Keeping my T@B drinking water safe, bacteria and a water test

jimcenname

I have lived in my T@B400 about 20 months and use my onboard water tank exclusively for my water supply. I fill my tank from city water which is typically chlorinated. After 20 months I wanted to know if my water supply remained safe from bacteria. I used a water test kit by Prolab. It's a growth medium that needs 3 days to attempt to grow bacteria from a sample of water. In my case there was one bacteria colony in my T@B's water sample after 3 days. According to the test directions less than 5 colonies is acceptable. If you desire you can send the sample to Prolab for further testing at a $40 cost. I found my at-home results acceptable. I believe since I am always processing fresh drinking water from city water sources that my tank stays clean. The test kit costs about $15 and they recommend testing every 6 months. Well water is a different story....

Sharon_is_SAM

@jimcenname - if it were me, I would probably still sanitize the system a few times a year.  Especially if you drink from it.  Better safe than sorry.

db_cooper

Being on well water, I use a small amount of spa chlorine in our 320 when I fill the tanks. We don't drink from it, but would feel safe doing so if necessary. It only takes a tiny amount for our small tank. About a dozen little grains.

I sanitize it a couple times a season with a higher concentration of chlorine.

ChrisFix

Thanks for that info @jimcenname.
Is there a consenus that 1/4 cup of bleach to 15 gallons of water is a good sanitation method?

Sharon_is_SAM

I have seen several sources with that concentration.  Wonder if the manual has a recipe?

Kiosk

While the results will tell you about E. Coli, a  common intestinal bacteria, handles, hoses, which have been touched can give positive results, and while there are stains of E. Coli (esp associated with cows) that are toxic most are harmless. Most city water is treated and safe, wipe off all connections with alcohol wipe while connecting and let water flow a bit and you should be safe. In backcountry, We use msr guardian water filter and collect almost any water for drinking, eliminates virus, bacteria and parasites, ie guardia which is of more concern, no one wants gastrointestinal distress while on vacation! As a scientist i am pretty careful about that. I also use brita or similar for city drinking water, some especially in summer has tooo much  chlorine for my taste

this kit is a feel good scam, in my opinion,
but i always like seeing people increase their knowledge of science, i wish company told you more about what results really mean, as many still drink from streams in backcountry! Risky! How many blue bags can one carry!?

renesadae

@Kiosk Can you please post a link to which MSR Guardian Filter you use? And is it a Brita Pitcher you use that fits in the frig?

Sharon_is_SAM

This is from a 2017 Owners Manual:

Sanitizing Fresh Water System

Sanitize the fresh water system and piping at initial use, at least once a year and whenever the camper sits for a prolonged period. This will help keep the tank and lines fresh and will discourage the growth of bacteria and other organisms that can contaminate the water supply. Rinse the tank with a chlorine/fresh water solution as follow:

1) Drain water system.

2) Prepare a chorine solution using a gallon of water and 1⁄4 cup of liquid household bleach (5% sodium hypo-chlorinate solution). Use one gallon of solution for each 15 gallons of tank capacity.

pthomas745

Back when I first started reading these Forums and came across the "sanitizing" threads, I discovered Ratkity, our Resident Microbiologist/Immunologist. Her posts on sanitizing were clear and concise, and tried to tamp down the endless alarm over the horrors of the fresh water tank.  She "never" used bleach to "clean" tanks.  Wasn't worth the time, apparently.  Here is a thread with a good discussion.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6229/bacteria-contamination-in-the-water-system

PS: That is Dr. Ratkity, btw.

jimcenname

That's a great post, thanks for finding it.

Sharon_is_SAM

Dr. Ratkity used a non-bleach sanitizer at the beginning of the camping season.  

ScottG

Sharon_is_SAM said:

This is from a 2017 Owners Manual:

Sanitizing Fresh Water System

Sanitize the fresh water system and piping at initial use, at least once a year and whenever the camper sits for a prolonged period. This will help keep the tank and lines fresh and will discourage the growth of bacteria and other organisms that can contaminate the water supply. Rinse the tank with a chlorine/fresh water solution as follow:

1) Drain water system.

2) Prepare a chorine solution using a gallon of water and 1⁄4 cup of liquid household bleach (5% sodium hypo-chlorinate solution). Use one gallon of solution for each 15 gallons of tank capacity.

Make sure you read and interpret this carefully. My first season I hastily took it as one gallon of bleach per fifteen gallons of water.  :-0  That seemed like a lot, and I decided to stop adding bleach to the tank after about a quart of so. Ha ha.

It took most of the season to get the last of the chlorine smell out of my water, but I certainly had no concerns about cooties that year!  :-)

Kiosk

Msrgear.com, mountain safety research company, they have hand-filter, $350, (we have this 2-4 liters in about 10 min of pumping) and a new gravity filter,$ 250, larger volume, the brita, search web, ours is really old, but skinny, fits beside stove

Msr handy in backcountry, brita for front county,