Community Forums

bruce Dixon · 10-29-2021, 04:02 PM

What can I use to clean out my fresh water tank and system. what is best way of cleaning it? Products????
Thank you

GABob · 10-29-2021, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruce Dixon

What can I use to clean out my fresh water tank and system. what is best way of cleaning it? Products????
Thank you

Unless there’s something wrong that you’re trying to address, I would simply drain the system, including the HW tank, blow it out with air, then sanitize it with a strong bleach solution. Fill up the tank with a good bit of water with the bleach and drive it around to slosh it up the sides. Then pump it through the system as you normally would to sanitize. If there is serious concerns you might want to repeat it.

Others can chime in. I sanitize the system when I reopen the RV in the spring, same way.

groswald · 10-29-2021, 04:38 PM

As GABob said, drain and sanitize.

I prefer Purogene for sanitizing. It's safer than bleach (won't ruin your clothes) and doesn't corrode the metal bits in your plumbing. It's what Boeing specifies for sanitizing the fresh-water systems in their aircraft.

It's available from Amazon.

But, bleach works fine too.

Regards,

Randy

wildtoad · 10-29-2021, 05:53 PM

If the amount of bleach used damages anything you used way to much. You’re trying to kill any micro-organisms, not clean your tidy-whiteys.

Bigd9 · 10-29-2021, 07:05 PM

If using bleach, Clorox recommends to only use their regular bleach and not the "Low Splash" or scented versions.

Ray,IN · 10-29-2021, 10:05 PM

How to sanitize your RV fresh water system.

gnewhall · 11-10-2021, 06:09 AM

1: Turn Off Your Water Heater and drain Your freshwater System. You don’t want to drain the freshwater system with the water heater on. This will damage the water heater. You need to turn it off and let it cool before you drain the water.

2: Fill tank part way, then add 1/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of water in your freshwater tank. Complete filling the tank. You can pour directly into the tank or pour the bleach into your fresh water hose and sanitize your hose at the same time.

3: To make sure the water with the bleach solution gets all the way through the system. Turn on all the faucets and run the bleach water until you can smell the bleach coming out of each faucet.

Step 4: Let The Water Sit For 12 Hours. (for faster sanitizing double the amount of bleach per gallon and let sit for 4 hours and follow step 5) The solution will take time to really sanitize your system well. I suggest letting the solution sit in your freshwater system overnight.

Step 5: After at least 12 hours of letting the RV sit with the bleach solution in the freshwater system, you need to drain all the water out again. Then refill it with fresh water and start circulating that water through the system. Open all the faucets and flush the system until you can no longer smell the bleach. Refill with fresh water.

Skip Y · 11-12-2021, 09:13 AM

You can also keep your tank "super chlorinated" (which is a misnomer because all you're doing is adding a little more chlorine than is in the normal water supply) during times when you are connected to a fresh water supply. Simply add 1/8 cup (more or less) to each 20 gals of water and keep your tank full while hooked up. This will keep your water fresh and minimize chances of algae growth while sitting. The chlorine will diminish over time so it doesn't normally result in a taste problem.
If you prefer not to 'super chlorinate', at least keep you water tank full - algae doesn't grow very well under water. But it does grow on damp, dark surfaces such as storage tank walls in a partially filled tank