Steps for Sanitizing Fresh Water for a (relative) newbie

[marudnick]

I plan to sanitize the fresh water system next weekend. We did this last year for the first time (new owners of RV) and it felt like a disaster. I read through some threads on the subject and developed a plan for this year. I'd like comments and advice on whether my plan for this year is sound. We have a 2019 Sunstar 29VE, which has a house water filter and 70 gallon fresh water tank. The RV is stored at a storage facility where we can't add water and we can't drive it to our house to sanitize since we live in a city with narrow streets. So, I have to do everything at truck stops and campgrounds. My plan is to drive the RV to a truck stop, fill up with the sanitized solution, drive back to the storage facility, leave overnight, drive to the campground the next day, empty and flush. Specifically, here is my plan:

• Unscrew the water filter canister
• Remove the water filter
• Add 1-1/4 cups of chlorine to the canister
• Replace the canister
• Fill the water tank by attaching the hose to the City water connection
• Drive the RV for at least 1 hour
• Run the water into each faucet (kitchen, shower, bath sink, outside sink), until you can smell the bleach.
• Let the mixture sit in the tank overnight.
• Flush the system with fresh water 2-3 times until there is no chlorine smell.

What am I missing?

Thanks.

[Scubadude62]

The only thing I did different was to fill my water hose with the bleach solution, then connect the hose and fill the tank. Also, since I park at my house, I did not go for a drive. I only had to flush once to remove the chlorine smell.



Other than that, my procedure was the same as yours.

[powercat_ras]

Personally I would not want water with that much bleach in it in my system overnight. Not after seeing what water with bleach in it does to other things plastic around my home.

The bleach solution of that strength is going to kill anything immediately on contact, in my opinion overnight will not enhance your sanitizing effect.

You can't add more than 8 drops of bleach per gallon to water and have it be drink-able so you are going to have to do a lot of flushing if you drink water out of your system after adding that much bleach.

[creativepart]

Don't stress about this. It's no big deal.

I have a gravity fill so I just put the bleach in my hose and then let it run into the gravity fill, but the city/fill diverter would work the same way. I replace the filters with their plugs that came with the RV. That way I keep tabs on their location once a year.

I have an 80 gallon tank and I put in 1 1/2 cups of bleach. I use the 1-cup per 50 gallons of water formula.

Also, I don't drive around at all. I don't think that's needed at all.

It's not something so precise that it becomes a big deal. I do it at the same time I'm doing other jobs around the RV. I do the bleach fill first thing in the AM and do the bleach water dump last thing in the late afternoon - so I give it 8 hours. But I see other's say to leave it overnight.

PS. We carry gallon jugs of Spring Water from the store and don't drink the RV's fresh water. Except of course in Ice Cubes and for teeth brushing.

[Bones2003]

Some people put the water heater in bypass so no bleach gets in it. Others let the bleach water go into the water heater. Also, do you have an ice maker in your fridge or a washing machine? I am interested to hear comments on those items. If you dump and flush 3 times that is over 200 gallons of water dumped on the ground at the campground unless you use your pump to move the water from the fresh tank to the black/gray tanks. Using the pump at 2.5 gpm will take about a half hour each time.

[marudnick]

Originally Posted by powercat_ras

Personally I would not want water with that much bleach in it in my system overnight. Not after seeing what water with bleach in it does to other things plastic around my home.

The bleach solution of that strength is going to kill anything immediately on contact, in my opinion overnight will not enhance your sanitizing effect.

You can't add more than 8 drops of bleach per gallon to water and have it be drink-able so you are going to have to do a lot of flushing if you drink water out of your system after adding that much bleach.

From other posts on other threads, my understanding is that 10 oz. of chlorine in 70 gallons of water is not going to cause a problem. Since I’m new at this, I won’t guarantee that I’m right. I appreciate others’ comments.

The reason for leaving overnight is a logistics issue. The truck stop is 30 miles south and the campsite is north. So, it’s easier to sanitize on day 1 and flush on day 2. It would be easier if both were in the same direction.

Thanks.

