Sanitizing the fresh water tank and system

[Georgia_Biker]

OK - with all of the free time we have while "hibernating" my wife runs across and article about sanitizing the fresh water tank on a yearly basis. I read the article and I guess it sounds resonable and I thought easy to do until I figured out there is not an easy way to get a cleaning mixture (clorox and dawn) into the fresh water tank short of buying a seperate water pump.

I have a 2016 FB3875 and I know the the water inlet has a setting for winterizing but, I don't think that fills the fresh water tank.

I would welcome any comments

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Great question...

I found the easiest way to solve this was to simply pour my solution (bleach) into my fresh water hose, then connect hose to city water and presto....it is pushed into the tank.

Not sure why you'd put Dawn (or any dish soap) into the fresh water tank. I've heard of the "Geo Method" using Dawn, but that is for the grey water tank.

Here is my process for cleaning my fresh water tank.

1/4 cup bleach for every 15 gallons of water. Fill your tanks with this formula...run this bleach water through your lines...allow to sit for 24 hours. Drain entire tank...fill with fresh water...run water through lines....sit for 24 hours. Drain tank and fill again. Flush water lines until you no longer smell bleach. Done...now you will have a CLEAN tank and water lines. I do this every Spring when we take the RV out of Winter storage.

 

[Dahillbilly]

OK - with all of the free time we have while "hibernating" my wife runs across and article about sanitizing the fresh water tank on a yearly basis. I read the article and I guess it sounds resonable and I thought easy to do until I figured out there is not an easy way to get a cleaning mixture (clorox and dawn) into the fresh water tank short of buying a seperate water pump.

I have a 2016 FB3875 and I know the the water inlet has a setting for winterizing but, I don't think that fills the fresh water tank.

I would welcome any comments

Check the tools tab above, user guides has info there on this subject

 

[danemayer]

If you put Dawn into the fresh tank, I'd think you would have to do an enormous amount of rinsing to get all the soap taste out of the water system. Bleach is recommended by Heartland and others. And as said earlier, putting the bleach into your water hose and then connecting to city water, with Anderson Valve set to TANK, will push the bleach into the fresh tank.

 

[Kathi-27]

amazon has plastic syringes with hose for watering and camco taste pure drinking water freshener. put 3-4 oz per 15-20 gal of water through one of the fresh water tank overflow hoses. do this 3 times a year as we always have 20 gal of water in tank for travel and what ever comes up. we drain and refill once a year. has had no fresh water problems in 5 years

 

[Bogie]

After many complaints form DW about the smell and taste when using bleach, I switched to Purogene. Been using it for the last two years. No more complaints. The RV Filter Store used to have a discount for Heartland Owners. Not sure if that still exists.

 

[NYSUPstater]

Great question...

I found the easiest way to solve this was to simply pour my solution (bleach) into my fresh water hose, then connect hose to city water and presto....it is pushed into the tank.

Not sure why you'd put Dawn (or any dish soap) into the fresh water tank. I've heard of the "Geo Method" using Dawn, but that is for the grey water tank.

Here is my process for cleaning my fresh water tank.

1/4 cup bleach for every 15 gallons of water. Fill your tanks with this formula...run this bleach water through your lines...allow to sit for 24 hours. Drain entire tank...fill with fresh water...run water through lines....sit for 24 hours. Drain tank and fill again. Flush water lines until you no longer smell bleach. Done...now you will have a CLEAN tank and water lines. I do this every Spring when we take the RV out of Winter storage.

I do the exact same thing. Have and use a dedicated 1 cup measuring cup that gets used 1x a year for this exact procedure and sits upside down on reg bottle (hard to find) of Clorox. Then sits on shelf for another year. One thing I started doing in addition to above once fresh tank is filled is to run/fill hot water tank as well w/ the on board pump/fresh tank so the bleach goes into that as well to kill off any bacteria as well. Sure it's an extra step, but no smell and peace of mind. I have to use both the 25' and 50' water hose to go from house to RV so both hoses get sanitized for the season. IF we will be dry camping and need to fill fresh tank, I just add the in-line filter to said hoses.

Some may think that 120 gallons of water is a lot to "waste" to sanitize tank, but IMO, it's a lot of piece of mind.

 

[Georgia_Biker]

If you put Dawn into the fresh tank, I'd think you would have to do an enormous amount of rinsing to get all the soap taste out of the water system. Bleach is recommended by Heartland and others. And as said earlier, putting the bleach into your water hose and then connecting to city water, with Anderson Valve set to TANK, will push the bleach into the fresh tank.

