Use the right CLOROX to sanitize

newell

     I wanted to flush my fresh water tank and I needed to chlorinate my well water so I didn't add any bacteria to the system.  After consulting the CLOROX website (see link below), I found a helpful guide to the correct ratios of water to chlorine bleach and an explanation of why such in the case of a natural disaster, it is a helpful thing to know.  
     I was somewhat surprised that they warn against using the splash-less version of their product for this purpose.  I thought it was just a different spout design but it turns out it is a whole different formula with different chemicals in it and therefore should't be used.  Also, not so surprising were the scented versions which also should not be used.  
     Before sanitizing your fresh water system with the recommended 1/2 cup of bleach to a gallon of water, make sure you are using a safe bleach for that purpose. 

      https://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/disaster-preparedness-purifying-water/

ericnliz

@newell, Thanks for sharing that info! Good to know.

Sharon_is_SAM

This is specific to treating the actual water supply that you drink.  I believe the current recommendation from the factory for sanitizing the fresh water tank is 1/4 cup of bleach to an entire tank of fresh water (11 gallons).  The 1/2 cup of bleach to a gallon of water is excessive for sanitizing purposes and it will take forever to flush out the bleach from your system.  We instilled a 1/4 cup of bleach into a gallon of water then filled the remainder of the tank and let it sit a minimum of 3 - 4 hours.  Longer is better.

TabberJohn

@SAM is absolutely correct. 1/4 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water to dilute the bleach before adding it to the empty fresh water tank. Then fill the tank (10 more gallons of plain water).
That's 1/4 cup of regular household bleach (5% solution) not concentrate (8.25% solution) which would require 1/3 less (about 2-1/2 tablespoons). Look for % sodium-hypochloric solution on the label.

Ratkity

Remember, you are looking to "clean" the water tank, not sterilize it for surgical or laboratory purposes. If you insist on using bleach instead of buying fresh water tank sanitizer for RVs, don't over-do it. I'm not sure longer is better. Bleach will be long gone, but the chlorine smell will linger for a while because the tank is plastic - requiring many, many rinses. Please don't use it at all if you are asthmatic. 

newell

This is a cut and paste of page 46 of the 2017 T@B Manual.  Note, it says flush with not soak for any length of time.  Just saying...

Steps to Dewinterize Your T@B

1. Mix a bleach solution, “1⁄2 cup per gallon of
water” Flush the system with this solution to
sanitize it.

2. Then flush the system with 2 full tanks of water
to ensure the system is clear of the sanitizing
solution. 

ScottG

Manual shmanual. I think the manual is ambiguous. I used waaaay to much bleach the first time I sanitized, and I chickened out before even getting close to 5.5 cups (or whatever I thought the manual was instructing me to do).

Unless you want to be smelling bleach for the next two camping seasons, I suggest you follow the advice posted here!

Photomom

I understood that to be 1/2 cup of bleach mixed with a gallon of water, then fill the tank with water. So, actually 1/2 cup of bleach to 11 gallons of water.

Homebodyatheart

Health department guidelines are 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1gallon of water for a sanitizing solution. Used to be 1 tablespoon and they've decreased it. Less is better.

Verna

It took three tankfuls to get rid of the chlorine smell with about 1/4 cup of bleach. I can't imagine 1/2 cup per gallon!

newell

Photomom said:

I understood that to be 1/2 cup of bleach mixed with a gallon of water, then fill the tank with water. So, actually 1/2 cup of bleach to 11 gallons of water.

     I like  Photomom's interpretation of the manual and I think it's still too much.  I like Verna's 1/4 cup with 11 gallons of water.  I would pre mix the 1/4 cup with at least 1 gallon of water before putting it in the tank and then  topping off the tank with fresh water.  Drain and flush a couple of times.  
     Sorry this got so far in the weeds.  I just wanted to point out Clorox's advice not to use the splash less variety no matter what you feel is necessary to sanitize your system.  

Verna

@newell, this is a yearly discussion and it's a good reminder of how good and bad bleach can be (I'm allergic to skin contact of it...oh how I miss swimming!). 

Ratkity

V, do you use a filter for drinking water?

Verna

@Ratkity, I drink bottled water 95% of the time. I will be receiving a Brita pitcher tomorrow to see how that works. Ingesting the small amount of chlorine in the city water doesn't seem to bother me. I do not drink from my water tank. 

Ratkity

In DC, you can smell the chlorine in the water. I've used 3 gal refillable containers and fill them at the cleanest water fill station at my fav co-op natural food store since I moved here 16 yrs ago. I don't drink from my water tank either, even though I use a seasonal filter on it as well.

mickietucs

@Verna - I love my Brita pitcher (and the one I have fits beautifully in the fridge without taking up too much space). Think of the space you'll save by not buying cases of water (and less plastic in the landfill)!

clinck

I NEVER drink trailer water from any source....Best policy is to use bottled water. I buy 2.5 gal jugs and store what I need in the cooler for drinking and cooking. Fresh water tanks are for rinsing/cleaning/flushing purposes only in my book. Just too many contaminants for me to risk.

clinck

Very little plastic bottles get as far as the landfill. There are companies that specialize in recycling these plastics and selling to manufacturers of plastic products..It's a profitable business for them. Most of the plastic products we all buy are made from recycled plastics..

