Keeping your cooling towers operating properly requires regular cleaning and maintenance to prevent microorganism growth. Unless you currently have a maintenance plan that includes cleaning, you are not doing enough to keep your tower working as it should. In addition to harboring bacteria, dirty cooling towers can draw debris through piping, reducing the efficiency of the entire system. Learn about the benefits of cleaning your cooling tower and how to do so below.
Why You Should Clean Your Cooling Tower
During routine operation, cooling towers continuously scrub bacteria, dust, pollen, insects, and other debris from the air.
Without a proper cleaning and disinfecting program in place, during periods of non-use such as the winter months, the cooling tower becomes a breeding ground. The buildup of bacteria and debris along with stagnant equipment conditions combine to form an ideal environment, assisting in the development of biofilms, or slime, which can infest an entire commercial HVAC system.
Step by Step Cooling Tower Cleaning
With wind kicking up dirt, sand, leaves, and other debris it’s no surprise that cooling towers get absolutely filthy. Suddenly there’s a thick layer of sludge and slime at the bottom of the tower in the basin. Cooling tower water that’s dirty can clog fill media and foul tubes in your chiller.
Chlorinate
You have several options for chemical disinfection that can prevent Legionella and other bacterial growth. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers tips for making the disinfecting solution to create the necessary free residual chlorine (FRC) level, 50 mg/L, to keep bacteria at bay.
- Industrial-strength sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) with 13% to 15% chlorine: Use 3 pounds per 1,000 gallons of water
- NaOCl with 3% to 5% chlorine: Use 10.5 pounds per 1,000 gallons of water
- Calcium hypochlorite (Ca[OCl]): Use 0.6 pounds per 1,000 gallons of water
Add 10 to 25 pounds per 1,000 gallons of water of automatic dishwashing detergent within 15 minutes of adding the disinfectant. The detergent will help to disperse the disinfectants. Let the chlorinated water remain in the
After letting the water stand for a day, you will drain the system, refill and repeat the disinfecting process. Complete disinfection with a final draining before you begin the mechanical cleaning procedures of scrubbing out components of the tower.
Clean the Hot Deck
Clean off the hot deck, including any orifices and nozzles, to remove scale deposits, sediments and bacteria. Cleaning these areas will prevent any debris from contaminating the water after cleaning and treatment. When removing surface deposits on the hot deck, nozzles and orifices, use low-pressure water spray from a hose or a brush. These items offer the toughness needed for cleaning without damaging the equipment.
While cleaning, if you notice any damaged or missing nozzles, replace them before refilling the tower. Missing nozzles will reduce the tower’s heat exchange efficiency by reducing the flow of water to the hot deck and through the cooling system.
Disinfect Tower Basin and Fan Housing
Disinfecting the tower basin and fan housing prevent bacteria from distributing over the water and becoming aerated. Preventing bacteria from aerating is a critical method to prevent Legionella from growing and spreading to those nearby.
This bacteria spreads through the air, and people can inhale the aerosolized particles. When water with the bacteria blows off the tower, it can take Legionella with it, potentially sickening people downwind with Legionnaire’s Disease or Pontiac Fever. Properly disinfecting the tower keeps those nearby healthy while improving your tower’s efficiency.
Open and Clean the Distribution Pans
Open all distribution pans. As with other parts, clean off any sludge, scale, sediments or biofilm. Check for any damaged or missing parts and make repairs or replacements as necessary before moving on.
Clean Tower Surfaces and Basin
The surfaces of the tower can also harbor bacteria that deposit onto the surfaces from the cooling water or from the atmosphere. Clean off all surfaces and the basin. Disinfect any surfaces that contacted water.
Vacuum the Tower Sump
Vacuum out the tower sump to remove anything that you could not drain out. A vacuum also allows you to remove debris and sludge from areas at times when you may not be able to drain the entire cooling tower.
Dispose of Debris
Properly dispose of any debris collected from the cleaning process. You should be able to drain the cooling tower water into the sanitary sewer but check with local wastewater disposal laws for any exceptions. Also, check with your local municipality for rules for disposing of any solid debris you may have collected during the cleaning of your tower, such as damaged parts or sludge.
Schedule A Cooling Tower Treatment
Fortunately, you can avoid all the hassle of cleaning your cooling tower with our cooling tower services in the Philippines.
We at Kemique Water Soluzione offers cooling tower treatment service in Cebu, PH, we have the experience to provide cooling tower chemical treatment services you can rely on. We’ll work with you to design a cooling tower chemical treatment plan that provides adequate defense against common contamination issues, including concentrated mineral content, biological growth and white rust formation. You’ll get the benefit of a guaranteed scale-free cooling tower water treatment system customized to your needs at a guaranteed annual price.
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