Fresh Water Tank Sanitizing

[float5]

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard, which most Public Water System Rules are written to, says that bleach concentration AND contact time ARE important. Doing some quick calculations I have found that the 1/2 cup per a full water tank(roughly 30 gal) would yield a concentration of roughly 100 ppm or parts per million(assuming 6% bleach). The required contact time for this concentration is a minimum of 4 hours. You can cut the concentration in half and do it for 8 hours which is what i do(overnight really). Less chlorine to flush out...and yes make sure you have chlorine at ALL taps prior to the waiting time. Make sure the water drains out on your driveway so the chlorine can evaporate and not on your lawn or stream as it will kill most things it touches!(like shirts!) Then fill and flush the whole system a couple of times. The chlorine will also help to freshen up your black and grey tanks too. And yes I am a Licensed Water Treatment Plant Operator and a Certified Pool Operator.

I should have added in my above post that I would use that 1/2 cup overnight, or at least the 4 hours that you mention is the minimum contact time.

I wonder, however, do you know from the AWWA that the solution can be cut in half with twice as much time? To us, that does not follow.

I would use the 1/2 cup even if overnight.

 

[Ian and Sue]

I should have added in my above post that I would use that 1/2 cup overnight, or at least the 4 hours that you mention is the minimum contact time.

I wonder, however, do you know from the AWWA that the solution can be cut in half with twice as much time? To us, that does not follow.

I would use the 1/2 cup even if overnight.

It is all about concentration and contact time thus the higher the concentration the shorter the contact time. The lower the concentration the longer the contact time. I will find the standard and post tomorrow. BTW this standard is for bringing new or compromised water supply lines back into service or shock chlorinating a water system that has been shut down or compromised.

 

[steve dunham]

And you think bottled water is the safest route because???? Bottled water is regulated by the FDA and their record is poor at best...most bottled water comes from a municipal water supply and then sits on the grocery store shelf for months then we generate huge amounts of waste w the bottles...not sustainable. Fill a jug from home if you are worried about campground water, which from my experience is a valid concern...or sanitize and fill your tank at home and use it.

The contractor I worked for did work at the local bottling plants for Coke and Pepsi. Ian is correct , the bottled water they produced was nothing more than filtered municipal tap water.
Bringing water from home does not insure clean pure water . How many people have their well water tested on a yearly basis.
Nitrate contamination of well water is quite common in many areas of the country.

 

[Mucram (2018 19’ escape)]

Very interested on how you decontaminate the hoses & pressure valve to the trailer. Can't picture how to get bleach into hose before connecting to trailer. Or am over thinking because bleach in holding tank will clear system?

 

[float5]

I hope water-bottling companies are not using tap water when the label claims spring water and the location of the spring is given.

 

[float5]

It is all about concentration and contact time thus the higher the concentration the shorter the contact time. The lower the concentration the longer the contact time. I will find the standard and post tomorrow. BTW this standard is for bringing new or compromised water supply lines back into service or shock chlorinating a water system that has been shut down or compromised.

Okay, we will be interested in more on that. Thank you. Of course, to me, if I am using 1/2 cup of bleach, there does not seem to be a need to cut that in half and I would just go with that anyway probably. I will know that I only need four hours.

 

[steve dunham]

I hope water-bottling companies are not using tap water when the label claims spring water and the location of the spring is given.

Desani bottled water in Minnesota is municipal tap water that is filtered. It's the same water they use when bottling Coke.
In many cases they do bottle spring water which they run through an R/O filter and in some cases they also filter out certain minerals
If you read some of the studies many municipal water supplies
( Excluding Flint Michigan) are as good or better than bottled water.
Bottled water is a great example of creative marketing.

 

[gbaglo]

I hope water-bottling companies are not using tap water when the label claims spring water and the location of the spring is given.

Nothing preventing a spring from being polluted. Nothing preventing a municipality from getting water from a spring and running it through their facility and out a tap. Nothing to prevent them from selling it to a bottler.
BTW. The word "natural" has no legal definition when it comes to products. Everything is natural, and everything is chemical. It's what the world is made of.

 

[float5]

Nothing preventing a spring from being polluted. Nothing preventing a municipality from getting water from a spring and running it through their facility and out a tap. Nothing to prevent them from selling it to a bottler.
BTW. The word "natural" has no legal definition when it comes to products. Everything is natural, and everything is chemical. It's what the world is made of.

Bottled water is regulated in the U.S. and there are quite a few different categories for it. It has been found to be generally very safe, but places that have had violations tend to be looked at more often by the FDA. As far as spring water, it has certain standards to meet just as every category of water and it has to be processed a certain way. If certain health hazards are found, bottled water has to be labeled as having exceeded what is considered safe requirements. The lead situation with regard to water is one main issue and has usually been due to plumbing, and therefore, bottled water in general does not have that problem. There are lead requirements for bottled water also, however. I have no idea what regulations are in Canada.

 

[gbaglo]

I have no idea what regulations are in Canada.

Where do you think most of your water comes from?

 

[float5]

Where do you think most of your water comes from?

Well, that is nice that you are sending us water! Banff and Jasper maybe? Okay, I'll take it! Gorgeous water up there. See avatar.

 

[padlin]

Very interested on how you decontaminate the hoses & pressure valve to the trailer. Can't picture how to get bleach into hose before connecting to trailer. Or am over thinking because bleach in holding tank will clear system?

If you are talking a hose you connect to the fresh water fill, I just use a plastic storage bin.
Put it up on the front porch near the edge.
Put in 1/4C of in the bin with roughly 15 gal of water.
Slowly add the hose so it fills with the water/bleach.
When it's all in you put your finger over one end and pull the one end out and onto the ground. Suction should pull water through the hose to the ground.
Let it run for a minute so you know all the air is out of the hose.
Block the end of the hose on the ground and quickly put it back in the bin.
The hose should be full of the bleach mix, let it sit.
After a few hours rinse it out.

