Do I Have To Sanitize Water Tank/Lines

[LongIslandCamper]

The few times we’ve camped without city water we’ve always sanitized or holding tank and lines. It’s probably been about 4-5 years since we’ve needed to do that.

We are going away soon and have a toddler. It’s going to be about a 6 hour trip so I’m sure we’ll have to stop for a potty break for him.

I’d like to use our TT bathroom and was wondering if I still needed to sanitize the tank and lines. The onboard water would only be used for the 6 hour road-trip as we have city water at the campground.

[LuckyDuck]

I always sanitize my tank and water lines at the start of each season in the spring. We almost always use city hookup and drink/cook with bottled water. But we wash and brush our teeth with the water coming through the lines and I’m not taking any chances. Personally, if the lines haven’t been sanitized in 4-5 years, I’d think it’s due. YMMV.

[Midnightmoon]

Yes, I think that it would be a good idea to sanitize your lines after all of this time. I actually do mine every spring when we open it back up for the season and every month to 6 weeks during camping season.

[Route 66 Traveler]

We always leave home with a sanitized tank filled with our soft water from home. Once we need to add more from a campground we will re-sanitize once we get home. That being said we always take a few gallons of water for drinking and cooking.

[TaftCoach]

X2

Just a thought, sanitizing the lines is sanitizing the lines you use for city water as well, which could be well water at some campgrounds and not city.

Best of all, the more you do it the easier it becomes.

[ARoamer]

Sanitizing isn't hard to do. If you're just flushing the toilet with a unsanitized system, no worries.
If you drink the water, brush your teeth, inhale mist in the shower, you're risking everyone's health that is exposed to a unsanitized system.
Ours is done 2x a year, and we don't even drink that water!

[kirkelli]

So a lot of Campgrounds i frequent use untreated well water for their fresh water and i use it to fill my fresh water tank. Although i never drink the water and only use for cooking, bathing and cleaning, i still sanitize the tanks 3 times a season.. Merely because i dont want any bacterial or algae growth.... at the end of each camping season i'll use a gallon of chlorine and let it sit in the full fresh water tank for a few days before i winterize... I also use an inlet filter to trap the dirt particles which is a another problem RV'ers should address..

[Marcm157]

I sanitize 2X per season - First when I open the camper up in the Spring and then about halfway through the summer. We don't drink the water but like others, shower, cook and wash dishes.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

So a lot of Campgrounds i frequent use untreated well water for their fresh water and i use it to fill my fresh water tank. Although i never drink the water and only use for cooking, bathing and cleaning, i still sanitize the tanks 3 times a season.. Merely because i dont want any bacterial or algae growth.... at the end of each camping season i'll use a gallon of chlorine and let it sit in the full fresh water tank for a few days before i winterize... I also use an inlet filter to trap the dirt particles which is a another problem RV'ers should address..

The rule of thumb from Jayco and RV experts is 2 ounces of bleach diluted per 15 gallons of your FW tank. So, a 30-gallon FW tank would take 4 ounces of bleach for four hours to sanitize and flush. You’re using a gallon (128 oz) of bleach for several days? Am I missing something?

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

The rule of thumb from Jayco and RV experts is 2 ounces of bleach diluted per 15 gallons of your FW tank. So, a 30-gallon FW tank would take 4 ounces of bleach for four hours to sanitize and flush. You’re using a gallon (128 oz) of bleach for several days? Am I missing something?

you ain't missing anything... thats what i do and always have...... No gritters liven in my tank.....

[OnTheGo]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

The rule of thumb from Jayco and RV experts is 2 ounces of bleach diluted per 15 gallons of your FW tank. So, a 30-gallon FW tank would take 4 ounces of bleach for four hours to sanitize and flush. You’re using a gallon (128 oz) of bleach for several days? Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by kirkelli

you ain't missing anything... thats what i do and always have...... No gritters liven in my tank.....

I have always used more than the recommended amount, too. It amounts to "so what" if you rinse thoroughly.

[OnTheGo]

We agree with ARoamer (above post): flushing is okay, anything else "No".

We only drink bottled water. There are no taste issues and you use a lot less Imodium.

[LongIslandCamper]

Ok, so I finally got around to sanitizing the fresh tank this evening. 90 gallons mixed with about a cup and a half of bleach.