[Morich]

Timing on how much and how long can depend on what you are working on. In public water treatment, 245 hours is the standard but that is often a much more complexsetting than we do in RV. The main point in public is that you have to assume the worst is there and that can include things like hard shelled cytss which require a longer period to let the chlorine work it's way inside. But if most of us do a sterilize once a year, we are not likely to be dealiing with the really hard things like Zebra mussels!

So my preference is to go at/near a normal strength that does no harm to plastic tanks and let go for whatever time fits my schedule at the moment---as long as it has at least several hours. I do not worry the issue of harm to pastics as it is sold in plastic jugs and stored at full 6% strength in them without worry, so if I dilute it with 50-60 gallons of water and leave it less than 5-6 days, It doesn't bother me.

A point to keep in mind is how hard it is to keep chlorine in a solution like water if it is exposed to air, so we can use that if we need to. One way to clear the remaining smell from the pipes is to do the cleaning well enough in advance to let the smell from the chlorine gas off before we take the trip.

And that idea gets back around to doing what best fits you but with some understanding of why you are doing things. One thing that happens while the RV is stored is that things like mold, fungus do love to grow in wet dark places like the tank and that includes to top of the tank where there may not be any more than just a lot of really high humidity. That dark, wet to of the tank is where I feel things may be growing the worst, so I do like to have the bleach in there and drive to let it slosh all around to assure me those little buggers are not dropping off in my drinking water.

We often added the bleach, filled the tank, let it sit for some time. Then drain some to gives space for swishing around and drive to the first nights stop where we drain and refill. We often have a couple jugs of water for the first days coffee as that is the only time when the high chlorine smell bothered us.

What best suits each is what works best as it is NOT a solid answer.

[wyocamper]

The OP's 1.25 cup of chlorine is right in line with Winnebago's recommended 50 ppm solution per the owner's manual.

1. Remove the filter cartridge and pour 1/4 cup
of household chlorine bleach (sodium
hypochlorite solution) for each 15 gallons of
tank capacity into the empty filter canister,
then screw the canister back onto the filter
base.
This solution will result in a residual chlorine
concentration of approximately 50 ppm in the
water system. (If a 100 ppm concentration is
desired, use 1/2 cup of household bleach for each
15 gallons of tank capacity).
The bleach will be drawn into the tank when the
city water is turned on and the Fresh Water valve
is turned to Tank Fill position.
2. Fill the tank completely, then open each faucet
in the coach and run the water until a distinct
odor of chlorine can be detected in the water
discharged. Do not forget the hot water
faucets.
3. Let the system stand at least 4 hours when
disinfecting with 50 ppm residual chlorine. (If
a shorter time period is desired, then 100 ppm
chlorine concentration should be allowed to
stand in the system for at least 1 hour).

[creativepart]

Curious why you do this task while traveling? It's a driveway job here.

[marudnick]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Curious why you do this task while traveling? It's a driveway job here.

Yes, I would prefer that. Our house is on a narrow street and there is no way our Class A RV can fit in our driveway. We leave it at a storage facility when we aren’t traveling. Since there is no water at the storage facility, we decided to get creative. It’s just starting to get nice here in New England. We decided to spend a weekend dewinterizing, sanitizing and getting ready for an enjoyable summer. We will drive to a campground a couple of hours away and do the flushing. Then we come back. Our big trip this year is in July and August.

[marudnick]

Originally Posted by Morich

What best suits each is what works best as it is NOT a solid answer.

Thanks for your thorough answer. I think I’ll go with the plan I outlined.

[creativepart]

We’ve discussed moving to a smaller house and the subject of the RV comes up in that discussion and how we’d load it, wash it, work on it. Thanks for giving me a glimpse of what that might be like.

[marudnick]

Originally Posted by creativepart

We’ve discussed moving to a smaller house and the subject of the RV comes up in that discussion and how we’d load it, wash it, work on it. Thanks for giving me a glimpse of what that might be like.

I can't compare as this is all we know. We typically make one or two runs to the RV before a significant trip, packing and organizing. There is more planning, with checklists. In the winter we'll go out monthly to run the generator and roll the tires. That becomes a break from the normal grind. I don't have a good solution for the washing part. I'm still looking for someone who can do that for us.

Life is making a series of compromises. Hopefully we choose to do what's important to us and are willing to accept the rest.

