Community Forums

lsalem · 02-02-2021, 08:54 AM

Question for all of the experts. How do you sanitize your fresh water tank. I recently purchased a class A MH that had been sitting for I don't know how long. First time I tasted the water from the tank it was kinda of funkey. I fleshed it several times but no real change. Have been using bottled water to cook and drink. A little nervous thinking what could be growing in that tank.

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-02-2021, 08:59 AM

1/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of water. Take it for a ride and drain in a few hours. Refill with fresh water twice more and drain to get rid of the bleach odor.

gnvrvin · 02-02-2021, 11:20 AM

Make sure you have removed the whole coach filter prior to sanitizing then replace with a fresh on after cleaning.

What ever you use to sanitize such as mentioned above or a store bought product, run the water through all your systems that will be used for potable source i.e. Kitchen, Bath and Vanity

It will take a few tanks of fresh to get it back rinsed.

Stay Safe,
greg

be-happy · 02-02-2021, 11:23 AM

Cliff has the answer for you. The fresh water tank is the hardest to sanitize, do not over bleach as its hard enough to get the bleach taste out as it is. The key is fill about a 1/4 and drive. Do the same when you rinse, just filling will not remove the bleach from the side walls of the tank.

lsalem · 02-02-2021, 02:55 PM

Thanks for the advice. How often should the tank be sanitized?

Gary RVRoamer · 02-02-2021, 03:08 PM

Quote:

How often should the tank be sanitized?

As often as it takes to make you comfortable. There is no fixed interval; it could conceivably become contaminated within an hour of sanitizing. The longer it sits or the more often it gets refilled from unknown sources, the greater the risk of encountering something undesirable. Conversely, if you are using it regularly and adding water from a chlorinated supply, the chances of a problem are really slim. The good news is that there isn't much that can get into water that your body cannot deal with. Avoid filling from streams & lakes or wells that aren't tested to public water standards and you should be fine.

Many seasonal campers sanitize at the beginning of each season, since they don't know what may have happened in the tank & lines during the off-season.

dfuelman · 02-02-2021, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsalem

Thanks for the advice. How often should the tank be sanitized?

Another little tip for you. I learned this when I owned boats. Anytime you can load water from a municipal site do so. Municipal water almost always contains chorine to kill bacteria, this also makes the water stay fresh longer in your holding tank and help keep it fresh as well.

Normal well water has a much shorter shelf life before going stale and developing an odor. (to me it smells like rotten eggs or onions). I never try to load more than I plan to use on my trip and although I hate to waste water, I don't leave it in the holding tank for weeks at a time.

Outbound · 02-02-2021, 04:35 PM

Ditto on bleach.

David 70 · 02-02-2021, 05:43 PM

My coach came with a tester that used strips to test the bleach level. Actually it is called something else but don't remember the technical name. I usually end up filling from my well which is not recommended for small children and pregnant women to drink. It goes bad quite quickly so I regularly add a little bleach to it. We do not drink it, use water from our S&B ro system.

tpaul · 02-02-2021, 05:48 PM

Here's an alternative.

https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/p...water-additive

lsalem · 02-04-2021, 07:23 AM

Thanks all for the info. Hope I can have the MH ready for spring travels.

mike625 · 02-05-2021, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by be-happy

Cliff has the answer for you. The fresh water tank is the hardest to sanitize, do not over bleach as its hard enough to get the bleach taste out as it is. The key is fill about a 1/4 and drive. Do the same when you rinse, just filling will not remove the bleach from the side walls of the tank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfuelman

Another little tip for you. I learned this when I owned boats. Anytime you can load water from a municipal site do so. Municipal water almost always contains chorine to kill bacteria, this also makes the water stay fresh longer in your holding tank and help keep it fresh as well.

+1 - It's the campground that do not have municipal water that will likely cause you to have issues. I always fill up the tank when on city water. When I sanitize the system with bleach I fill the tank to the top and use 75 ppm bleach. Let it sit over night without driving it around - then do a couple of tank fills and flush.

Below are some docs from the CDC and Aqua-hot that gives standard for disinfection water and RV water system.

krudawg · 02-05-2021, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsalem

Question for all of the experts. How do you sanitize your fresh water tank. I recently purchased a class A MH that had been sitting for I don't know how long. First time I tasted the water from the tank it was kinda of funkey. I fleshed it several times but no real change. Have been using bottled water to cook and drink. A little nervous thinking what could be growing in that tank.

Hook up your hose to the water tank, fill a measuring cup with a 1/2 cup of bleech and pour into hose. connect the hose to your hose bib and let the water flow. take it for a short drive and you are done

fasha · 03-21-2021, 07:39 PM

My tank is about 40 gal. I fill tank 1/4 then pour 1/3 cup bleach then fill tank completely. Pump water through each line one at a time. You can faintly smell bleach when old water finishes passing through tap.Shut off tap when you get the bleach water coming through Top off tank. Let the bleach water sit in the tank and lines for a day or 2. Drain and fill tank again to rinse it out. Hook up RV hose to tap and
flush out lines with water from your house or RV site.

Don't over bleach. You'll never get the bleach smell out and it may not be that healthy