Disinfect Water System

[Cardinal Pilot]

I own a 2011 Winnebago Aspect 30c that I just bought from the original buyer. Among other things, I was going to disinfect the water system as I am sure the original owner never did it. The process is straight forward enough, but not clear on the under sink filter for the cold water. Do I leave as is and disinfect it too or bypass it?

Thanks,

 

[CJGJR]

If you run bleach through it and it is a carbon filter, it's shot. I'd bleach the whole system and then change all filters. When you get done flushing bleach out, run some white vinegar threw it and it will kill the chlorine smell.

 

[RayIN]

If you have the Everpure water purification system, it has a bypass plug for both winterizing and sanitizing the fresh water system. You remove the filter canister, insert the plug, then sanitize. That would work with any filter system. Our 5er had a bypass hose to replace the in-line filter below the countertop.
FWIW, Everpure recommends 6 oz.=2/3 cup, of 5.25% bleach to 10G water for sanitizing. To treat consumable water from a questionable source, Everpure recommends 1 tsp. for each 10G, = 6.7 ppm bleach. This is safe for adults, but infants should not have ANY bleach in their drinking water.

 

[DAN L-WO]

I own a 2011 Winnebago Aspect 30c that I just bought from the original buyer. Among other things, I was going to disinfect the water system as I am sure the original owner never did it. The process is straight forward enough, but not clear on the under sink filter for the cold water. Do I leave as is and disinfect it too or bypass it?

Thanks,

i turn my under sink water filter off with the installed lever before sanitizing my water tank.
i guess you could remove the filter, but that would be overkill in my system.

 

[David K-WO]

I take out my undersink filter b4 sanitizing -- also, I do not use bleach to sanitize the system --- I use peroxide to do it -- that way, you do not have the smell and you don't have to dump the fresh water tank afterwards. The ratio of peroxide to the water is 4 oz to each 10 gallons of water if you want to go that way.

 

[spinn]

What concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide do you use?

 

[Arch Hoagland]

For what it's worth I've never done anything to my water system on this coach we've had for about 8 years.

I had a trailer that I added about a half gallon of bleach to the water tank to sanitize the system. I never got rid of the bleach smell after that. I found out 1/2 gallon is WAY too much.

So if you use bleach....go light.

 

[DAN L-WO]

For what it's worth I've never done anything to my water system on this coach we've had for about 8 years.

I had a trailer that I added about a half gallon of bleach to the water tank to sanitize the system. I never got rid of the bleach smell after that. I found out 1/2 gallon is WAY too much.

So if you use bleach....go light.

i had to use arm and hammer soda deodorizing system after i used 32 oz bleach to get the taste out of the filtered drinking water.

Arm & Hammer Multi-Brand - Deodorizing Camper Water Tanks

i drained and refilled my system twice but that didn't get it. it ruined my $35 under sink filter cartridge too.
the vinegar method worked ok? but the smell persisted even after 2 drains and refills.
i am going to try the peroxide method next. i am going to turn off my under sink filter prior to treating my 80 gallon tank with 32 oz. peroxide. i will let it sit for 24 hours, drain and refill 2 times. hopefully this protocol will not destroy my new $35 under sink filter cartridge.

 

[Gorlininc]

I use 6 oz of bleach for a 100 gallon water tank. Let sit for 12 hours and I flush twice.
No chlorine odor. I do it as needed. Very simple. If you put too much bleach in, can hurt your tank and connections.

 

[Luckiest Dreamer]

For what it's worth I've never done anything to my water system on this coach we've had for about 8 years.

I had a trailer that I added about a half gallon of bleach to the water tank to sanitize the system. I never got rid of the bleach smell after that. I found out 1/2 gallon is WAY too much.

So if you use bleach....go light.

Yep you may have overdone it but white vinegar as a follow up flush will get rid of it.

 

[David K-WO]

Spinn ---- sorry for the delay in responding --- I use the 3% solution that you can buy over the counter at any drug store for the sanitizing of the tank and the line system in my coach. Hydrogen peroxide is a very good sanitizing agent and kill germs very effectively. Also like the no odor after and you can leave the solution in your tank --- it will not hurt you when diluted that much but, does kill the germs.

 

[RayIN]

Hydrogen Peroxide can be used to destroy chlorine, thus might work well to remove chlorine from the plumbing due to over-chlorination. It has many uses, and also has associated dangers as discussed in that link. Used properly it is safe,
Here is a small exerpt from the webpage; "The main disadvantage is the small disinfecting and oxidising ability of hydrogen peroxide at active concentrations (tens of milligrams per litre), which are required for swimming pool disinfection. Another problem is the quick decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in water and the presence of oxygen radicals."

Read more: hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant

 

[Deucenut]

Camping world and others sell water disinfectants. Does anyone know if they work? My wife doesn't want me to use bleach cause she is afraid of it and doesn't like the taste. She's told me she will never drink from it again if I use bleach. Lol. So I'll be stuck buying bottled water. So do the store bought disinfectants work?

