FREE StationeryRV Water System Sanitize and Freshen
“We all need to take certain precautions so we keep our RV water system fresh and safe to use”
To do that, here are some of the steps you can take to ensure your RV water system is not only fresh, but safe to drink from. There are, of course, no guarantees that any water you fill your RV fresh water tank with is completely safe. All we can do is take reasonable precautions with our RV water system so that it is as safe to use as possible… While still tasting like fresh water.
So, where do we start the process?
Your fresh water system in your RV not only provides the water that you use to wash dishes and take baths or showers with, it stores the water you drink and cook with. Never assume that it will stay safe and fresh like the water coming into your home.
While we enjoy some of the cleanest and safest water here in the US, contaminated water, when it happens is extremely dangerous.
Since most of us don’t use our RV’s year round, we not only have to deal with a water system that hasn’t been used for sometime, but since you also travel in the RV and hook your water system up to a different (unknown) water sources; your chances of getting contaminated (while small here in the US) water into our storage tanks.
Let’s face it, we hook up our RV’s to city water, well water, and even delivered water trucks in remote locations. Eventually contaminated water is going to get in or even be caused by our own fresh water storage tank if we don’t take care of it. I know you’ve probably heard people say don’t drink the water at certain locations… Well, that can be the case at unfamiliar locations as well.
We were camp hosts at a State Park that got it’s water from it’s own wells so I didn’t bother to use the water filter I carry. A water line broke and had to be dug up and repaired. When that happened, the water coming out of the faucet became cloudy and had small dirt and rust particles in it. Luckily we noticed before we used it in cooking or food/drink prep.
After that, it became our most important step to keep the fresh water system sanitized and use a water filter no mater where we hook up. I would suggest that at a minimum you should drain and sanitize your whole fresh water system every spring just before you take the RV out for the first trip of the camping season. Then do it again any time you notice stale water taste, odor or see visible particles in your glass. It’s simple to do and is great insurance against contaminated water getting into your families bodies.
Step 1: Drain the water heater.
Caution: Make sure your water pump is turned off and the lines are unpressurized. Open a hot and cold faucet to relieve any pressure.
Go to the outside RV compartment where your water heater is located. Your drain plug, or petcock is located in the bottom left hand corner of most modern RV Water Heaters. Your relief valve or petcock will be near the top. Just remove the drain plug and open the pressure relief valve to let air in and assist in draining.
CAUTION: NEVER drain the water heater when it’s hot and/or under pressure.
Step 2: Drain the fresh water tank or tanks.
If you didn’t open a hot and cold water faucet in the step above, be sure and do it now to assist in the draining of the water lines.
Next you need to locate the low point water line drains. If you have never drained your system before, it may take a while to find them. Your dealer or seller should have gone over this with you when you bought your RV. If not, consult your owner’s manual. Mine are accessed behind a round access door that I unscrew in my propane tank area.
You should find one for the hot and one for the cold water lines. Open them both and let the water fully drain out of the system. The tank and lines do not require air or pressure as if you were winterizing them. The point is to get as much water out as possible. Some water left in the system is OK as you will see in just a few minutes.
Note: If your RV also has a separate valve for the holding tank, open and drain it as well. My cold water drain also drains the fresh water tank.
Before continuing, be sure and close the faucets and all the drains. You may want to go ahead and flush deposits from the hot water tank while it’s open as well. Then put the drain plug back in and close the petcock valve.
Step 3: Add sanitizer to the system
Many RV and Department Stores with camping sections now sell Chemical safe water tank sanitizer and in this day and age of trying to live greener chemical free lives, it’s a great way to help keep your environment safe. But it’s cheaper, completely safe as long as you do as directed and much easier to just mix your own.
All you do is take a quarter cup of house hold chlorine bleach for every fifteen gallons of water that your fresh water tank holds. Mix the bleach, with at least a half gallon of fresh water using a one-gallon container and pour it into the fresh water holding tank.
Note: My motorhome doesn’t have an unpressurized port to pour water into. I use an auxiliary electric water pump hooked to my fresh water fill valve and a short length of hose with the other end placed into the bucket with the sanitizer mix. I then, just pump the mix into my fresh water tank. A hand pump bladder you can squeeze may also work for you if you don’t keep a spare water pump around.
Step 4: Fill the Fresh water tank
Fill the fresh water tank almost at least 3/4 full. This ensures that the bleach mix is thinned out enough to be safe yet still strong enough to kill the germs that may be in the tank and lines.
Step 5: Pressurize the system and circulate the sanitizer
Turn the water pump on, open all hot and cold faucets (one at a time) and run the water until you smell the bleach at each faucet. Close the faucets as you finish each one before you start the next. If it’s at all possible drive the RV or pull the trailer (at least pull forward and backward a few times) so the water can move around to assist in cleaning the entire tank. Let it sit in the tank and lines for at least 12 hours. This ensures the sanitizer mix has time to work completely in all areas.
Step 6: Drain the sanitation mix from the lines and tanks
Follow Step 1 again and Drain the entire fresh water system again and then re-fill with fresh potable water. Then follow step 5 and open all of the faucets (one at a time again) and run the water until you no longer smell any bleach.
Note: Depending on the size of your fresh water holding tank, it may be necessary to repeat this process a third time to eliminate all signs of bleach from the water lines and tank system. Once this is done though, you will know it is safe to drink the water from your system.
I know, this takes a bit of time to drain and fill your fresh water system as many as 3 times, but if you follow these 6 simple steps you can trust that the fresh water system in your RV truly is fresh and safe to drink.
Hope to meet you out on the road to adventure,
Wes Waddell
Copyright 2011 by Wes Waddell – FreeTravelScrapbook.com
Wes along with his beautiful wife, Kathy, has been full time in their motorhome for over two years now. You can follow their adventures and learn from their experiences at:
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