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Old 01-13-2014, 12:23 PM   #1
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Fresh water sanitation - bleach or vinegar

Everything I have read about sanitizing a fresh water tank and lines references using bleach. The wife is adamant about not using bleach and tells me vinegar will clean things out just fine.
Two questions: Will vinegar do a good enough job on a relatively clean tank and system? What ration of water/vinegar is best to use?
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:53 PM   #2
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Personally I avoid using vinegar, I absolutely hate the smell, but that is off topic. I use plan bleach myself, it is also what the manufacture recommends. It is really simple to use. The key is to flush the system very well afterwards to get the taste out of the system. If you add extra bleach you need to flush longer.

I did a little web searching on sanitizing with vinegar. I did not ready anything in particular to sanitizing a water distribution system. Most of what I read states to use white distilled vinegar and to use it full strength for germ removal. The closest thing I found was for cleaning the mineral deposits in a coffee maker and it says to run the vinegar through the system a few times then run plain water through the coffee maker twice.

If your DW insists on using white distilled vinegar, buy one gallon and install it in the water lines the same way you winterize the pipes. I would let it sit over night. I would also add a gallon?? depending on your freshwater tank size and fill it tap water and also let if sit over night. The big question I would have, will the vinegar affect the water heater? Most of them are made of aluminum and some have an anode rod. Just a couple more things to think about, as I am not sure how the vinegar would affect those systems.

Best of luck
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:57 PM   #3
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The issue with vinegar is that it will not kill all the germs that may be in the system so I always use bleach. For bleach there are different ratio's on the web, but I have always used about 1 cup for my 60 gal. fresh tank. I fill up the tank with the bleach/water mixture and then top off the tank with regular water. I then run through the system until I smell the bleach. Let sit at least overnight, drain and flush multiple times. I have never had the bleach smell or atst after I flush the system a couple of times.
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Old 01-13-2014, 01:08 PM   #4
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Actually, I use concentrated lemon juice in mine. Kills most everything and does not taste bad either! If you go this route, it needs to be a bit stronger than the bleach ration. I use 2 cups for 40 Gal. Flush once, then refill and go.

Just my .02

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Old 01-13-2014, 04:02 PM   #5
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Coming from a pharmaceutical background I can tell you that a bleach solution of the right concentration will kill pretty much all microorganisms that may be present in your typical RV system. Vinegar will not. That's why the pharma industry doesn't use vinegar
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Old 01-13-2014, 08:30 PM   #6
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I would not use vinegar or lime juice, they will not kill all the bacteria. I found some bleach tablets last year and dropped one in fresh water tank filled it with water let it sit and then pumped it through the system. Worked great.
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Old 01-14-2014, 07:41 AM   #7
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Bleach...
We use it on all of our potable water systems in Afghanistan as per technical orders from DoD Medical
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Old 01-14-2014, 08:46 AM   #8
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Bleach the system.. then after you have flushed the bleach out vinegar it to make the wife happy... When the wife is happy everyone in the camper is happy.
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Old 01-14-2014, 10:22 AM   #9
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Bleach in the system, let it sit for several hours or overnight and then flush well. This has worked well for me for more than 30 years.
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Old 01-14-2014, 11:20 AM   #10
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I'd like to see where this discussion goes. I need to sanitize mine pretty soon.

My question is whether it is necessary to fill the fresh water tank completely with the bleach/water solution. And the reason I ask is that my fresh water tanks total 84 gallons. With the initial fill with bleach solution, then two subsequent flushes, that's 252 gallons of water just dumped, and that's assuming two flushes is adequate... That's A LOT of water to just be flushing out a system...

Thoughts?
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Old 01-14-2014, 12:36 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Camper_bob View Post
I'd like to see where this discussion goes. I need to sanitize mine pretty soon.

My question is whether it is necessary to fill the fresh water tank completely with the bleach/water solution. And the reason I ask is that my fresh water tanks total 84 gallons. With the initial fill with bleach solution, then two subsequent flushes, that's 252 gallons of water just dumped, and that's assuming two flushes is adequate... That's A LOT of water to just be flushing out a system...

