Citric Acid / Water Ratio for cleaning

[joe-ejs]

Hello,

I am new to using Citric Acid for cleaning pumps, etc. I need to clean my 5gl saltwater storage jugs that have some brown residue from storing saltwater (switching brands BTW). I was wondering what a recommended Water / Citric Acid mixture is for cleaning different things such as my water jugs and pumps, etc.

Also, was wondering what others use as timeframe...2hrs...24hrs...overnight...just curious...Thanks!

 

[MnFish1]

Hello,

I am new to using Citric Acid for cleaning pumps, etc. I need to clean my 5gl saltwater storage jugs that have some brown residue from storing saltwater (switching brands BTW). I was wondering what a recommended Water / Citric Acid mixture is for cleaning different things such as my water jugs and pumps, etc.

Also, was wondering what others use as timeframe...2hrs...24hrs...overnight...just curious...Thanks!

Normally citric acid is more used for 'calcified' things. Bleach (plain unscented bleach) - is best for a storage tank.

As to the concentration - citric acid - Randy recommended (in another thread) 1/4 cup per gallon and said 'more is fine'.

Bleach is usually a 10% solution of regular bleach (1 part bleach 9 parts water).

Timeframe - perhaps overnight for bleach (in a ventilated area) - a couple hours for citric acid.

Hope this helps - there are numerous protocols out there depending on what you think it is (the residue)

 

[HawkeyeDJ]

Speaking of cleaning with citric acid . . .

I have 2 five gallon jugs I use for salt water. They shortly began to display a brown crud-like residue which tended to accumulate. This week I decided to see if I could clean the crud out of the jugs.

I decided to try citric acid. I filled the jug with 1 gallon of tap water and then added a 1/4 cup of citric acid. With the lid on, I shook the jug to completely dissolve the acid and then filled the jug to the brim with tap water and let it sit for 30 minutes. Check out the results!

 

[csund]

Normally citric acid is more used for 'calcified' things. Bleach (plain unscented bleach) - is best for a storage tank.

As to the concentration - citric acid - Randy recommended (in another thread) 1/4 cup per gallon and said 'more is fine'.

Bleach is usually a 10% solution of regular bleach (1 part bleach 9 parts water).

Timeframe - perhaps overnight for bleach (in a ventilated area) - a couple hours for citric acid.

Hope this helps - there are numerous protocols out there depending on what you think it is (the residue)

I actually used bleach initially on my NSW barrel. I have 50’ of reinforced clearish silicone hose attached that was brown internally. After 24 hours of bleach the hose was still brown. After a major flush with RODI to not mix bleach with acid I used citric acid. An hour later no more brown stains… skip the bleach unless washing filter socks.