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Old 07-26-2020, 07:41 PM   #1
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Question Smelly Water

When I purchased my 2016 Journey 36M in March of this year it had been winterized. Before I drove off the lot, the folks at La Mesa RV in Albuquerque flushed the system and filled up the fresh water tank. When we began using the water from the tank, it smelled like rotten onions. The smell got fainter with use but after several days of not being used the water again smelled bad.

I drained the tank and refilled it with clean non-smelly water. The smell temporarily went away, but after the unit sat unused for a while the smell came back. The smell appears after several days of not running water from the tank. Both hot and cold water smell bad. When I first turn on the water in the bathroom after it has not been turned on for several days the fumes from the smell burn my eyes; its not so bad in the kitchen due to the kitchen being a more open area. But, water in both the bathroom and the kitchen smells when first turned on after not being turned on for several days. The smell gets fainter with use until the RV sets idle for several days; then when the water is first turned on it smells bad.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Any idea what might be causing this?
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Old 07-26-2020, 07:49 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DNC View Post
When I purchased my 2016 Journey 36M in March of this year it had been winterized. Before I drove off the lot, the folks at La Mesa RV in Albuquerque flushed the system and filled up the fresh water tank. When we began using the water from the tank, it smelled like rotten onions. The smell got fainter with use but after several days of not being used the water again smelled bad.

I drained the tank and refilled it with clean non-smelly water. The smell temporarily went away, but after the unit sat unused for a while the smell came back. The smell appears after several days of not running water from the tank. Both hot and cold water smell bad. When I first turn on the water in the bathroom after it has not been turned on for several days the fumes from the smell burn my eyes; its not so bad in the kitchen due to the kitchen being a more open area. But, water in both the bathroom and the kitchen smells when first turned on after not being turned on for several days. The smell gets fainter with use until the RV sets idle for several days; then when the water is first turned on it smells bad.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Any idea what might be causing this?
Hi Dennis,

Sound to me like a time to disinfect the fresh water tank. In my manual, it’s chapter 7. Here are some excerpts...
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Old 07-26-2020, 07:59 PM   #3
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Wyatt:

I was thinking the same thing, but was curious if others had a similar issue.

Dennis
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Old 07-26-2020, 08:03 PM   #4
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Smells are hard to define as we may each get a different idea, sut mostly smells come from the water itself or bacteria. Just as general practice, we always sanitize any RV we get, just to start with what we know is clean. Then if water sets in the tank for more than a few weeks, we do the bleach soak again as it is cheap and easy ----compared to getting sick from bad water. Part of the process if the tank has set for quite a long time should always be to either fill the tank totally full or drive a bit with the bleach water in the tank so that the top of the tank also gets cleaned. Mold and mildew can grow quite well if only humid, so remember the tank top!
Your RV manual should have a section on what amount and how to add the bleach.
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Old 07-26-2020, 08:49 PM   #5
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Al & Deb were recommending in this post the use of Purogene Drinking Water Treatment and Water System Sanitizer. Perhaps both the bleach treatment, drain your system, and then use this too?
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Old 07-26-2020, 08:55 PM   #6
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Al & Deb were recommending in this post the use of Purogene Drinking Water Treatment and Water System Sanitizer. Perhaps both the bleach treatment, drain your system, and then use this too?
Eagle5
Thanks for the Purogene link and tip!
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Old 07-26-2020, 08:57 PM   #7
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Wyatt:

I was thinking the same thing, but was curious if others had a similar issue.

Dennis
Curious, do you filter the water coming into your coach?
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Old 07-26-2020, 10:18 PM   #8
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Yes, you should probably disinfect the system with bleach first, just to be safe. Then, adding Purogene will ensure pure and fresh tasting water after that.

To disinfect the first time, be sure to use plain bleach and not all the fancy “no spill” or other additives. There are lots of YouTube videos on the process. It’s pretty easy, just takes a little time to fill and empty the tank a couple times.

Take care!
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Old 07-27-2020, 04:28 PM   #9
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Yes, and I changed the filter not long after I got the coach.
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Old 07-27-2020, 04:55 PM   #10
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Thanks everybody for chiming in. I'm going to give Purogene Water Treatment a try.
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Old 08-02-2020, 04:50 PM   #11
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Water odor

Just to be on the safe side, we carry several gallons of spring water for drinking purposes. I do still disinfect the fresh water system and have no odors.
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Old 08-02-2020, 04:53 PM   #12
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Jbrattain, I use to carry water for making coffee in my old motorhome, but the motorhome I have now has so many water filters I think I'll just use the water from the tank once I get the smell out. I'm disinfecting it now with bleach and have purchased some Purogene Water Treatment to add to the tank going forward.
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Old 08-02-2020, 04:58 PM   #13
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disinfecting fresh water

Thanks, I've been using chlorine bleach, but I think I'll try the Purogene.
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Old 08-02-2020, 05:20 PM   #14
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This is a very interesting thread. We have had a sailboat(s) for a few decades with no issues like this - it is laid up for 6 months per year in warm climates. We have a 2002 Journey 36DL and have had no problem like this - EVER - in the last 4 years. I all instances we put standard original bleach in the tank(s) in a 1 part for 5 part water with the residual water.Then we ran the water thru the lines until it smelled bleachy. I am not sure I heard the solution in this thread
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Old 08-03-2020, 10:07 AM   #15
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Charles:

The general consensus response to my question has been that the water holding tank and lines need to be sanitized and bleach is commonly used. But adding the Purogene Water Treatment along with a little lemon juice after sanitizing provides an added measure to guard against a future bacterial infestation and apparently improves the taste of the water. My Journey has an 85 gallon water tank and my owners manual recommends sanitizing it with 1 1/2 cup bleach held in the system for four hours or 3 cups of bleach for 1 hour. I added 3 cups of bleach, drove the rig to ensure the bleach is mixed into the water, and ran the bleach water through all of the faucets and toilet until the old odor went away and a slight bleach smell could be detected in the water flowing from the faucets. Then I parked it in the garage. I'm going to drain the water system before I use the RV and refill with fresh water and the recommended dosage of Purogene and a little lemon juice. I'm hoping this solves the problem.
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