In the Escape manual under the Annual Maintenance section it says to "sanitize the fresh water tank" but gives no suggestions as to how to do it. Most of the stuff I've read says to use s small amount of bleach mixed with a large quantity of water then flush to remove any taste. I'm a bit skittish about using bleach. Recently I saw a post on another forum where the poster uses a teaspoon of concentrated chlorine purchased from a pool supply shop put directly into the tank. He says using this method there is no need to flush the tank following the treatment. Just wondering what others use to get this done.
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Re: Sanitizing The Fresh Water Tank
Where I live in North Vancouver, you can smell the chlorine that is added to the water before it gets to your home. I don't know about your water system, but it likely has chlorine ( bleach ) added at source, so your tank is sanitized every time you fill up. Also, just for laughs, look up the definition of "sanitize".
baglo
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I think that's why the guy who used the pool chlorine said it didn't require any after washing. It tastes just like tap water <g>. However, we are on the best well water I've ever tasted so anything added is quite easily identified. Possibly adding just a small amount of bleach, like a teaspoon, to a couple of gallons of water might do the trick and then wash it out thoroughly to remove any taste.
I have used a cup of bleach with a full tank of water, run it until it comes out of the taps, then let it sit overnight. Then drain the entire system (including water heater), rinse completely once, and Bob's your uncle. Easy peasy, and cleans up the taste great.
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We live in the country with our own well - so no chlorine in it, plus most of the places we camp are water from wells. I use the same method as Jim essentially. I try to always do that method before storing for any length of time as I figure it is easier to prevent problems than cure them later.
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Eric (and Mary who is in no way responsible for anything stupid I post)
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I think Jim's method is the best. Simple and effective. We, too, are on our own well so anything in the tank will taste funky. In reading what some do with their fresh water tanks I think they are confusing "sanitize" with "sterilize" <g>.
I repeat the bleach fill and flush with a baking soda fill and flush to remove any bleach smell. Mix the bleach or soda into a gallon of water, don't add it straight to the tank.
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