Should We Be Draining Water Between Uses?

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Uplander

My method is to keep the tank full in season....I refresh water supply before a trip (drain and refill just prior to departure.
If you drain tank and let it sit empty you must re-sanitize your water system with bleach and water mix...drain..flush and refil....a lot of time and work.
Keep tank active during camping season and drain and add anti-freeze for winter storage....then sanitize with bleach and water mix in spring.

Happy camping !

I see no reason to re-sanitize a tank that is emptied between trips. In 40 years I have never done that. We drink from our tank and only sanitize before the first trip. In fact I prefer to drain and not have stagnant water sitting for weeks in my tank.

[stevebaz]

My trailer water is my earthquake back up plan. I keep it full of water 24/ 7. I live in the big city and we have chlorniated water. I drain and refil the water tank before we leave for a trip. Water can sit for 6 to 9 months before we change it out. We have no freeze where we live. We have no issues following this plan. I never travel with an empty water tank.

[Fred762]

Picked up our Casita in April and have used it several times. We are getting ready for two upcoming trips where we will be nearly dry camping..I went thru the "sanitize the fresh water system" routine as recommended by factory.. Was a bit of a pain but got it done. Water in the FWT looked clear and smelled OK b4 we ran the routine bleach process. FWIW we do not drink it anyways, unless we run it thru ar least a Britta filter.

[Borrego Dave]

Fred, FWIW, I've got a SD 17 and installed a 4" deck plate in the top of the fresh tank just under the bench wooden cover....just in case I ever needed to physically clean the tank. I only do the bleach thing once a year. In my case it was a twofer as I wanted to install a switch to be able to shut off the LP monitor while the TT was parked so there was no draw on the battery. It was easier to remove the bench to do that so I did the deck plate at the same time.

[Uplander]

At the risk of beating this subject to death....leaving a drained fresh water tank sit empty is providing a perfect atmosphere for bacteria growth.
Besides keeping the tank sanitized I also use a good water filter whenever I hook up to campground/RV Park water supply...In line water hose filters are available at Walmart in their RV supply aisle....use for a season and discard.

Better safe than sorry.....why ruin a great camping trip with a trip to the hospital !

Happy Safe Camping !

[Gompka]

There is an interesting article about rv water at this blog Roadtreking, "Is your rv water safe to drink?"

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Gompka

There is an interesting article about rv water at this blog Roadtreking, "Is your rv water safe to drink?"

I read the article and it seems like it is a scare tactic to sell their filters. When a person is selling an item they usually aren't 100% truthful if they can fudge the facts. I realize not all water is 100% safe especially if it is from a well in a campground. If it is from a city water system it is usually safe since the entire town uses it. We filter with an inline filter and then if we want more we use a Brita filter pitcher. We usually just use the inline filter since some places have a taste to the water.

[Bruce H]

The thing to remember about RV water tanks is once they have had water in them there is no way to dry them out and not much way to rinse them out. Stuff can and will grow in the damp environment. Do the bleach thing every so often and it is fine for showers and dishes. If you have to you can drink it. I buy gallons of distilled water at the grocery stores (less than a dollar) to drink and make coffee, tea, etc.

[Glenn Baglo]

I've read using distilled water for coffee and tea is not recommended if you have decent water because it affects the flavour of the coffee or tea. Minerals are missing.
I use it for topping up my battery.