In the absence of water chemical treatment of a cooling tower, what should you do?

• A. Add chlorine to water
• B. Do nothing
• C. Drain the tower every one to two weeks & replace with fresh water
• D. Increase tower height

Answer: (C)

Without chemical treatment, cooling tower water quickly deteriorates as microbes grow, slime forms, and minerals scale the system. This reduces heat transfer, accelerates corrosion, and raises the risk of microbial contamination such as Legionella. In that situation, the most practical step is to drain the tower and replace with fresh water on a regular schedule to remove contaminants and prevent stagnation until a proper treatment plan can be put in place. Adding chlorine would be a chemical treatment, which isn’t allowed here, doing nothing lets problems compound, and increasing tower height doesn’t address water quality.