Freshwater sanitizing, what's your routine?

[Yellowjacket]

Just prepping our Scamp for a road trip, doing all the usual stuff and got to wondering what do others do, especially sanitizing the freshwater tank and system. I'm using the Clorox method, but wonder if there isn't a better way. Any suggestions?

[Raspy]

Anthony,

Just don't overuse the Clorox. A little goes a long way. And when there is too much it is really hard to flush the tank sufficiently to get rid of the taste and smell. Also, PEX is deteriorated by excessive bleach, so use the right amount and then refill with fresh water to get the heavy concentrations out of the water lines.

I have pretty much defaulted to using bottled water for drinking, coffee and cooking. Tank water for showering.

Also, fresh tap water from a municipality will last a lot longer in the tank than untreated well water. Well water will get musty in a couple of weeks or so if you don't add a bit of bleach. It seems like about a teaspoon is sufficient, and less is probably adequate, depending on your tank size.

Try to avoid RV antifreeze in the winter. Better to drain the tank and blow out the lines with a compressor if possible.

[Lynn Eberhardt]

Clorox works fine and is something you probably already have. I always make sure it's through the lines and then drive the trailer a bit to slosh the water in the tank, then let it sit at least an hour. You can tell by the smell when it's thoroughly rinsed. I keep the tank filled with county water between trips and drain and refill when ready to travel.

[AlanKilian]

I keep mine empty when not used and refresh it with 1/4 cup of bleach in 12 gallons of fresh water before using.

Fill, run the pump until it smells like bleach, let set for a couple hours, drain, refill with water, run the pump until it smell not like bleach, drain and refill.

I do this once at the beginning of the season, once in the middle and again at the end.

[jerrybob]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Anthony,

Just don't overuse the Clorox. A little goes a long way. And when there is too much it is really hard to flush the tank sufficiently to get rid of the taste and smell. Also, PEX is deteriorated by excessive bleach, so use the right amount and then refill with fresh water to get the heavy concentrations out of the water lines.

I have pretty much defaulted to using bottled water for drinking, coffee and cooking. Tank water for showering.

Also, fresh tap water from a municipality will last a lot longer in the tank than untreated well water. Well water will get musty in a couple of weeks or so if you don't add a bit of bleach. It seems like about a teaspoon is sufficient, and less is probably adequate, depending on your tank size.



Try to avoid RV antifreeze in the winter. Better to drain the tank and blow out the lines with a compressor if possible.

Very good advice here!

[Sea of Green]

Also, there are different types of bleach. Some have additives for whitening and brightening - you don't want those, just straight bleach. The generic stuff works well for sanitizing.
And bleach degrades over time, so best not to use the old bottle that came from your parents' basement. When in doubt buy a new bottle - it's cheap.

[BenBark]

Not all Clorox is disinfecting. Look for the bottle that says "Disinfecting Bleach - Kills 99.9% of Germs". This is printed in big red letters right under the word Clorox. We used this when we couldn't find disinfecting wipes in any stores.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Anthony,

Just don't overuse the Clorox. A little goes a long way. And when there is too much it is really hard to flush the tank sufficiently to get rid of the taste and smell. Also, PEX is deteriorated by excessive bleach, so use the right amount and then refill with fresh water to get the heavy concentrations out of the water lines.

I have pretty much defaulted to using bottled water for drinking, coffee and cooking. Tank water for showering.

Also, fresh tap water from a municipality will last a lot longer in the tank than untreated well water. Well water will get musty in a couple of weeks or so if you don't add a bit of bleach. It seems like about a teaspoon is sufficient, and less is probably adequate, depending on your tank size.

Try to avoid RV antifreeze in the winter. Better to drain the tank and blow out the lines with a compressor if possible.

When using anti-freeze you don't put it in your tank! Use an extra piece of tubing with a connector on it and unhook the in-line to the pump. Put the connector onto the pump and the tubing into the anti-freeze and pump it through the lines. This also makes sure your pump is protected. Make sure you have the hot water heater in bypass so it will not get anti-freeze in it. Blowing out the lines works well for some people but then water can stay in low spots to freeze and break the line. 40 years of doing this has never resulted in anti-freeze in our tank or hot water heater nor have we had a broken pipe or pump
.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by AlanKilian

I keep mine empty when not used and refresh it with 1/4 cup of bleach in 12 gallons of fresh water before using.

Fill, run the pump until it smells like bleach, let set for a couple hours, drain, refill with water, run the pump until it smell not like bleach, drain and refill.

I do this once at the beginning of the season, once in the middle and again at the end.

This is exactly what we do also. If the water in the tank is not clean I wouldn't want to use it to brush my teeth or shower in it. When you put the bleach in the tank dilute it in a pail or something so the pure bleach is not going into the line to the tank. It could cause a problem with the line. Then we fill the tank with water.

[mleibelt]

I do the clorex thing like every one else says with a couple different twists...I dump the bleach in the hose then hook to the house to clean the hose...After a few hours drain the tank and put white vinegar in the hose and run that till you smell it and lets it sit a few hours..Works good to get the bleach smell/taste out and sweetens the water...
That's just my way...

[Glenn Baglo]

How do you get rid of the vinegar smell?

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

When using anti-freeze you don't put it in your tank! Use an extra piece of tubing with a connector on it and unhook the in-line to the pump. .

and that's what I do now, but old Scamp video says to put it in the tank.

[AlanKilian]

I also just did a rinse-n-drain since the hand-pumped well water at the campground was slightly silty and iron colored.

A quick fill/jump around in the camper/drain and it's all set for next time.

[mleibelt]

Just run some water...It goes away fast and better than bleach smell in my book..

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by mleibelt

Just run some water...It goes away fast and better than bleach smell in my book..

Chlorine smell goes away with exposure to air. Give it a couple days.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by mleibelt

I do the clorex thing like every one else says with a couple different twists...I dump the bleach in the hose then hook to the house to clean the hose...After a few hours drain the tank and put white vinegar in the hose and run that till you smell it and lets it sit a few hours..Works good to get the bleach smell/taste out and sweetens the water...
That's just my way...

Perfect way of doing it. We put the bleach in the hose for our motorhome because it needs a pressure hose to fill it but so far not for the trailer. I've never used vinegar but we have used baking soda to kill the bleach taste. I'll try the vinegar as that makes perfect sense and would be easier than trying to get the baking soda liquified. The last couple of years we just used the bleach then plain water and rinsed thoroughly. After a fill up of water once or twice it is fine to drink. We've had to hurry to get ready so the extra rinse didn't get done but we knew the tank was clean. We carry ice water in a insulated jug to drink the first 3-4 days.