I don't know where the Dawn thing came from other than that it was the formula for a solution to clean the awnings which I am also going to do. Too much information at once. Total brain fart on my part.

So if I put a hose from a bucket with my bleach solution and connected to the city water with the valve selected to tank and run the onboard pump it will pull the water from the bucket into the tank? I thought I read somewhere that it would not.

Here's what I did and it worked fine - I went to Home Depot and got a drill pump for $17. I mixed a bleach solution in a 5 gallon bucket 1/4 cup per 10 gallons - 73 gallon tank. Once that was emptied I hooked a water hose to the tank water and filled the fresh water tank until it ran over full. I then by passed the water heater and ran water through all outlets until I smelled bleach. I will let that sit for 24 hours and then empty the fresh water tank - refill with fresh and evacuate the outlets until the bleach smell is gone - it's possible it may take twice.

Thanks for everyone's comments - very helpful as always

 

[Mrsfish]

I would like to second Purogene. Came from the marine industry for their fresh water tanks. No left over smell or need to multiple rinse. Also not hard on your rings and seals like bleach can be.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

So if I put a hose from a bucket with my bleach solution and connected to the city water with the valve selected to tank and run the onboard pump it will pull the water from the bucket into the tank? I thought I read somewhere that it would not.

Assuming you have a 60 gallon tank. Get your fresh water hose, connect it to your RV. Now pour 2 cups of bleach in that hose from other end. Now connect hose to your city water. Valve should be on tank, and now turn on city water. This will push the bleach into your tank, along with 60 gallons of water. No pump needed.

 

[Georgia_Biker]

I would like to second Purogene. Came from the marine industry for their fresh water tanks. No left over smell or need to multiple rinse. Also not hard on your rings and seals like bleach can be.

Never heard of it - sounds good though - where do I find it?

 

[jmarnell]

Never heard of it - sounds good though - where do I find it?

I just ordered a bottle from the RV Water Filter Store (www.rvwaterfilterstore.com)

 

[NYSUPstater]

After many complaints form DW about the smell and taste when using bleach, I switched to Purogene. Been using it for the last two years. No more complaints. The RV Filter Store used to have a discount for Heartland Owners. Not sure if that still exists.

Just read the description for this and if I read it right, you still have to use the same amount of water just won't have the odor. Will say it seems too that this stuff will kill off quite a bit of stuff as well.

 

[Bogie]

Just read the description for this and if I read it right, you still have to use the same amount of water just won't have the odor. Will say it seems too that this stuff will kill off quite a bit of stuff as well.

That's correct. You fill and drain a full tank when sanitizing the system. For sanitizing, 1/3 oz of Purogene per gallon plus 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per gallon. Once sanitized, you treat at a rate of 1 oz Purogene per 30 gallons of potable water when you fill the tank.

 

[porthole]

After many complaints form DW about the smell and taste when using bleach, I switched to Purogene. Been using it for the last two years. No more complaints. The RV Filter Store used to have a discount for Heartland Owners. Not sure if that still exists.

We have been using purogene for two years as well. We prefer it over the bleach as there is no oder.

Just read the description for this and if I read it right, you still have to use the same amount of water just won't have the odor. Will say it seems too that this stuff will kill off quite a bit of stuff as well.

Yes for the initial sanitizing. After that just add the maintenance amount based on your fill amount.

I mixed a bleach solution in a 5 gallon bucket 1/4 cup per 10 gallons - 73 gallon tank.

The recommended ratio is 1/4 cup to 15 gallons.

We bypassed the water heater when sanitizing (good time to check the anode)

Bleach can be corrosive, I wouldn't let it sit 24 hours, even diluted. 6 hours should be plenty.



Purogene

As mentioned above, been using it a couple of years now.
For ease of use I added a small marine type water filter at the end of my filtration system. When I want to add Purogene to a fresh water fill I use that filter housing. I have the housing marked at 30-60-90 gallons for the proper ratio of Purogene.

 

[garyroee]

Using bleach to disinfect water tanks is not new to every RV, but how much bleach is needed to disinfect an RV water tank. We need to know the exact amount to kill pathogens and keep them at a safe level. In general, we will need one cup of bleach for every 50 gallons of water. Therefore, if your water tank has a capacity of 25 gallons, use ½ cup bleach. If your water tank can hold 12-13 gallons of water, use 1/4 cup.