How to Clean Your Water System

August 1, 2011

Cleaning your water system regularly is the best way to prevent water-borne illnesses such as Giardia, Ecoli, infectious hepatitis and all sorts of microbes. If you're camping in areas where the water is spring or well fed you may not be aware there's a problem with the water until it's too late and you're sick.

It's not just virus and bacteria you need to worry about. Illnesses such as Giardia are caused by cysts that aren't easily filtered out with common household water filters.

Many campgrounds use water from their own wells - and what problems they have will be passed onto to you. Since water-borne illnesses tend to affect the very young or the very old, if you're traveling with children, or are a senior, or have health issues, it's even more important to make sure your fresh water tank is truly fresh!

If you are traveling with very young children or are a senior or have health issues, use a water filtering system on your kitchen faucet, or a water-filtering pitcher (such as a Pur filtering pitcher), or bottled water for drinking.

How Your Water Tank Works

Your fresh water system is simply a large tank inside the RV that you fill with fresh water. Contamination can come in through the portal where you fill the tank if you leave it open, use a dirty hose; have a dirty faucet at the campground or facility where you're filling up, or if the water itself is contaminated for some reason. Add the fact that your RV tank is exposed to heat, air and sloshing water that soon dissipates any chlorine in the system rapidly and you're looking at some really iffy water safety. If there is any oil, slime, dirt or algae in the tank from prior use or poor cleaning, your chances of drinking pure water diminish even more.

A healthy human body is very good at fending off most of the bacteria and microscopic contaminants that are found in water everywhere - even at home in our own city water supplies. What happens with an RV system is that that water sits in the tank where heat, and sometimes light, can help those bacteria reproduce over time - especially if the water sits for a month or more. If water is circulating, being used and replaced on a regular basis, that bacterial growth is less likely to occur. Cleaning your system regularly helps sanitize the inside of the tanks and keeps bacterial growth down.

When To Clean Your Water System

There are several times you should clean your water system:

• At the beginning of every RVing season.
• Any time your RV has set for more than a week without fresh water being circulated through the tanks.
• Whenever someone becomes ill after drinking the water.
• Whenever the water has a "funny" smell to it.
• Whenever the water does not run clear from the faucet.
• As part of a regular water cleaning schedule.

How to Clean Your Fresh Water Tank

• Add two ounces of liquid dishwashing detergent.
• Fill the tank with clean water.
• Drive around the block a couple of times to mix the soap and water up well.
• Open all your fresh water faucets (including the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, bathroom shower, outdoor shower if you have one).
• Start your water pump.
• Run the water until all the water runs clear of soap. Add more water if needed.
• Add 1/4 cup (30 grams) of unscented chlorine bleach for every 10 gallons (38 liters) of water the system holds, and fill the tank up again.
• Run the water until you can smell the chlorine.
• Turn the pump off and top up the water.
• Let the water/chlorine mix sit for at least three hours or even overnight if possible. If you can drive around the campground or for a block or two at home after adding your chlorine and soap, this will help slosh the water around so it cleans the system better by mixing the chlorine more effectively in the tank.
• Once the water has set overnight, run water through the entire system one more time until you can no longer smell the chlorine at all.
• If you can taste or smell chlorine or antifreeze (if this is a dewinterizing clean), repeat this procedure with one cup of baking soda. The baking soda should remove any traces of lingering bleach and taste.
• While cleaning your fresh water tank, don't forget to immerse your fresh water hose in a bucket of water with 1/4 cup of bleach in it as well. Allow it to sit for one hour then drain and replace with fresh water to rinse. Be careful not to let the hose touch the ground and do not rinse it off with another hose. Always screw the two ends together of your fresh water hose with caps designed for that purpose, or with Saran wrap and a rubber band to prevent dust, insects and debris from getting inside the line. You can also purchase bags designed to hold and protect your fresh water hose during travel.

Once clean your tank is ready for traveling! At this point, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advocates using a method called "Super-chlorination / de- chlorination" to prevent bacterial growth while you're traveling. To do this chlorine is added to the water in increased amounts to provide a minimum chlorine residual of 3.0 ppm (parts per million) for a contact period of five minutes. You now have a reservoir full of water with a high concentration of chlorine. It's safe from a bacterial explosion, but it's definitely not what you want to use for making a cup of tea. You need to de-chlorinate it first using a ceramic RV water filter. Check with your RV dealer for recommendations of a product to suit your needs.