Sanitizing Fresh water tank ONLY

[dsbike]

I have searched and read all the threads I could find on sanitizing the water system. But I still have a question. We full time in our MH 2004 Coachman Aurora 34ds. We are always connected to city water & use that water 99% of the time. One day last week my wife went to take a shower & the camp ground city water was not available so she turned on the pump & used the water from the holding tank. She said it had a slight smell & asked me to drain & sanitize it. I am planning on doing this the next opportunity I get which will be next week.

So now on to my question. Since the water coming through the MH usaully does not smell due to city water use, when I drain & then refill adding bleach is there any reason to run the bleached water through the rest of the sytem or can I just fill the tank let it sit then empty & refill for use when city water is not available?

Do I refill with the cup or so of bleach & flush 2 times or just one time with bleach. Then one time without to flush, then refill?

[RickO]

You raise a good question but I would run the water/bleach through the entire system just to be thorough. I think a single flush should be sufficient so long as you don't still have a smell of bleach.

Good luck...

rick

[gbstewart]

I have 30 gal fresh tank, we boondock alot, what I do is add about 1\4 + - of clorox bleach(thick stuff) about every 3 or 4 filling, this is just adding chorine, theres no harm you can drink it, but but we use bottle water. I find it gives a fresh smell when using the bathroom, just dont over do it, if you keep water in your tank, you have to rember how hot it gets in the heat of the summer, so you want to kill off any bugs.
part of my job is in a water treatment plant so I get to see what goes on in water,
gbstewart

[bluepill]

Don't forget to consider installing a new water filter if it's been in there awhile. I remove the old one before I run the bleach through the system, then install the new one afterwards. Good to drive the RV around a bit with the bleach in it, as the sloshing gets the bleach to cover the entire tank.

[dsbike]

Thanks, you brought up some good points.

GBStewart, is that 1/4 cup per 30 gals?

[Luckiest Dre]

It won't hurt to flush the whole system, so why not do it? I would use about 11/4 cups of bleach per tank and let it sit for some time. If you can drive around it will agitate the water and do a bit of cleaning making the process quicker. After pumping out the water thru the various faucets, I would refil and drain again helping to flush the system of the bleach. Refilling the tank and adding a cup of white vinegar will get rid of the bleach taste and smell but you will need to drain and refill with fresh water again. Adding about a tablespoon of bleach to the tank everytime you fill will help to keep it all fresh.
Quite often the smell (rotten egg) will be because of the hot water heater. Making sure the bleach flushes it is a good idea.

[jzick]

Obviously, you should do whatever you feel comfortable with, but we do the opposite of what everyone else is saying. We are not quite fulltime (250+ nights/yr). When traveling, we rarely use the water tank and typically keep it about 3/4 full. Once a summer we drain the water tank, sanitize it, flush and refill. We do not do the water lines. Our thinking is that since we are using almost exclusively chlorinated water and are flushing the lines and hot water heater with use, it is unnecessary. After wintering in the s/b for 2-3 months, we do sanitize the whole system with chlorine water before leaving again.

[gbstewart]

dsbike

yes, 1\4 cup for the 30 gals, seems to work well, and I just leave with a full tank and use it, if you dont use your holding tank, all cholinated water will break down, heat will speed it up, also it helps with any other smells in the grey and black tanks as well

gbstewart

[wa8yxm]

The difference in the amount of work you must do to sanitize the entire system v/s just the fresh tank, is minimal.. I'd do the entire system.

[bucks2]

It's interesting all the different methods people use. We snowbird for 7 months a year and I find that if I either drain the water or use it every 2 weeks or so and then fill with "city" water (chlorinated) we never have a problem with bad water. We carry 100 gallons so I try to use it rather than just dump it on the ground. Laundry day is a good time to change to tank water for a couple of loads.

Whichever way works best for you is the way you should do it. Of course I'm a daredevil and I actually drink the water in my MH too. How crazy is that?

Ken

[dsbike]

Thanks for all the advice. I am not sure what I will end up doing. Probably just flush the holding tank. Every other line, faucet, ect. gets used everyday with chlorinated city water. I do believe in doing things right the first time it seems there is no right or wrong here.
Thanks again, I always get great advice when I come to this forum, unlike some other forums I have visited in the past, rv related or not. I guess that is why I frequent here daily for the past couple of years.

[Ray,IN]

How to sanitize your fresh water system.
If you pumped your "smelly" tank water through your piping, it should also be sanitized. Another sanitizing website recommends a vinegar solution to remove the chlorine aftertaste/smell; plus, vinegar is also a disinfectant.

P.S. The chlorine residual in city water does not sanitize, it merely retards the growth of bacteria until you use the water in a few days.

[dsbike]

Ray,IN Thanks very good write up on RV Tech. I will be doing this on Monday, of coarse it is going to be the coldest day of the season so far. I would say coldest day of the year......but being it is Jan 2nd......DUH DUH DUH. But I have to what I have to do. We are hitting the road on Wed, heading south to Central FL.

[ejude]

dsbike,

Let me start by saying I want to sanitize my fresh water system (please don't move my post). I bought a 2001 Coachmen Aurora. I tried to use the fresh water system for the first time this past week and can't figure it out. I have all the manuals to no avail. The RV was supposedly winterized. The panel shows the fresh water to be full. If I hook city water up and place the valves to the fill position, in less than one minute, water starts running out a pvc pipe on the other side of the coach. I don't know if this is an overflow or a drain??? Is the drain valve on the water station the drain for the tank? Or, is there another drain somewhere? I have crawled all over this coach and under it and cant find another valve.

Thanks for any help. I know it needs sanitized, especially if it has been sitting for a long time full.