Fresh water tank cleanout

[aray]

Sorry to be asking so many questions, but it's all new to me. So here's my most recent question. Tanks that hold water get slimy after a while, and it really doesn't take very long. Simply replacing the water in our bird's water dish I notice after only 3-ish days it's slimy if I don't clean it out. So what do you do for the freshwater tank in an RV? How do you keep that clean?


Thanks,

[Dblhack]

There are some nice videos on YouTube on this subject. Basically make a mixture of bleach and water, pour it in the fresh water take, fill up and let sit for a day. Drain and you should be good.

[gearhead]

I sanitize our water tank spring and fall, using household bleach. But, we don't drink the water for the same reason as your concern. We have very high humidity and high heat through the summer and no telling what kind of bugs are growing there. We have municipal water that seems to have a high chlorine content but no telling what we hook into on the road.

[flybouy]

Besides bleach there are additives made to "freshen up the water tanks". If you use bleach a little goes a long way and flush several times with clean water.

When you fill your tank use a water filter on the hose. If you have a cartridge type filter you can by cartridges that address specific water issues (if you're primarily filling from home).

[Logan X]

I use bleach every six months. Here’s a video with more information.

https://youtu.be/ZS4lARJvnuE

[Jim2366]

I sanitize with bleach too. However, we have on the counter a Berkey water filter. We fill it with water and feel confident that our water is safe. We use the same one at home and in our RV.

https://www.berkeyfilters.com/produc...SABEgL5afD_BwE

2019 Ram 3500 diesel
2019 Cougar 361rlw

[Ksupaul]

I haven’t sanitized fresh water before. I do drain the fresh water tank after every trip though.

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by Ksupaul

I haven’t sanitized fresh water before. I do drain the fresh water tank after every trip though.

I make it a habit to travel with some water in the tank, just in case I need it.
Once home, I'll simply open the drain to remove as much as I can for sanitary reasons. If I'm using the Cougar a couple of times a month I don't bother sanitizing. There is enough chlorine in our culinary water to keep any bacteria down for a week or two,
If the time between trips is longer than a couple of weeks I'll do a quick sanitize filling the tank and adding 1/4 cup of bleach. let it sit overnight and drain it the next day. A couple of drain and refill cycles and we're ready to roll. Since we use the FW tank water for both cooking and drinking I like to know it's safe.
Been doing it this way for the past 10+ seasons and not had any issues.

[UsTwo]

Just a cup of bleach in the spring for me.. I fill up to about 3/4, dump a cup of bleach in, drive out the highway and back around 5 miles or so. Back home and let sit for around 2 hours.. open valves and drain. Then fill with fresh water and drain 3 to 4 times.. But we don't drink the water out of the tank.. no problems in 15 yrs..

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by aray

Sorry to be asking so many questions, but it's all new to me. So here's my most recent question. Tanks that hold water get slimy after a while, and it really doesn't take very long. Simply replacing the water in our bird's water dish I notice after only 3-ish days it's slimy if I don't clean it out. So what do you do for the freshwater tank in an RV? How do you keep that clean?


Thanks,

I got thinking (I know...) I didn't respond to the bolded above. You can't really judge the water quality by a pet's drinking water bowl. The first time they use it they introduce bacteria, food particles, and other contaminants from wherever their beaks or mouths have been.

Just some "food for thought".

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Ksupaul

I haven’t sanitized fresh water before. I do drain the fresh water tank after every trip though.

I'd guess that half will say yes, the other half will say no and the rest will say, it doesn't matter...…

Here's a bit of chemistry to "muddle over"....

Chlorine dissipates as a gas from the water in which it is dissolved.

If the fresh water tank is full, there is less potential for the chlorine suspended in the water to dissipate.

If the fresh water tank is empty, the chlorine in the "small bit of remaining water" will dissipate faster. That leaves a moist tank interior with no chlorine, which can become a "breeding ground" for bacteria, mold and mildew (slime).

Water is a diluent, not an anti-pollutant. What that means is that water will dilute and/or wash away the "bad stuff". Water will not "prevent or inhibit" the growth of the bad stuff.

So, draining the tank is (IMHO) a good thing, but when refilling, you may need to add chlorine and re-sanitize the tank, depending on the water quality, time between uses and what you're going to do with the water.

If you don't drink or cook (consume) the water, then it's not critical that it be "pollutant free". If you are going to consume the water, then more care should be afforded to maintaining a "clean fresh water tank"....

[BadmanRick]

I satanize my fresh water tank twice a year and use the Camping fresh water hose and cartridge filter to fill the tank full of our City water. The City water contains chlorine. With the tank full there is little chance the bugs will grow. So we feel our water is always safe to drink.

[Northern Lights]

We have a Berkey on the counter too.
I'm a big believer because in addition to providing great tasting water, you can run virtually any water through it to make it potable.

When we visited the in laws in Colorado on their small hay farm, we hooked up to the blue handle gravity water faucet outside before they came home from work.
Who would have thought that Red was the color for pure water? Not me.

Our system pressured up with Colorado River irrigation water.
But as always, we put the water through the Berkey before using it & we did use it before they got home.
They were really upset thinking we drank contaminated river water.
Nope. The Berkey did its job on the dirty River water & I'm still live & well to talk about this potential disaster. Not so much as a Hiccup.
We Sterilized the water system & hooked to the hood red valve.

The 2 black ceramic filters are good for about 3,000 gallons. Then, just gently clean them with a green kitchen scrubber & you're ready for the next 3,000 gallons.

We full time & our 2 Siberian Huskies are so used to Berkey water that they don't like to drink water straight from the faucet anymore. Between the Colorado River irrigation water & the Huskies, this would make a good ad for Berkey.

[alelka]

Does anyone use Brita?