Bathroom water

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could tell me is leaving water for 24 hours to dechlorinate it the same as using water from the bathroom? Its just the water in the bathroom comes from a big tank in the attic that would be left exposed constantly with just a gradual topping up during the day. Does anybody use this water as drinking water for their cham?

Your water is stored in your attic? That seems odd.

Is that not where you get your hot water from upstairs?

I never had a problem with chlorination in cham water...

Don't know the answer to your Q though. I suppose if nobody flushes and the tank has exposure to the air, after 24 hours it would be dechlorinated...

I visited the UK once with my wife in the mid 90s. We actually found the wide variety of toilets and how they worked a fun part of our adventure there.

I didn't realise it was different in the states.

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I'd be curious to know how exactly and for what purpose the water in your attic is used. Is it a cistern type set-up which would be an open container/resevior that is used to flush toilets (gravity fed)? Does it capture rain water or is it fed through the home's water supply? When you get water from it do you have both hot and cold taps?

If it is an open resevior used for toilet flushing and is not potable (for drinking) then there is a risk that a biofilm will build up on the sides. This ends up being a great breeding ground for all kinds of funky microbes which then are released into the water system. Actually, I would have this concern with any open type system - in the attic it is not likely cleaned very often (just a guess).

Don't know the answer to your Q though. I suppose if nobody flushes and the tank has exposure to the air, after 24 hours it would be dechlorinated...

Not nessarily, exposure to ultra violet light is nessesary, aka sunlight/daylight.
enigma the kind of tank you show will still have chlorine content in the water, no difference. If you leave a bucket of water outside for a day or so (uncovered), then the chlorine will be chemically nutralised.

Sorry - you must have posted the diagram when I was replying. It all makes sense now. The system you have should be OK because it is fed directly from the hot water tank. That being said - there is a chance of biofilm developing on the interior sides of the header tank. I would suggest taking a flashlight and having a look. You can also wipe one of your fingers on the inside of the tank above and below the water line - if it feels slimey then don't use it until the tank is clean.

Also - if you know your homes' distribution system try and find a tap that does not pass through the resevior or use cold water and let it sit for about 24 hours to get rid of residual chlorine and increase the water temp.

jojackson said:

Don't know the answer to your Q though. I suppose if nobody flushes and the tank has exposure to the air, after 24 hours it would be dechlorinated...

Not nessarily, exposure to ultra violet light is nessesary, aka sunlight/daylight.
enigma the kind of tank you show will still have chlorine content in the water, no difference. If you leave a bucket of water outside for a day or so (uncovered), then the chlorine will be chemically nutralised.

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Thanks. I had been using a combination of water from the attic and water left for 24 hours. I didn't realise uv light was necessary I thought the chlorine just evaporated.

jojackson said:

Not nessarily, exposure to ultra violet light is nessesary, aka sunlight/daylight.

Click to expand...

Chlorine is a gas and will naturally be liberated from standing water regardless of exposure to UV (although UV might speed along the process). The larger the surface area of container in contact with the air the faster chlorine will be removed. Chloramines which may be added to municipal drinking water systems or form as a reaction between chlorines and organic material are another concern and might not be removed by letting the water sit.

How high are your chlorine levels? Keep in mind that toxicity always depends on dose - if levels are extremely low there may be no risk (I have no idea what the threshold value for chlorine and chams is )

I'm on well-water now, but at least where I'm at in the states, chlorine was a non-issue for the dozen or so years I bred lizards before moving to the country and getting a well. I used water straight from municipal water supply for all the lizards, their eggs, babies, everything- it was a non-issue. Maybe it's a stronger dose in ireland?

UV isn't necessary- every fish and frog owner I ever heard of keeps water in their room in buckets for 24 hours to remove chlorine.

Chlorine is broken down under the influence of sunlight. UV radiation in sunlight provides energy which aids the break-down of underchloric acid (HOCl) molecules. First, the water molecule (H2O) is broken down, causing electrons to be released which reduce the chlorine atom of underchloric acid to chloride (Cl-). During this reaction an oxygen atom is released, which will be converted into an oxygen molecule:
2HOCl -> 2H+ + 2Cl- + O2