 

[Jim Bennett]

Very interested on how you decontaminate the hoses & pressure valve to the trailer. Can't picture how to get bleach into hose before connecting to trailer. Or am over thinking because bleach in holding tank will clear system?

When draining the system on my 19 after giving it a bleach connection, I hooked both the hose I use at home, and the one I use with the trailer to the low-point drain, and ran the water through them for a while, and before it runs out, I disconnected them leaving them full until the next fill.

I know the new trailers do not have the low-point drain, but is there still a threaded drain connection? I have not thought to look at that yet.

 

[cpaharley2008]

No, the fresh tank empties via a valve which does not have a hose connection, more like a spigot.

 

[thoer]

I know the new trailers do not have the low-point drain, but is there still a threaded drain connection? I have not thought to look at that yet.

Joldie asked Reace for me about a the low-point drain and she said that they won't do it anymore due to changes in the freshwater system. She even mentioned to him that I was aware that it would no longer work as a winterizing option due to the new toilet valves, but the answer was still no.

In regard to comments I have seen about questions to and answers from Reace: Joldie told me that my low point drain request would go onto a list with several other option/mod questions that the sales staff compiled for Reace. Then when he had a chance he went thru that compiled list all at once and gave the sales staff his answers.

Answers that the sales staff already knew, I usually got answers to the next business day. I also noted that once I had received the 2 week reminder notice, that my questions were answered more rapidly - which makes great sense to me. The closer one gets to their build sheet due day, the more time critical answers become and prioritizing them makes sesne. Questions that had to go to Reace could take a few days. I think he might just be kind of a busy man.

 

[steve dunham]

Where do you think most of your water comes from?

Where we fish in Canada , they pump water directly out of the lake , , filter it through a pair of panty hose and then into the cabins for consumption. Makes the best coffee you ever tasted.

We have a deep well at our cabin (well over 100 ft deep) . The water has been tested by the State of Wisconsin and is certified as safe
The water is slightly hard with minerals , is ice cold and tastes great
. Yet my wife's friends will not drink the water because it is WELL water and BOTTLED water is so much better and safer.
You can convince yourself of anything if you try hard enough or if some guy in marketing tells you often enough .
Maybe when we are standing neck deep in plastic water bottles minds will change .

 

[paulk-ESC]

And, just curious, does RV anti-freeze have any sanitizing capacity?

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I'd like to add that apparently yes, some RV antifreeze mixtures can sanitize, at least if they consist of 25% or more propylene glycol:

https://dowac.custhelp.com/app/answ...ycol-concentration-for-a-heat-transfer-system

To make use of this property though, you'd have to put RV antifreeze in the fresh water tank. Also, the residual water in the water heater might be a concern, although heating it after a complete fill might be sufficient to deal with that.

 

[MyronL]

When I decided to add half a cup of bleach to the fresh water tank trouble poured out the kitchen spigot.

Tank was filled. The pump sounded just fine and normal. The kitchen and bath spigots though, were not normal. Trickling, sputtering from both hot and cold. Then no water, then more trickling. Checked for leaks in the system. It must be a clog. Found a load of grit in the faucet aerator. That cleaned, testing resumed and so did the problem.

The ShureFlo water pump is easy to get to, if you can lift the mattress and open up that trap door. But not for me because I got that IKEA slatted wood spring-thing under mine. Went down through the cabinet doors and used my flashlight and a mirror on a stick to see on the right exactly where the in-line pump filter is. I’m big. Try doing this wearing football shoulder pads and you will appreciate my problem.

I got the filter out and sure enough, screen was very clogged. Not grit. Just what is that gummy white stuff? Months ago I was messing with home-boy water funnels. Best guess now is some paper labels got somehow sucked into the system when filling with water on location.

Compared to some, guess I feel lucky. This is the first time my water system (less one toilet valve) ever needed attention. Another question was what about that not so fine grit I found in the aerator? The screen filter that came with the ShureFlo sure didn’t screen out that stuff. I may have to buy a better filter.

Maybe bleach whitened the paper.

 

[wetzk]

That grit looks like someone has a bad well casing and it is sucking stuff in.

 

[Patandlinda]

When I decided to add half a cup of bleach to the fresh water tank trouble poured out the kitchen spigot.

Tank was filled. The pump sounded just fine and normal. The kitchen and bath spigots though, were not normal. Trickling, sputtering from both hot and cold. Then no water, then more trickling. Checked for leaks in the system. It must be a clog. Found a load of grit in the faucet aerator. That cleaned, testing resumed and so did the problem.

The ShureFlo water pump is easy to get to, if you can lift the mattress and open up that trap door. But not for me because I got that IKEA slatted wood spring-thing under mine. Went down through the cabinet doors and used my flashlight and a mirror on a stick to see on the right exactly where the in-line pump filter is. I’m big. Try doing this wearing football shoulder pads and you will appreciate my problem.

I got the filter out and sure enough, screen was very clogged. Not grit. Just what is that gummy white stuff? Months ago I was messing with home-boy water funnels. Best guess now is some paper labels got somehow sucked into the system when filling with water on location.

Compared to some, guess I feel lucky. This is the first time my water system (less one toilet valve) ever needed attention. Another question was what about that not so fine grit I found in the aerator? The screen filter that came with the ShureFlo sure didn’t screen out that stuff. I may have to buy a better filter.

Maybe bleach whitened the paper.

Myron is in the filter paper or bio-film ? Good idea adding the beach . Wow lots of Little Rock's and the filter didn't stop them .Pat