Thoughts?
The bleach solution is to santize the entire potable water system, which includes the entire holding tank. By not completely filling the holding tank with santizing solution and clear water to flush it then any potential microorganism left in the holding tank will be reintroduced to the plumbing/water heater/water pump etc.

It does seem like a waste of water, but it is the only way I know how to fully santize the system. For me personally, the issue isn't the water quantity, but rather the time it takes to drain 80+ gallons from the holding tanks via the tiny low point drains. In JayFlight, Santizing takes the better part of 2 days mostly waiting for water to drain.

I suspect if you did it at a CG with hookups, you could drain the FW holding tank much quicker with the water pump and running bath tub of another faucet.
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Old 01-14-2014, 01:47 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by clubhouse View Post
For me personally, the issue isn't the water quantity, but rather the time it takes to drain 80+ gallons from the holding tanks via the tiny low point drains.
That's the other part of what I was thinking, it takes FOREVER for all that water to drain... But I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. How bad is it for the pump to run continuously that long if I want to speed up the process?

Also, why would hookups be an issue? I would be more hesitant to dump a bleach compound into a septic system environment at a CG than out into my lawn. A cup and a half of bleach diluted with 250+ gallons of water is much less of an issue on the grass and in the dirt than in a septic system where bacteria are essential, don't you think?

I'll probably do it the slow way when we get back from our trip this weekend.
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Old 01-14-2014, 04:42 PM   #13
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I use ice machine sanitizer due to I just take it off my truck! You have to be carefull with bleach on pump seals if not properly flushed it will cause problems!
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Old 01-14-2014, 06:53 PM   #14
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The OP doesn't give a reason for his DW's objection to chlorine bleach. If the reason is valid, such as an allergy, that's another matter. I'm wondering if anyone has used bromine. It's effective in spas.
From what I've read in thepast, vinegar's primary appeal as I read it is that it's not bleach. It is processed in a more environmentally friendly way than chlorine bleach, and, as so many "green" substitutes, doesn't work. If you disagree, show me the HARD science.
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Old 02-02-2014, 08:29 PM   #15
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County health department says bleach. Any questions?
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Old 02-03-2014, 09:55 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Camper_bob View Post
I'd like to see where this discussion goes. I need to sanitize mine pretty soon.

My question is whether it is necessary to fill the fresh water tank completely with the bleach/water solution. And the reason I ask is that my fresh water tanks total 84 gallons. With the initial fill with bleach solution, then two subsequent flushes, that's 252 gallons of water just dumped, and that's assuming two flushes is adequate... That's A LOT of water to just be flushing out a system...

Thoughts?
Initial fill YES fill the tank. drain it then after that you do not need to worry about getting all of the walls wet with water.. just 15 gallons at a time should do it.. to make it easier drain the hot water tank and lines through the gravity valves after you bleach the system. Then run the water through. Twice. Also remember to open the fresh water tank low point drain as well. Every drop of the bleach solution you get out makes a big difference in the flushing procedure.
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Old 02-13-2014, 09:47 AM   #17
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Camping world has a product that can be used to sanitize fresh water systems. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...anitizer/33229
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Old 02-13-2014, 03:11 PM   #18
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Come on now. Stop this discussion. You are making me wish it were May and not February in MI :-)
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Old 02-13-2014, 03:28 PM   #19
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Come on now. Stop this discussion. You are making me wish it were May and not February in MI :-)
Can I help? Here in South Texas for the next 10 days, highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, most days will be sunny. I had a trip scheduled for this weekend and the weather is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL, but life got in the way...

Maybe I'll just pull my trailer home for a couple days and sanitize the tanks... then cry when I have to take it back to storage...
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Old 02-13-2014, 06:22 PM   #20
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Thanks for all the replies, friends. De-winterized the FW system on Monday getting ready for our trip this week. I opted to use bleach based on your replies and other research I did. I did this on the sly while the DW was at work and hopeful she wouldn't ask about it. Had to postpone the trip by a day because of all the ice in the Atlanta area but we are outa here and headed to warmer Florida.
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