From time to time water coming in from the cistern is dirty from what I assume is a broken pipe somewhere in the water system. Is there a filter one can purchase that can be placed in the cistern or somewhere in the home to clean up this water before it is used? Anyone else every experience this problem here? Thanks
- Thread starter Snuffy
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Water Problem...
I have been getting nasty infections on my legs for 3 months that could not be explained by bloodwork or cultures. After seeing 3 specialists it was finally determined that the infections are a result of bacteria in out tap water. This was determined after we discovered three other cases of this bizarre infection in our building.
The water isn't even safe to shower with. The temporary solution is a Rx shampoo. According to doctors there isn't a filter that kills bacteria. The cistern needs to be repaired and then chemically treated. Since I live in a condo I am requesting via my attorney that this be done in a Dominican Minute!
The water isn't even safe to shower with. The temporary solution is a Rx shampoo. According to doctors there isn't a filter that kills bacteria. The cistern needs to be repaired and then chemically treated. Since I live in a condo I am requesting via my attorney that this be done in a Dominican Minute!
ustelephone said:I have been getting nasty infections on my legs for 3 months that could not be explained by bloodwork or cultures. After seeing 3 specialists it was finally determined that the infections are a result of bacteria in out tap water. This was determined after we discovered three other cases of this bizarre infection in our building.
The water isn't even safe to shower with. The temporary solution is a Rx shampoo. According to doctors there isn't a filter that kills bacteria. The cistern needs to be repaired and then chemically treated. Since I live in a condo I am requesting via my attorney that this be done in a Dominican Minute!
Thanks God, you're not a resident of Tropicana Sur in Pto Chiquito!
Dirty Water
I think that you will find that the dirty water coming out of the mains is usually as a result of heavy rains - it certainly seems to be the case here in Cabarete - quite muddy water at times.
If you have a ground holding/settling tank a lot of the suspended material has time to sink to the bottom and the water is a lot clearer when it is pumped up to your delivery cistern. It's a simple matter then to clean out the ground tank about 2-3 times a year - I use the swimming pool vacuum and pump the muddy stuff away to waste without going through my pool filter.
In the Sosua area you can also get 'Jumbo' to come along and clean out your cistern.
I also add chlorine to my holding tanks which does improve the qaulity of the water coming into the house. Either use the slow dissolve pool tablets or pay a little more and buy the stuff specifically for potable water tanks.
You can also get in line filters fitted on the incoming pipes to filter out the main suspensions/sediments, but you will need to clean these regularly, and/or change the filter media. Any decent plumber will know where to get them?
To further improve the qality of your house water you can add a further filter unit at the tap outlets, including a UV Light treatment unit which will kill all bacteria!
As a retired civil engineer I poo poo your doctors statement regarding there being no filters available to kill bacteria? UV light will kill all bacteria!
(An old friend of mine in the UK used to shock visitors to his sewerage treatment plant by drinking a glass of treated water after it had passed through the plant and the UV Light unit - he's still alive too)!
I think that you will find that the dirty water coming out of the mains is usually as a result of heavy rains - it certainly seems to be the case here in Cabarete - quite muddy water at times.
If you have a ground holding/settling tank a lot of the suspended material has time to sink to the bottom and the water is a lot clearer when it is pumped up to your delivery cistern. It's a simple matter then to clean out the ground tank about 2-3 times a year - I use the swimming pool vacuum and pump the muddy stuff away to waste without going through my pool filter.
In the Sosua area you can also get 'Jumbo' to come along and clean out your cistern.
I also add chlorine to my holding tanks which does improve the qaulity of the water coming into the house. Either use the slow dissolve pool tablets or pay a little more and buy the stuff specifically for potable water tanks.
You can also get in line filters fitted on the incoming pipes to filter out the main suspensions/sediments, but you will need to clean these regularly, and/or change the filter media. Any decent plumber will know where to get them?
To further improve the qality of your house water you can add a further filter unit at the tap outlets, including a UV Light treatment unit which will kill all bacteria!
As a retired civil engineer I poo poo your doctors statement regarding there being no filters available to kill bacteria? UV light will kill all bacteria!
