Sanitized Water Tank

Z

zonker

Advanced Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
54
Location
Willamette Valley, OR
Since we are new to this game... thought it would be appropriate to get the info from the folks who have been at it awhile. Need to sanitize our water system. Any suggestions from the legions of FWC owners? I know it is not rocket science.. but I sure would like to avoid being on an adventure where you stop every half hour!
 
I've got to do this myself for my new rig eventually here as well. RV stores carry products you can use or you can use a diluted bleach solution (and then rise the tank well).
 
Hre is what I do...

To sanitize:
  • Drain the tank.
  • Fill the tank 1/2 to 3/4 full.
  • Add 1 cap full (NOT cup, CAP) of bleach to a gallon jug of water.
  • Pour gallon jug of water into tank.
  • Add a little more water to rinse the bleach down.
  • Drive to work, drive home.
  • Drain the tank.
  • Fill 1/2 to 3/4 full.
  • Drive to work, drive home.
  • Drain the tank.
  • Fill tank.
  • Camping.
In cool weather, I just do a quick rinse. Sanitizing consumes a lot of water.
 
Also

As what Scott said but add:

After bleach is mixed in tank pump through faucet. This will also kill off what is in the water line and faucet.

Bleach works great. There is something to add to remove the taste and odor but it's a senior moment...think...think:mad:.....

http://rvbasics.com/techtips/sanitizing-your-rv-fresh-water-system.html

Place one teaspoon of bleach in the tank for every 10 gallons of water.

Still looking..............
 
More that you wanted to know

From: http://rv.net/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/CFB/1/Tid/685234.cfm

As the plumber stated 30 mins is not long enough to sanitize the tank and plumbing. Some methods suggest 1/4c per 15gls and others 1/2c per 15gls. One listed here says only a couple capfuls, to little, and another says 2/3c per 10gls which can be too much even though they site EPA 200ppm guides. Plumbing in RVs is typically plastic and many plastics are made brittle by chlorine and chloramines that form when chlorine and water mix. This is the leading suspect of the Polybutylene plumbing failures as well as the ABS Class Action Suit now going on. There are also many rubber seals and washers in RVs and they are quickly deteriorated by high chlorine levels. The 1/4-1/2c is plenty and more is not always better. The couple caps is fine if you want to add chlorine to the tank to keep it chlorinated when using non-chlorinated well water but insufficient for actually sanitizing the system. You do need to pre-mix it in solution first also to prevent problems and get the solutio completely though the water system. Let it sit at least 12hrs, here more is better!

After draining and flushing with fresh water if you want to remove the chlorine odor/taste vinegar is far better than baking soda. Baking soda will leave a residue and its own taste and sodium in the pipes but vinegar will not. It will disinfect the system further because it is a sanitizing agent also and it will help in rinsing because it is also a rinsing agent. Vinegar can also loosen mineral deposits if the solution is strong enough and left long enough. In fact Atwood recommends a strong vinegar solution be used in the hot water heater at least annually to remove mineral build-up and to avoid the sulfur smell that can occur as the tank lining that acts as an anode does its job. If you read your Atwood manual it has this in the maintenance section and can also be found on these forums or the Atwood web site in the tech section. The vinegar solution for the tank and plumbing is 1qt/5gl of water and let it stand for at least 24hrs after getting it through the entire system and then drain and flush with fresh water. The Atwood recommendation is much stronger for cleaning the water heater tank and this is even a good practice for Suburban tanks to keep efficiency as high as possible, the tank clean, and for longer service life.

Drinking bottled water as suggested by Les Doll on one recommended site is not really that good of an idea since many studies have shown that often bottled water is less safe than tap water. Using a good quality point of use filter that removes bacterial cysts and viruses as well as chemicals is far better for you. If you drink bottled water make sure you know the source is pure because they aren't required to test it. If unsure of the spring quality and you wish to buy bottled water and pay a lot more for it buy only water labeled Purified Drinking Water or Distilled water to be safe. Using a Purifying filter (not just a micro-filter or standard carbon filter) such as the Nature Pure from General Ecology is much cheaper and you'll know the water is safe.
 
Dang...

It looks like I now have MORE than enough info to avoid bugs and discomfort! Sometimes I think my brain is going.. I should have surfed a bit and would have saved the responders fingers from future carpal tunnel by answering my plea. Well it is much appreciated and since we actually have a sunny day here.. I think I will go dig out the bottle of bleach!
 
Since we're on the subject, how often should the fresh water system be sanitized? We've been draining ours at the end of the camping season and sanitizing it before we fill it the first time in the spring.
 
I have never sanitized the water tank. I fill it with tap water every trip and empty it when I get home. I wonder what is growing in there? Maybe I shouldn't have read this thread :eek:
 
Back on the water thing.

I use bottled or filtered water to drink when camping not the water in my camper water tank.I will use that for cleaning dishes or let the dog drink it.
I agree with the bleach cleaning of the tank and faucet.I also keep my tank emtpty untill I need it.Then I clean it ,flush it several times,use it on my trip,then drain it.I don't want to have the weight or frozen pipes of water in the winter.
 
Freezing not being a problem where I live, I leave it full all the time. I try and drain it about every two months. Seems to work pretty well that way. I usually use bottled water for my coffee and cooking.
 
Scott,

We've got two seasons here, camping season and ski season, when it's cold enough to freeze the tank it gets drained until the ski season is over, then back to camping.
 
With the new Hawk I found the water tank to be tainted/smelling of pvc primer/glue/some other foul stuff...even after repeated fills/drains so we ended up using it to wash our hands/put out the campfire/etc.

After a few trips we hit freezing weather and all systems were drained...so we'll see if the smell has mellowed over the Winter at all once we fire it all back up...say...in May or June (after the chance of freezing has passed).

C'mon "Summer"!

mtn
 
mh,

I'm guessing the smell etc. will go away, ours cleaned up quickly. On an old subject, did you come up with a good material to cover the fridge works against winter road grime? I ended up ordering some thin plastic from a supplier in Sacramento, cut to size with scissors and slipped it into the compartment. It serves the purpose but is a little soft to slide in easily.
 
I hope you're right about the smell, DLN. Time will tell. (BTW, with this crowd, I'm VERY surprised no one has mentioned filling the tank with margaritas...)

LOL...now you see what kind of drinker I *was*. (Warning: Highly Flammable)

For covering the various portals on the Hawk from the grime/mag chloride I ended up pulling up a few political signs made of "coroplast" and cut them exactly to fit the holes. I then taped them in place with a few peices of aluminum foil tape.

Surprisingly, the sides of the camper don't take that huge of a hit...nor do the boards on the undersides that hang out over the bed rails. As you might suspect, it's the rear of the truck takes the brunt of the splashback.

C'mon "Summer"....

mtn
 
I can't wait for the warm season either and it's only the last week of Feb. Skiing is really not that good even with all the new snow, it's gotten skied out way too fast and now it's raining. Season will likely end early and then it's on to camping. Enjoy.
 
BTW, with this crowd, I'm VERY surprised no one has mentioned filling the tank with margaritas...

I do believe this was covered in an earlier thread...
 
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