Before work tomorrow I’ll run the water pump and open each water feature for a few seconds to get the bleach water in the lines. Tomorrow night I’ll drain all the lines and add fresh water and flush everything. Then before our next trip I’ll add some fresh water so we have something for potty breaks for the kids. Lol

I’ve always sanitized system before going somewhere without a water hookup so I’m used to it. I just never cleaned the lines at any other time but I’ll add that to my list.

We don’t drink the camper water but do use it for showers, cleaning dishes and brushing teeth.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by OnTheGo

I have always used more than the recommended amount, too. It amounts to "so what" if you rinse thoroughly.

But more than 20 times the recommended amount? I use 6 ounces in a 48-gallon FW tank and it takes a couple of tank flushes to get rid of the chlorine smell. But if y’all are happy, fine by me. Definitely no “gritters.”

[Ann-Marie]

Paranoia is infectious, that's what needs sanitizing.
I've never sanitized our water tank. Never had any problems. Its the same water that people are using in their houses and they don't have to sanitize. I've lived on well water for half my life and its probably better than the re-cycled stuff from city sources.

[Lep]

I hesitate on posting this reply re: to chlorine usage but thought it important enough to do so based on the extremity of chlorine use. Keep in mind that chlorine and clorox bleach are different chemicals. Chlorine is a natural product and contains hypochlorite as its active ingredient. Bleach or clorox as we know it has several ingredients (designed primarily for stain removal in laundry) along with chlorine. So the more effective of the two should be chlorine. Chlorine is highly oxidative and has been used for disinfecting for a long time. A gallon of chlorine in 40 +- gallons of water is extreme. There's no question about the effectiveness of that amount in such a small amount of water. But does that amount pose a health threat? In many cases more does not make it better and this is such a case. The water system must be thoroughly flushed to be safe. Another consideration that must be given to this situation is "where does the flushed water go to?" That could pose a personal health threat over time based on the concentration and a danger to the environment. If its dumped into a dump station it would likely kill all the good enzymes/bacteria we all use to break down the black water elements. So in closing, I'm only pointing out some concerns not mentioned. I'm not criticizing just pointing out some potential health threats posed by over use. I personally follow the chemists guidelines and I use a high quality water filter in addition to the onboard filter. My 2 cents.

[ChiToones]

We're in the don't worry camp and haven't had a problem. We usually drink bottled water but use trailer water for everything else.

Our system is rinsed then sanitized once a year when we bring it out of winter storage. We do use the cheap blue Camco filter when using city water or filling our tank. That filter probably doesn't do a lot, but gets the big chunks out.

[FISTEP]

We use our trailer year round so there is no beginning of season but I sanitize at the end of any trip that we fill the fresh with anything other than water signed as "potable". I also sanitize if it has been sitting around for more than a month as I don't like to think of algae growing in the tank, clinging to the sides and water lines. This will probably happen after a time even with good city water.
I dilute about half a cup of bleach in a gallon of water and pour it into the gravity fill, then fill with fresh water. I run all the taps etc and wait a day or two before draining and refilling. It is such an easy thing to do, I don't know what the objection would be.
I used to drink from creeks and garden hoses as a kid and I never got sick but I am much more cautious in my old age...!

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Ann-Marie

Paranoia is infectious, that's what needs sanitizing.
I've never sanitized our water tank. Never had any problems. Its the same water that people are using in their houses and they don't have to sanitize. I've lived on well water for half my life and its probably better than the re-cycled stuff from city sources.

Paranoia and good health practices are two different things. It may be the same “house water,” but your house is a pressurized system, not a partially full dark, humid tank or water line. A great Petri dish for crud in my opinion. Call it paranoia, but it’s easy enough to sanitize and cheap insurance.

[FISTEP]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

Paranoia and good health practices are two different things. It may be the same “house water,” but your house is a pressurized system, not a partially full dark, humid tank or water line. A great Petri dish for crud in my opinion. Call it paranoia, but it’s easy enough to sanitize and cheap insurance.

Water kept nice and warm in a tank for long periods is a great breeding ground for ambient algae, fungi, viruses and bacteria. Uncle Bill might have smoked 12 stogies and drank a bottle of whiskey every day and lived to 96 but that doesn't mean it's recommended practice.