stink in my water

[RP53]

thanks will sanitize the hose and the lines hope for the best

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by RP53

thanks will sanitize the hose and the lines hope for the best

Please report back on what you found.

[kle15]

I am on well water too. Remember well water is not chlorinated.
Over time any “trapped” water can begin to stagnate. I flush and sanitize entire system every 3 months if I don’t have access to chlorinated water. I also leave a few gallons of residual sanitized water in my system when no threat of freezing.
Good luck!

[soonergypsy]

Been in well water on 2 of my last 3 homes.

I would recommend the following.
A pull water sample and send to lab for analysis. County or state may require this for the health department. This report then can be used to help design type of in house water treatment that would need to be used base on findings.

B Short term buy a couple of whole house water filters one just a standard filter and the second a carbon filter which will help with supply water oders.

I would use the report and work with your builder or plumber to design a system up front in your new home design. Making sure you have space and other possible needs for filtration and treatment equipment that may include a water softener that takes up a lot of space

[qs271a]

Had the same problem when we had our 2021 Eagle HT hooked to the well,,,,,,as well. The water sits in the lines and starts to stagnate a little. We took a sample of it in to be tested. They stated that this is a common problem with well water, even in some homes. They said that it was fine, and safe to use for showers and cleaning. We don't drink the trailer water so not an issue. This will also sour the filter a little quicker as well. Just have to sanitize more often, while hooked to the well. Good luck.

[saarf]

If you have a Surbuban then the anode rod is probably causing your problem. Natural bacteria in the water, especially non chlorinated well water.
I turn winterize valves on so to isolate the tank. I Clorox the main camper first. Then take the anode rod out and flush out the tank. You can purchase a rod the attaches to a hose to do this.
Then open the winterize valves and let the Clorox into the tank.

Next flush the system good.

I then put vinegar in the system to get rid of rust and help kill Clorox smell. Can also use baking soda.

[campersam9]

We put 4 gallons of vinegar in our water heater overnight. I had to flush the heater with water. No more smell. We were in Florida for the winter. In the spring it smeller.

[Silvernelle]

We had a stinky problem early on in ours. I got all kinds of help on forums, some of the advice was quite extreme, like using bleach in the fresh water tank and stuff like that. We also had someone suggest we flush the hot water heater with fresh water from a hose. We opened it up, opened the drain on it, and flushed. Problem solved, hasn't happened again in two years.


Apparently we got some "bad" water in the thing on a trip, and we guessed it was at one of the state parks which offered full hookups, but is somewhat far from any city water facilities. It made sense, as that had been the last trip before the problem developed. There was no question it was from the hot water tank, as it only stunk (the whole camper...ugh!!!) if someone happened to turn the water to the hot side (though we had turned off the water heater).



Anyhow, it was good as new after the flushout. We "should" flush that water heater after each trip....but we don't. Our temperatures here are well over 105 daily in the summer, and it is still is okay. Maybe just lucky? Hopefully, your problem there is as easy to remedy as ours was. Good luck!

[berwin]

I just had to sanitize due to rotten egg smell. My owner's manual specifies 1/4 cup of Clorox per gallon. I use a five gallon bucket so 1 1/4 cup of Clorox. Manual says to let it sit for at least four hours. I usually leave it overnight. I like some water for when I'm working on it between trips at the RV storage lot and need to wash up so I added 2cc of Clorox per gallon when I refilled the fresh tank. It smells pretty strongly of bleach so next time, I'll probably use 1cc per gallon. The 2CC is the recommended dose for water storage based on my reading.

[CAG]

I got all kinds of help on forums, some of the advice was quite extreme, like using bleach in the fresh water tank and stuff like that

That is what most owner's manuals recommend for sanitizing tanks as well as most information you find on the Web. 1/4 cup per 40 gals of water is far from extreme.

[CAG]

I just had to sanitize due to rotten egg smell. My owner's manual specifies 1/4 cup of Clorox per gallon.

That might be extreme. Are you sure it is not 1/4 per 40 gal tank?


This article recommends 1/2 cup per 35 gals.


https://www.rvtalk.net/how-to-sanitize-rv-water-tank/


I think you may want to re-read the manual. You are over chlorinating your system. That's why is smelled so bad of chlorine.

[Ourfiver]

Originally Posted by RP53

Hey folks, we are staying in our camper while we are building our house, recently the water has started to smell pretty bad when you turn the water on the smell goes away in about a minute or so, so i am thinking my water lines need to be cleaned, i was thinking i could go through the winterize process with a bleach/water clean,
any thoughts ???

Flush out your low point drains, might help

[Markomyt1]

Many times that smell is NOT your water, but the grey water tank.

[perpetualv]

Is the smell coming up from the drain? As if the water you're adding to the holding tank is forcing stinking air up into the cabin?

If so, it may be time to sanitize your holding tank - just make a water/bleach solution a little bit stronger than you use to flush your fresh water system, and pour it down the drain. Let it sit in the holding tank for a few hours. If you're going to be moving anytime soon, leave a few gallons of the bleach solution in so that the movement agitates the water in the tank.

You'll find the smell is gone and stays gone for a month or two

[ShotgunZ71]

Originally Posted by Markomyt1

Many times that smell is NOT your water, but the grey water tank.