[golden13]

This stuff purifies EVERYTHING, leaving only a tiny pinch of precipitate in the bottom of the tank. No chlorine, no bleach, non-toxic and it purifies both microorganisms and chemical pollutants. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B071F426...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[Morich]

Originally Posted by golden13

This stuff purifies EVERYTHING, leaving only a tiny pinch of precipitate in the bottom of the tank. No chlorine, no bleach, non-toxic and it purifies both microorganisms and chemical pollutants. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B071F426...v_ov_lig_dp_it

I guess it seems picky but at a dollar per gallon of water, I tend to back off a bit at treating a 54 gallon tank several times a year??

[wyocamper]

That stuff might come in handy if you need to purify water from a questionable source, like a FS or BLM campground hydrant, but that's got nothing at all to do with sanitizing the tank and lines.

[glenglo]

I just read the Winnie Micro Minnie manual for sanitation instructions and no mention of bypassing the water heater tank though many other YouTube video posters recommend it. Do I have to bypass the hot water tank because of the interaction of chlorine and the possible metal components of the water heater tank?

[Morich]

Originally Posted by glenglo

I just read the Winnie Micro Minnie manual for sanitation instructions and no mention of bypassing the water heater tank though many other YouTube video posters recommend it. Do I have to bypass the hot water tank because of the interaction of chlorine and the possible metal components of the water heater tank?

No and there are several reasons one might actually want the water heater tank to get treated!
Understanding why your are treating may be the first clue. You are wanting to kill anything that has grown/multiplied in the tank and water remaining in them when we drain. Things that grow in any small amount of water? So if we don't treat the water heater tank and there was some water in it, then we turn the bypass,we will be adding some amount of polluted water to the rest!

Also the idea that the chlorine in bleach is so bad is just kind of sily as it is one of the oldest ways to treat water. The difference in the normal water we drink and the treatment we do is the proportion of chlorine to water is much stronger. Too strong for anybody to drink but strong enough for it to quickly kill any of the stuff that might make us sick.

Treat it and be careful of spilling/splashing and drain it someplace that it doesn't run on the grass.

Harm to the tank? No! It is a chemical and it is just like what we washed our clothes in for a very long time and many still do.
The main point is that it reacts with organic items and we do not want it on our clothing as it reacts and does take the color out or make holes. Tie dyed
jeans? Not what most of us want, so be careful not to splash!!

The worry about it harming the water storage tanks? The tanks are plastic and the bleach is sold in plastic jugs, so most of the stories of damage to tanks is more likely just stories and the internet is full of wild stories!

Cheap, easy, and effective and many small water suppliers still use it in public water supplies.

[glenglo]

Originally Posted by Morich

No and there are several reasons one might actually want the water heater tank to get treated!
Understanding why your are treating may be the first clue. You are wanting to kill anything that has grown/multiplied in the tank and water remaining in them when we drain. Things that grow in any small amount of water? So if we don't treat the water heater tank and there was some water in it, then we turn the bypass,we will be adding some amount of polluted water to the rest!

Also the idea that the chlorine in bleach is so bad is just kind of sily as it is one of the oldest ways to treat water. The difference in the normal water we drink and the treatment we do is the proportion of chlorine to water is much stronger. Too strong for anybody to drink but strong enough for it to quickly kill any of the stuff that might make us sick.

Treat it and be careful of spilling/splashing and drain it someplace that it doesn't run on the grass.

Harm to the tank? No! It is a chemical and it is just like what we washed our clothes in for a very long time and many still do.
The main point is that it reacts with organic items and we do not want it on our clothing as it reacts and does take the color out or make holes. Tie dyed
jeans? Not what most of us want, so be careful not to splash!!

The worry about it harming the water storage tanks? The tanks are plastic and the bleach is sold in plastic jugs, so most of the stories of damage to tanks is more likely just stories and the internet is full of wild stories!

Cheap, easy, and effective and many small water suppliers still use it in public water supplies.

Thank you so much. Got it!

[BarryLS]

One minor point. A couple years back a friend of mine used some older liquid bleach to clean his tank and lines after the MH had sat for 6-8 months. He mentioned to me that he didn't think it was clean enough...

Liquid bleach breaks down pretty quickly (saltwater), about 6 months is typical. So, use fresh bleach and look at the date codes when you purchase it.