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Old 04-10-2016, 07:39 AM   #1
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Anyone use Thetford fresh water sanitizer?

I am getting ready to sanitize my fresh water tank and lines today and would prefer to stay away from using bleach since it seems like I wasted a couple hundred gallons last year trying to get the bleach smell and taste out of the lines.It says to use 2oz to 8gals of water.my tanks is 80 gals so hopefully I have enough,but I read some reviews where some have used a little less due to foaming after the flush and was wondering if I should use a little less.Anyone else ever use this product?
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Old 04-10-2016, 08:06 AM   #2
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You might take a look at that Thetford bottle, I wonder if the main active ingredient might be bleach of some type?
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:00 PM   #3
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Advertisement states Thetford sanitizer has no bleach or chlorine
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:40 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by 314BHDS View Post
I am getting ready to sanitize my fresh water tank and lines today and would prefer to stay away from using bleach since it seems like I wasted a couple hundred gallons last year trying to get the bleach smell and taste out of the lines.It says to use 2oz to 8gals of water.my tanks is 80 gals so hopefully I have enough,but I read some reviews where some have used a little less due to foaming after the flush and was wondering if I should use a little less.Anyone else ever use this product?
I have not used this product.

From the reviews and directions I've read, it sounds like you will not have the smell, but you will still use a couple hundred gallons of water flushing the system after you use this product.
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Old 04-20-2016, 08:25 AM   #5
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It uses a detergent first, and then a second treatment using a "quat" sanitizer. These sanitizers are used heavily in food service. Bleach is faster, but breaks down fast too. Quats are more stable, and therefore a batch can be used all day to sanitize things. They don't work quite as fast as bleach in killing, but still are acceptable.

You still have to flush really well. With bleach you know when you've done it enough. With quats, not so much - can't smell it, so how do you know you're done? In the end, because it is a two part system, you may find you use a lot more water......
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Old 04-20-2016, 09:03 AM   #6
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Thetford water sanitizer

Please correct me if I'm wrong folks, but the sanitation instructions that came with my Greyhawk called for about a cup of bleach to a gallon of water. Once I've got that mixture into the tank, I fill it with fresh water, run a bunch of water thru the faucets and let it sit for 6 - 8 hours, drain and refill with fresh water.
On the second fill, I run a whole lot of water thru thru the system until I can no longer smell or taste bleach.
Oh yes, as the very first step, I blew out the lines to clear antifreeze from them - then started with the bleach.
Works for me.
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Old 04-20-2016, 10:03 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Dreamgolfer View Post
Please correct me if I'm wrong folks, but the sanitation instructions that came with my Greyhawk called for about a cup of bleach to a gallon of water. Once I've got that mixture into the tank, I fill it with fresh water, run a bunch of water thru the faucets and let it sit for 6 - 8 hours, drain and refill with fresh water.
On the second fill, I run a whole lot of water thru thru the system until I can no longer smell or taste bleach.
Oh yes, as the very first step, I blew out the lines to clear antifreeze from them - then started with the bleach.
Works for me.
Depends on the size of your FW tank.
Most recommendations that I've read is 1/4 cup of bleach per 15 gallons of tank capacity. So if you have a 60 gallon FW tank, then 1 cup of bleach will do it. And yes, most recommend that you dilute the bleach in water BEFORE you pour it into your FW tank, so mixing it with a gallon of water makes sense. But I would dilute it more, perhaps 1 cup mixed with 5 gallons of water and then pour that into the FW intake spout.
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Old 04-22-2016, 09:44 AM   #8
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I've always used bleach and never had an aftertaste once rinsed. The following table is from the US Public Health Service about using bleach to disinfect.... as others have noted always dilute the bleach before putting into the tank. This table shows how much bleach to use for various tank sizes and how much to dilute the bleach before pouring it in and filling with water.


US Public Health Service approves disinfection with 50 ppm residual chlorine.
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Old 04-22-2016, 02:02 PM   #9
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Can you sanitize using this product without running water into your fresh water tank? Just running through the lines? I don't use my FW tank at all.
Or do I even have to sanitize just the lines?
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Old 04-22-2016, 02:57 PM   #10
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I would worry that the chemicals in the non-bleach sanitizer, while they may not have as much after-taste or smell, might be worse for you than a trace of bleach in your water.

I think I'll keep using bleach, though I admit it did take SEVERAL full rinses to get the taste out the one time I did it.
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Old 04-24-2016, 06:46 AM   #11
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I use bleach tablets and run it through the system, let it sit for a good 3-4 hours, run it completely through the system fill with fresh water and then run a full tank through the system. I don't seem to get the strong bleach scent when using the tablets
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Old 04-24-2016, 03:29 PM   #12
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I have always used bleach to sanitize my fresh water tank. One year I was a little heavy on the bleach and it took a couple extra fill and drains on my FW tank. I think part of my issue was that I did not drain my water heater and it took forever to cycle/flush the water through it.
As a side note, last week, I almost bought a bottle of Camco water "freshener" at Walmart. Says to add to stale smelling water (or something like that) to restore fresh clean tasting water. I looked at the ingredients (msds label) and says its Sodium Hypochlorite. AKA bleach. So for a pop can size of "freshener" they wanted something like 7$-8$. Just happen to have a gallon of bleach in my hand that was like $3.
Also note that you can buy different "strengths" of bleach. Ive seen anywhere from a 3% to 8% bleach concentrations. Check fine print on the bottle.

Ive also read that you can add vinegar to freshen up water.

My CPAP machine says to use 1-2 tbsp of vinegar to sanitize the water reservoir.
Another side note. When you see "Oxygenated" cleaners or sanitizers. Bleach Free, Sodium Hypochlorite Free, Chlorine Free etc - Think Peroxide - Hydrogen Peroxides etc. (I remember as a kid using Hydrogen Peroxide to clean small cuts and abrasions.)
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