Originally Posted by perpetualv

Is the smell coming up from the drain? As if the water you're adding to the holding tank is forcing stinking air up into the cabin?

If so, it may be time to sanitize your holding tank - just make a water/bleach solution a little bit stronger than you use to flush your fresh water system, and pour it down the drain. Let it sit in the holding tank for a few hours. If you're going to be moving anytime soon, leave a few gallons of the bleach solution in so that the movement agitates the water in the tank.

You'll find the smell is gone and stays gone for a month or two

The largest odor we have encountered is similar to what's been mentioned above. The P-trap for the kitchen sink/gray tank has created odors, precisely what it's supposed to prevent. You can normally get the odor to subside with a good flushing of water through the drainage system. Putting the little tablets in the gray tanks (like the black tank) every so often helps as well. I try to leave a few gallons in each gray tank when I do this, so the water will slosh around and clean the sensors, also.

[berwin]

Originally Posted by CAG

That might be extreme. Are you sure it is not 1/4 per 40 gal tank?


This article recommends 1/2 cup per 35 gals.


https://www.rvtalk.net/how-to-sanitize-rv-water-tank/


I think you may want to re-read the manual. You are over chlorinating your system. That's why is smelled so bad of chlorine.

Screenshot of my owner's manual attached. Note that this is the sanitizing solution, not the long-term storage strength which is 2cc per 20 liters.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by berwin

Screenshot of my owner's manual attached. Note that this is the sanitizing solution, not the long-term storage strength which is 2cc per 20 liters.

Yeah, that is still too much chlorine. The “long term” for what I posted is three hours. Again you might want to do a Google search, read the various suggestions there concerning the amount used. That amount might be what your manual is recommending and is fine if you don’t mind a headache from the chlorine smell and the long flush it is going to take to clear the tank and lines.


I did the search just to ease my mind on the process and the recommendations are all over the place but the "average" seems to be a cup of bleach to 40 gals of water in the tank. That is going to do the job fine without leaving a chlorine smell in the system that will take several flushings and large waste of water.

[jimmoore13]

If you opt to sanitize using the city water connection, I suggest using this hose end sprayer to inject diluted chlorine into your supply hose, and then into your RV plumbing.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Note that it has hose in and out fittings ... just remove the spray head.

Steps.

1. Remove and replace (or leave out entirely) the RV's water filter element;
2. Thoroughly clean the hose end sprayer;
3. Use Clorox Cleanup or a solution of clorox in a pump sprayer to clean ALL fittings from the hose bib to both hose ends to the city water input on the camper;
4. Add an elbow to the hose bib to keep the hose end spayer somewhat level: https://smile.amazon.com/Xiny-Tool-A...garden&sr=1-6;
5. Add the sprayer to the elbow...first in line from the hose bib;
6. Fill cup on sprayer with bleach;
7. Flush potable water connection hose AND camper plumbing...at all faucets including the outdoor shower and toilet flush - run about 30 gallons of water through your system - both hot and cold water to ensure you fill the hot water tank with bleach-treated water;
8. Let it sit for a few hours or overnight;
9. Remove hose end sprayer and reconnect your potable water hose to the hose bib;
10. Once the bleach-treated water has done its job, first pull the drain plug on the hot water heater to expedite dumping the bleach-treated water, then thoroughly flush out the treated water until you don't smell bleach anymore. Note that you'll need to reinstall the plug in the hot water heater and allow it to fill.

This sprayer technique vastly simplifies injection of bleach into the city water connection.

On large RVs that utilize a pressure water supply and change over valve to fill the fresh tank, the hose end sprayer technique makes sanitizing a snap.

If you want to sanitize a gravity fill freshwater tank, use a potable water jug - I like Reliance https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001QC31...refix=reliance - and premix the correct amount of bleach to treat your entire fresh tank capacity with about 4 or 5 gallons of water. Shake well. Pour contents into the gravity feed fill for the fresh tank. Then fill the fresh tank full with plain water. The premixed bleach will dilute in the tank much better than if you just pour bleach into the filler and expect the turbulance of the incoming water to mix it. I made an adapter for my Reliance jug by using a spare cap, a 1/2" NPT to 1/2" barb fitting, about 15" of clear 1/2" hose, and a hose clamp. I can pour strait from the jug into the gravity fill without spilling.

Again, before introducing anything into the fresh tank, be sure your jug is clean, clean all fittings, caps, adapters, etc. AND the fill port on the gravity fill with bleach cleaner.

Note: If you have a septic tank, DO NOT DRAIN THIS BLEACH-CONTAMINATED GREY WATER INTO THE SEPTIC SYSTEM. The bleach will kill beneficial bacteria in your septic tank. Instead, drain the grey water onto the ground and allow it to evaporate. Be sure the bleach-contaminated water runoff does not go to your lawn or a garden. If you are on a city sewer, the bleach CAN go down the drain.

Finally, when traveling, always note that any hose bib can be the target of a dog lifting its leg or other sources of contamination. ALWAYS clean the hose bib with a bleach solution and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing. I like Clorox Cleanup for this job, because the product is packaged with the right amount of bleach, and the pump sprayer is reliable. Home brews in a hardware store pump sprayer often clog...or the pump quits working...because bleach solutions are harsh, and sometimes the bleach crystalizes in the pump parts.