Scrubbing isn't really an alternative. I have about 9-10' worth of tubing. I guess I can just throw that all out and get new ones, but I'd need to sterilize anyway.

I was thinking of using a solution of Mr. Clean (cleaner + disinfectant) and water and run it for a few days. Then run things through with a light solution of bleach. I read that bleach is NOT a good thing to use in WCing, but I'm only planning on running it for a day or two to really clean things.

I was also thinking of using Dettol instead of bleach. Any warning against sterilizing with Dettol? If hospitals use it, it's good enough for me!

Thanks for the replies guys.

- Jerky.

Cyco-Dude · 05-08-2003, 02:25 PM

well, they are meant to do different things. antifreeze lowers the freezing point of engine coolant, raises the boiling point, and helps prevent corrosion. biocide just kills bacteria

perhaps a mix of the two (according to their directions) would be best?

also, go ahead and reply to this thread concerning coolants. weird growths after just one month is kinda odd...

Jerky · 05-08-2003, 02:41 PM

No ****, really?! I've been going months with the impression that antifreeze is a good enough biocide! I mean if it's toxic enough to kill me if I drink it, shouldn't it also kill water critters too? LOL

I learn something new every day. Thanks for clearing that up.

Yeah those growths appeared only in my system and not in the jug of backup coolant I have sitting on the floor. Could be related to sunlight (my system is an external box with hoses running into the case), but I suspect the radiator was dirty. I bought it from a surplus store and those places aren't exactly the cleanest.

- Jerky.

airspirit · 05-08-2003, 04:01 PM

Look at some of the sanitizers that you can get at hot tub dealers (per my thread you linked to). Adding a percentage of that to your coolant will prevent regrowth once you clean your system.

Jerky · 05-10-2003, 08:00 PM

Ok. I bought some Mr Clean cleanser + disinfectant liquid. I emptied out my entire setup of contaminated antifreeze+water and put in about 30% Mr. Clean, 70% water solution.

Here are some dramatic pictures:

What it looked like originally.

After about 20 minutes of Mr. Clean + Water.

After another 20 minutes...

About 5 minutes ago...

It's pretty amazing to see all those bacteria bits peel off the tube and go shooting down the circuit. Then the white residue that coated by tubing starts to peel too!

This is amazing stuff. Easy cleaning and didn't require me to take apart my whole system (just needed to empty the rez and put in the cleanser).

- Jerky.

05-07-2003, 05:33 PM	#1
Jerky Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	Bacteria growth - how to prevent and clean it? Hey everybody. I hope to pick at your collective consciousness with a little farming project I accidentally started. It seems the water system I set up about 1 month ago is growing bacteria. I don't think it's algae since it's white and in clusters (but I could be wrong). Here are some pics: Notice the little chunkies floating in the bottom of the coolant? Yep, that's wildlife. I've looked through airspirit's thread Sick algae growth and found it really informative and I hope to use the same solution/mixture in my case (i.e. Pinesol-lysol-water flush, then cleanser-killer-water cleaning). But before I do this, is this the right approach? Is there an easier way to do this? Also how would I prevent this from occuring in the future? I like the idea of using black tubing, but I like seeing the coolant. I can find myself some better distilled water I suppose and perhaps increase my antifreeze ratio from 10% to 20%. Any thoughts much appreciated! - Jerky.

05-08-2003, 08:55 AM	#2
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Your alternative is manually scrubbing and sterilizing your system. While you will still probably have to manually clean your reservoir, the rest can be cleaned very easily by the *sol solution. There is no right way to do anything ... it's just some may work better than others. This is one of those types of solutions. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

05-08-2003, 04:01 PM	#7
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Look at some of the sanitizers that you can get at hot tub dealers (per my thread you linked to). Adding a percentage of that to your coolant will prevent regrowth once you clean your system. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

05-08-2003, 01:32 PM	#3
Cyco-Dude Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 836	some sort of biocide / algaecide would probably help to prevent future outbreaks... perhaps some water-bed addatives might also work?? (hey, u cant have plants growing in your waterbed matress can you?? lol)

05-08-2003, 01:53 PM	#4
Jerky Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	Cyco-Dude. How is antifreeze different from biocide? Isn't antifreeze toxic enough to act as one? I guess in my case, it wasn't enough to prevent whatever was growing in there. Water-bed additives is an interesting idea. I'll look into that. airspirit. Scrubbing isn't really an alternative. I have about 9-10' worth of tubing. I guess I can just throw that all out and get new ones, but I'd need to sterilize anyway. I was thinking of using a solution of Mr. Clean (cleaner + disinfectant) and water and run it for a few days. Then run things through with a light solution of bleach. I read that bleach is NOT a good thing to use in WCing, but I'm only planning on running it for a day or two to really clean things. I was also thinking of using Dettol instead of bleach. Any warning against sterilizing with Dettol? If hospitals use it, it's good enough for me! Thanks for the replies guys. - Jerky.

05-08-2003, 02:25 PM	#5
Cyco-Dude Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 836	well, they are meant to do different things. antifreeze lowers the freezing point of engine coolant, raises the boiling point, and helps prevent corrosion. biocide just kills bacteria perhaps a mix of the two (according to their directions) would be best? also, go ahead and reply to this thread concerning coolants. weird growths after just one month is kinda odd...

05-08-2003, 02:41 PM	#6
Jerky Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	No ****, really?! I've been going months with the impression that antifreeze is a good enough biocide! I mean if it's toxic enough to kill me if I drink it, shouldn't it also kill water critters too? LOL I learn something new every day. Thanks for clearing that up. Yeah those growths appeared only in my system and not in the jug of backup coolant I have sitting on the floor. Could be related to sunlight (my system is an external box with hoses running into the case), but I suspect the radiator was dirty. I bought it from a surplus store and those places aren't exactly the cleanest. - Jerky.

05-10-2003, 08:00 PM	#8
Jerky Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 12	Ok. I bought some Mr Clean cleanser + disinfectant liquid. I emptied out my entire setup of contaminated antifreeze+water and put in about 30% Mr. Clean, 70% water solution. Here are some dramatic pictures: What it looked like originally. After about 20 minutes of Mr. Clean + Water. After another 20 minutes... About 5 minutes ago... It's pretty amazing to see all those bacteria bits peel off the tube and go shooting down the circuit. Then the white residue that coated by tubing starts to peel too! This is amazing stuff. Easy cleaning and didn't require me to take apart my whole system (just needed to empty the rez and put in the cleanser). - Jerky.

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