Maintain filters, UV, tanks and gutters
Treatment equipment fails quietly. A clogged filter or tired UV lamp can let germs through while everything looks normal.
How
- Replace cartridge filters on schedule; the Texas manual warns old cartridges can harbour bacteria.
- Replace UV lamps about yearly (Ohio guidance) or at about 10,000 hours (Texas manual), even if they still glow, and keep the quartz sleeve clean.
- Every 6 months inspect gutters, inlets, overflows and screens and check tanks for mosquito larvae (enHealth).
- Check first flush diverters after rain and empty them if they do not drain (enHealth).
- Inspect tanks for sediment every 2 to 3 years and desludge if needed (enHealth).
- Keep overhanging branches trimmed back from roofs.
Do these first
Sources
- The Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting, 3rd edition. Texas Water Development Board, accessed 2026-11
- enHealth Guidance on the use of rainwater tanks. enHealth, Australian Government, accessed 2026-11
- Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection fact sheet. Greene County Public Health, Ohio, accessed 2026-11