Fresh Water Tank cleaning |
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Rick Nic
Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2017 Location: Oceanside, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Topic: Fresh Water Tank cleaning Posted: 10 Jun 2018 at 11:36am |
Question about Fresh water tank maintenance. We don't have to winterize here, nor do we have any odor from Fresh water tank. We don't drink it, and only do dishes and and teeth with it. So while I treat the Black and Grey tanks, nothing has been done for Fresh water tank in its 18 months of service. The only thing I do have is some algae on the inside of the drain plug.
I don't really want chlorine/bleach in my system, so I bought Camco 40207 TastePURE Spring Fresh Water System Cleaner and Deodorizer. Active ingredients: Ethylalchol, Sorbitan Monooleate Ethoxylate. Anyone know if this will work for algae and whether it's even necessary? Thanks!
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2017.5 iPod 178
Oceanside, CA |
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419 |
Posted: 10 Jun 2018 at 4:11pm |
Rick,
What kind of water are you filling the tank with? Well water, rain water? Are you using chlorinated, treated water? When was the last time you sterilized your house? Lot of folks sanitizing fresh water systems on here, and I agree if you didn't use treated water. That quarter or half cup of bleach is not doing anything different than what a municipal water system uses. |
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Mike Carter
2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
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Posted: 10 Jun 2018 at 4:32pm |
Working from memory, that stuff sounds like the same "ingredients" listed on a package of Twinkies that I ate a couple of hours ago....along with some other stuff & colorings. Just kidding. "The Book" says sanitize before each use. I don't know if what you have will work. However, I do know that having algae growth in the fresh tank can be a bugger to remedy. |
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Rick Nic
Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2017 Location: Oceanside, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Posted: 11 Jun 2018 at 8:41am |
Thanks Mike, two good points. Because of the algae I may as well go ahead with bleach treatment. Like you say, either way it's no huge deal. I do use tap city treated water most of the time, Some people leave some in the tank during short inactivity to prevent growth, which seems weird.
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2017.5 iPod 178
Oceanside, CA |
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Rick Nic
Newbie Joined: 04 Jan 2017 Location: Oceanside, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Posted: 11 Jun 2018 at 8:42am |
Thanks David - that's what I would think. I can only imagine when that stuff gets going.
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2017.5 iPod 178
Oceanside, CA |
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Posted: 11 Jun 2018 at 9:41am |
You might find this discussion interesting: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11607&KW=slimed&PID=109691&title=water#109691 |
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Wood River Pod
Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2016 Location: Wood River, ID Online Status: Offline Posts: 153 |
Posted: 12 Jun 2018 at 12:02am |
So this and other post have got me thinking. We sanitize our trailer annually with a diluted bleach mix, running through all of our faucets for some time, then draining the main tank, refill with city water, run though facets and drained again. Don't want to drink bleach water, but want the bleach to clean the tank and the lines and faucets after sitting all winter. We drink out of our water tank. We use it to boil water for coffee press/tea and mac and cheese, etc. We use it. This and the link others listed made me head out and pull my fresh water tank plug. Is this algae??? I thought it was some grit and sand or something that accumulated at the lowest point that got into the system. This is not the first time I've found this. The other time the pod had sat for some time in the summer as well. Is that the culprit? I'm completely bummed out by this. To date we have had no issues with drinking the water. Now I will admit that the pod has spent two weeks in the drive with less than 1/3 fresh tank filled. Yes we've had some hot weather. What do I do?
I'm all ears. Please post the Good, Bad and the Ugly on POD water storage. Here in the West "whiskeys for drinking and waters for fighting". We're going to use the tank. We bought the camper to use the water storage. Any insight would be most appreciated. Thank you everyone for your input and help on whats been written and what's to come. This forum rocks! Thanks Jeff |
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Tars Tarkas
Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447 |
Posted: 12 Jun 2018 at 1:55am |
To some extent the only answer is your comfort level. I'm old and I grew up drinking from (green) garden hoses and mountain streams. I still do occasionally, even though I understand some good reasons not to now. I don't drink a lot of water, no matter what, but I don't hesitate to drink from my Pod tank when I want. I do the bleach thing once or twice a year. I'm on a well at home, so no (germ fighting) chemicals in my water. I drink the water but I clean the tank from time to time. I don't know what that is in your drain plug. It doesn't look like algae to me. Maybe it's bleached dead algae. I wouldn't wipe it out with my finger and lick my finger, but I don't think it would stop me from drinking the water. Try filling a big jar with water from your kitchen tap at home and let it sit for a couple of days. I'll bet there will be a think film of something similar on the bottom of the jar. Safe to drink doesn't mean distilled pure water. TT |
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2010 176
FJ Cruiser |
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Posted: 12 Jun 2018 at 6:36am |
+1 on your comfort level/risk tolerance. What is in the picture could be algae but, I can't know for certain. Personally, if I were intending to consume water from the tank, I would sanitize frequently throughout the season. I think I have mentioned before that I take "bottled" water (Walmart @ $.89/gal) for my consumption. I rarely use more than 1/2 gallon per day as 99.9% of the time it is just used making coffee. The rest of my fluids are usually "store bought" beverages. Dixie (my dog) gets to drink the campground water, from a filled jug. Interestingly, there have been a couple of occasions when she refused to drink it. She is pretty smart and has a very good nose! (For what it is worth) |
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Happy Tripping
Senior Member Joined: 27 May 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 473 |
Posted: 12 Jun 2018 at 7:14am |
I don't know, not having a microscope, but probably "green algae" of the following reference: http://aqua.iwaponline.com/content/early/2016/04/13/aqua.2016.115 But not to worry, kill it with bleach and flush well until clear, and then repeat chlorine treatment periodically. I bet all of us have low concentrations of these 'bugs' in our tanks, we just don't notice them and they do no harm in this situation. "The solution to pollution is dilution". In most cities, what we drink now was sewage just a little while ago, and even clear natural spring water has lots of little things in it. |
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