(An old friend of mine in the UK used to shock visitors to his sewerage treatment plant by drinking a glass of treated water after it had passed through the plant and the UV Light unit - he's still alive too)!
tomgallo said:Thanks God, you're not a resident of Tropicana Sur in Pto Chiquito!
You've got that right!
tomgallo said:Thanks God, you're not a resident of Tropicana Sur in Pto Chiquito!
May I ask why?
Peter & Alex said:I think that you will find that the dirty water coming out of the mains is usually as a result of heavy rains - it certainly seems to be the case here in Cabarete - quite muddy water at times.
If you have a ground holding/settling tank a lot of the suspended material has time to sink to the bottom and the water is a lot clearer when it is pumped up to your delivery cistern. It's a simple matter then to clean out the ground tank about 2-3 times a year - I use the swimming pool vacuum and pump the muddy stuff away to waste without going through my pool filter.
In the Sosua area you can also get 'Jumbo' to come along and clean out your cistern.
I also add chlorine to my holding tanks which does improve the qaulity of the water coming into the house. Either use the slow dissolve pool tablets or pay a little more and buy the stuff specifically for potable water tanks.
You can also get in line filters fitted on the incoming pipes to filter out the main suspensions/sediments, but you will need to clean these regularly, and/or change the filter media. Any decent plumber will know where to get them?
To further improve the qality of your house water you can add a further filter unit at the tap outlets, including a UV Light treatment unit which will kill all bacteria!
As a retired civil engineer I poo poo your doctors statement regarding there being no filters available to kill bacteria? UV light will kill all bacteria!
(An old friend of mine in the UK used to shock visitors to his sewerage treatment plant by drinking a glass of treated water after it had passed through the plant and the UV Light unit - he's still alive too)!
I poo poo everything my doctors tell me. Considering I have been in pain for over 2 months and they still don't know what to call these tennis-ball size infections I am not surprised that they didn't know about the UV filter. I'm not sure they even know what UV is.
Can anyone advise on where is a good place to look for this type of filtering system in SD?
Thanks for the advise. Seeing as how the condo people aren't jumping on this problem this year, I will have to fix it from the inside.
I am in charge of the "water" at the hospital where I work in StoDgo.
Have the "Cisterna" cleaned by a cleaning company.Only costs 5 or 6 hundred pesos! Have your "Tinaco" cleaned as well.Buy a swimming pool Clorine and "PH" test kit.A few hundred pesos,ferreteria Americana,or any swimming pool supply store.Use those chlorine tabs,or in granulated form from the "Pool Store".Check the clorine each day or so.You need very little clorine to keep the water bactiria free.I would keep the level at 0.2 or there about.I would not drink the water,but I would wash dishes,clothes,bodies etc.!I also used this "method" to sanitize the water in the "Water Buffalos",.."Tanks"..of water in Vietnam.We drank that water.If you use too much chlorine,it can dry the skin.
Here,that treatment is really a "Pre-treatment.We pass that chlorinated water through charcoal filters,reverse osmosis treatment,and then 5 micron filters,but we drink the water! We check it for bacteria,and it is cleaner than "Bottled Water"!
Have the "Cisterna" cleaned by a cleaning company.Only costs 5 or 6 hundred pesos! Have your "Tinaco" cleaned as well.Buy a swimming pool Clorine and "PH" test kit.A few hundred pesos,ferreteria Americana,or any swimming pool supply store.Use those chlorine tabs,or in granulated form from the "Pool Store".Check the clorine each day or so.You need very little clorine to keep the water bactiria free.I would keep the level at 0.2 or there about.I would not drink the water,but I would wash dishes,clothes,bodies etc.!I also used this "method" to sanitize the water in the "Water Buffalos",.."Tanks"..of water in Vietnam.We drank that water.If you use too much chlorine,it can dry the skin.
Here,that treatment is really a "Pre-treatment.We pass that chlorinated water through charcoal filters,reverse osmosis treatment,and then 5 micron filters,but we drink the water! We check it for bacteria,and it is cleaner than "Bottled Water"!
very good info...thank you. Also...I suppose that over time the dirty water sediment can fill up in the hot water tank...is that possible? If so...can it be cleaned out or do you have to replace the hot water tank?
