Sanitizing fresh water tank

rnewk52

Active Member
Greetings to all,

When we are dry camping and using water from ther fresh water tank we are getting an odor and offensive taste
from the water. I am going to sanitize the tank with bleach and was wondering what ratio of water to bleach works best?

thanks in advance for all the great info this forum is so good at providing.
 

rjr6150

Well-known member
Start with a nearly full fresh water tank.
Turn the water heater off and let the water cool.
Dilute 1/4 cup of household bleach for each 15 gallons of tank capacity in to a gallon of water.
Add the chlorine/water solution to the water tank. (Never pour straight bleach into the RV fresh water tank. )
One faucet at a time, let the chlorinated water run through them for one or two minutes. You should be able to smell the chlorine. (Make sure you are using the water pump and not an external water supply.)
Top off the RV fresh water tank and let stand for at least three hours over night is better.
Completely drain the system by flushing the faucets for several minutes each. Open the fresh water tank drain valve to speed up emptying the tank.and Open the hot water tank drain plug and drain until it is empty.
Close all valves and faucets and drain plugs.
Fill water tank with fresh water.
Flush each faucet for several minutes each repeating until the tank is again empty. (Make sure you are using the water pump and not an external water supply.)

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lwmcguir

Well-known member
A few extra thoughts about bad odor from the fresh water holding tanks. Be sure you have a NSF hose you are filling them with. Hot water heater should be drained and dried each time you park the coach for more than a few days. Rinse all the faucets each time you fill the holding tanks with or without sanitizer. I like to use peroxide rather than bleach at the same or higher ratio. downside is you cant smell it so you don't know when you have cleared the lines. Be sure to bypass the water heater when using bleach in the tanks.
 
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