TTTab

OK I spent lots of money and left my T@B for 5 weeks at the dealer. They were busy!!!!  I had purchased icy T@B used in March. When I did pick it up they said it did not need sanitizing and that they had just flushed it.  I keep reading on this forum about people sanitizing.  I live in an apartment and that is why i brought the T@B to the dealer to have it dewinterized and some other work done.  So I really am anxious to finally head out and camp but now am trying to figure out how in the world I will be able to sanitize it.  Any suggestions?

Sharon_is_SAM

Sounds like you need to go to a full hook up camp site.  
First make sure that any antifreeze is completely rinsed from your system.  To sanitize your fresh water tank, add a 1/4 cup of household bleach to a gallon of water and add it to your empty fresh water tank.  Fill the tank up the rest of the way, then, using your pump, open up your faucets and shower just enough to fill your lines, then turn off.  You should let it work for at least 3 hours, then empty and fill your tank and drain several times until it no longer smells like bleach.  Best to do this somewhere that you have full hook ups.  We did it at a state campground and it was not fun.

Sharon_is_SAM

Boo, 1/4 cup for the entire 11 gallon tank.  First dilute it in 1 gallon of water, just to be able to add it to the tank.

Ratkity

That 1/4 cup for 11 gallons still took me 5x rinses to get the smell out. I'm real sensitive to the smell. Guess it's from working in a lab for so many years.

grkunkel

Can anyone here personally attest to a bad result from not sanitizing the water tank each Spring and/or Winter? Anyone here suspect they may have experienced a nasty malady from such wild and crazy behavior? Or does everyone here religiously abide by the "rather safe than sorry" maxim? Is there anyone who does not sanitize yet has lived to tell about it?

newell

     I can speak more from sailboat experience than campers but in 10 years of living weekends on the water and winterizing the systems each year here in New York I not only never sanitized the fresh water system I never even heard of doing it.  
     On the other hand, we only washed, did dishes and cooked with the water, we drank jug water which I suspect most of us do here.  

ScottG

grkunkel said:

Can anyone here personally attest to a bad result from not sanitizing the water tank each Spring and/or Winter? Anyone here suspect they may have experienced a nasty malady from such wild and crazy behavior? Or does everyone here religiously abide by the "rather safe than sorry" maxim? Is there anyone who does not sanitize yet has lived to tell about it?

No. Everyone who has tried this expires on their first outing of the season.  ;-)

Seriously, this is not as simple a question as it appears on the surface. As noted in this thread, many people don't consume the water from their tank. Additionally, minor tummy troubles--especially when traveling--are often difficult to trace back to a single source. Lastly, just because you get away with something ten, one-hundred, or even a thousand times doesn't mean you will get away with it the next time.

Will you die if you don't sanitize your water system? Probably not. Will you get sick? Maybe. Are the likelihood and severity of getting sick big enough to justify the hassle of bleaching and flushing your tank? That's up to you, gamblin' man (or m'am)...

It's a good question, though. Let us know any additional information you uncover, and what you decide to do. (And welcome to the forum!)

Ratkity

As a weekend camper (currently), I empty my water tank after each outing. I drink water (and coffee water) that comes from from filling a special jug at home. I've brushed my teeth in the fresh water tank water. I haven't "expired" yet.. .AND, I'm an official Zombie Response Team member (have official medallion on camper and Popper is too! Here's his official patches for his vest:

Ratkity

Now Srsly,

Since I empty my tank and I have no low spots, I don't worry about sanitizing it. I will NEVER use bleach to sanitize it and I'm not allergic to bleach either (there are people here that are). There are sanitizing products for RV fresh water tanks that smell decent and are easier to flush out. Bleach seems to be harder to get rinsed out of plastic for some reason. 

As your resident microbiologist, I wouldn't go overboard (boat pun) worrying about the fresh water tank. Also, if it's in continuous use for several weeks in a row, there's little possibility that any microbe could have a chance to grow.

Edited to add: Add a one-season disposable water filter before hooking up any water supply or fill ups to the fresh water tank. It'll eliminate sediment from getting into a fresh water tank and it'll remove that sulfur smell that some water campground wells have. Some beach campgrounds have sand that comes out of their spigots. It'll capture that too. The sulfur smell (rotten egg) is HARMLESS, but I'd rather not shower in it and smell like cleanly washed rotten eggs lol.

rfuss928

Wouldn't the alcohol components of the pink RV antifreeze have some sterilizing effect??
My system gets flushed with that each fall and rinsed in the spring. 

Dalehelman

If you  routinely use  chlorinated city water  sanitizing should not be needed. If you use an unknown source or well water some sort of sanitation should be considered. IMHO

db_cooper

Thanks to this thread resurrection I just filled our tank to sanitize for a couple days.  We don't drink iti just shower and dishes.

i use a big pinch of dichlor crystals for the first soak and bypass the Alde.  Same stuff we use in our hot tub.  I found the info on another RV site, where people use like a teaspoon for 100 gallons in their monster RV.  A little goess a long way.  I tried to calculate the exact amount for our little tanks and it was a tiny amount.  When I refill for a trip I put about 10 little grains in the tank, and it has just the faintest chlorine smell. We're on well water, if we were on City water I wouldn't bother.

newell

I mixed 6 ounces of plain Clorox in a half gallon juice jug with plain water. I poured that into a 6 gallon potable water jug and dumped it into the fresh water tank.  I filled it up the rest of the way with the hose and circulated it through out the faucets.  Let it sit over night and then flushed out the system with fresh water.  The water smelled like a swimming pool for awhile so I know it got into everything but it cleared up pretty fast and I'm satisfied that the system is safe.