I live in an apartment complex of six apartments. The other tenents do not complain about the quality of water...but my wife swears the water is often bad. She says that the dominicans don't complain because they are used to it. So I am the only one complaining and the landlord just looks at me like..."gringo" and then says the water is good. But they never use clorine tablets and have only had the cistern cleaned once by the building cleaning man in a four year period.
I was thinking I would just pay for the cleaning and buy the chorine tablets. Maybe install some kind of inline filter. Handling the problem myself seems to be an inexpensive solution while avoiding a nasty debate. As I have tried discussing this with them once. Any suggestions?
I live in an apartment complex of six apartments. The other tenents do not complain about the quality of water...but my wife swears the water is often bad. She says that the dominicans don't complain because they are used to it. So I am the only one complaining and the landlord just looks at me like..."gringo" and then says the water is good. But they never use clorine tablets and have only had the cistern cleaned once by the building cleaning man in a four year period.
I was thinking I would just pay for the cleaning and buy the chorine tablets. Maybe install some kind of inline filter. Handling the problem myself seems to be an inexpensive solution while avoiding a nasty debate. As I have tried discussing this with them once. Any suggestions?
ustelephone said:May I ask why?
Because I am about to call the "marines" to help me defend my digs from a barrage of opinions coming from all angles.
UV systems
We had a thread on this way back. I am the distributor of the largest canadian manufacturer of UV systems which the ones I have in stock can treat up to 14 gallons per minute. It comes with two sediment filters. Of course, if the water comes in really "muddy", the holding tank is the only way to go before hitting the sediment filters otherwise you'll spend your time replacing them.
We have been drinking our water for the last 1 year and 1/2 without any problems, and this system is for the whole house.
PS. Gees, have to renew that ad
We had a thread on this way back. I am the distributor of the largest canadian manufacturer of UV systems which the ones I have in stock can treat up to 14 gallons per minute. It comes with two sediment filters. Of course, if the water comes in really "muddy", the holding tank is the only way to go before hitting the sediment filters otherwise you'll spend your time replacing them.
We have been drinking our water for the last 1 year and 1/2 without any problems, and this system is for the whole house.
PS. Gees, have to renew that ad
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I found these filters for the shower head...
http://clothing.mall1direct.com/Pro...ower_Filter_Air_Conditioners_Filtration_.html
I checked into chlorine tablets and a pail would cost $10,000 pesos. But there are several filters that hook up to the shower and filter out a lot. Then you can get undersink filters for bathroom sinks or kitchen. I will probably try filters. Thanks.
http://clothing.mall1direct.com/Pro...ower_Filter_Air_Conditioners_Filtration_.html
I checked into chlorine tablets and a pail would cost $10,000 pesos. But there are several filters that hook up to the shower and filter out a lot. Then you can get undersink filters for bathroom sinks or kitchen. I will probably try filters. Thanks.
tomgallo said:Because I am about to call the "marines" to help me defend my digs from a barrage of opinions coming from all angles.
Can anyone explain this to me?
sure...
Tom is referring to another thread concerning moving to the area where he lives. In this thread several of us pointed to negative concerns for living there. A few would be considered insults. No big deal.
ustelephone said:Can anyone explain this to me?
Tom is referring to another thread concerning moving to the area where he lives. In this thread several of us pointed to negative concerns for living there. A few would be considered insults. No big deal.
Snuffy said:http://clothing.mall1direct.com/Pro...ower_Filter_Air_Conditioners_Filtration_.html
I checked into chlorine tablets and a pail would cost $10,000 pesos. But there are several filters that hook up to the shower and filter out a lot. Then you can get undersink filters for bathroom sinks or kitchen. I will probably try filters. Thanks.
Chlorine tablets $45 pesos in Almacen Unidos on Kennedy/Churchill (Santo Domingo) 1 tablet per month.
Snuffy said:Tom is referring to another thread concerning moving to the area where he lives. In this thread several of us pointed to negative concerns for living there. A few would be considered insults. No big deal.
I am forever in your debt. I've been peaking out the window to check for "Marines" for three days.