 

[Steve Ownby]

Camping world and others sell water disinfectants. Does anyone know if they work? My wife doesn't want me to use bleach cause she is afraid of it and doesn't like the taste. She's told me she will never drink from it again if I use bleach. Lol. So I'll be stuck buying bottled water. So do the store bought disinfectants work?

Hydrogen Peroxide will do the deed and is reasonably cheap.

 

[firedoc-WO]

Camping world and others sell water disinfectants. Does anyone know if they work? My wife doesn't want me to use bleach cause she is afraid of it and doesn't like the taste. She's told me she will never drink from it again if I use bleach. Lol. So I'll be stuck buying bottled water. So do the store bought disinfectants work?

Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is used to disinfect water lines in medical facilities. Biofilm is a big concern and it would certainly apply to motor home plumbing. I do not believe peroxide will effect biofilm.

 

[HOHDR]

If the filter contains activated carbon, you should remove it prior to sanitizing. Otherwise the carbon will remove/reduce the chlorine and prevent adequate sanitization of the plumbing after the filter. Since the filter likely contains bacteria, it should be replaced with a new one.

The usual recommended dosage for sanitizing is 50 mg/L, although 200 mg/L sometimes is used (mg/L and ppm are the same thing). Minimum contact time is 30 minutes. These levels are for sanitizing, not for drinking water.

The U.S EPA has set a primary (health-related) limit of 4 mg/L for chlorine in drinking water. For details, go to Drinking Water Contaminants | Drinking Water Contaminants | US EPA . The Winnebago instructions for sanitizing are good, but the recommended dosage for drinking water is a bit higher than 4 mg/L.

I'm a water treatment geek, so I need to calculate chemical dosages all the time. In this application, I would use the calculation -

Bleach (liq.oz.) = (FW tank gallons x Chlorine ppm) / (Bleach % x 78.125)

For example, if I wanted to fill a FW tank with 43 gallons at a concentration of 50 ppm using 5.25% bleach,

Bleach (liq.oz.) = (43 x 50) / (5.25 x 78.125) = 2150 / 410 = 5.2 ounces

You could use the same calculation for hydrogen peroxide, which often is used to sanitize high quality water systems like those used in laboratories or dialysis centers. However, the typical peroxide dosage is 1000-2500 mg/L, and the minimum contact time is six hours. There is no EPA drinking water standard for hydrogen peroxide, but I learned recently that the State of Michigan has a recommended limit of 4.2 mg/L.

 

[Deucenut]

Well I put bleach in my tank. I put in 1.5 litres...then 90 gallons of water. I let it sit over night after I had run it into the water lines. My question is I can't seem to get all the rv antifreeze or bleach out of the lines. I can have the system pressurized, turn off the water pump, drain the tap in kitchen then turn on the water pump. After running the tap for about 10 seconds, the water gets foamy for about 5 seconds then goes clear again. I can replicate this at will. I am getting very frustrated. I have drained the FW tank and the HW tank about 5 times and refilled. I still have the bleach smell along with the foamy water as indicated above. Anyone know what I am doing wrong? Is there a low point that I am missing that will get rid of the rv antifreeze? I tried the outside shower in the wet bay, that didn't work. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry to the OP if this is a slight hijack

 

[dsbear]

Camping world and others sell water disinfectants. Does anyone know if they work? My wife doesn't want me to use bleach cause she is afraid of it and doesn't like the taste. She's told me she will never drink from it again if I use bleach. Lol. So I'll be stuck buying bottled water. So do the store bought disinfectants work?

Does she eat off of plates or drink from glasses at a restaurant? The last step in cleaning the dishes at any commercial food establishment is a bleach rinse.

 

[Pusherman]

Well I put bleach in my tank. I put in 1.5 litres...then 90 gallons of water. I let it sit over night after I had run it into the water lines. My question is I can't seem to get all the rv antifreeze or bleach out of the lines. I can have the system pressurized, turn off the water pump, drain the tap in kitchen then turn on the water pump. After running the tap for about 10 seconds, the water gets foamy for about 5 seconds then goes clear again. I can replicate this at will. I am getting very frustrated. I have drained the FW tank and the HW tank about 5 times and refilled. I still have the bleach smell along with the foamy water as indicated above. Anyone know what I am doing wrong? Is there a low point that I am missing that will get rid of the rv antifreeze? I tried the outside shower in the wet bay, that didn't work. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry to the OP if this is a slight hijack

Simply flush all the lines for about 15 minutes or so, while hooked up to city water. Be sure to leave your gray water valve open and dumping to the grass so you don't overflow your gray water tank.

Lots of flushing will clear it out. Don't forget the hot water tank. Just run the hot and cold valves for about 15 minutes (with heater off, of course).