Drinking water in holding tank

[Scoouts mom]

I am just wondering we are heading back to the trailer for a second weeken(we were up last weekend). How long can the water stay in the holding tank and still be drinkable. we brought the water from home so it is municiple treated water. Thanks

[TURBS]

if i have to leave mine in for a week or two i buy a bottle of fresh water sanitizer . but mostly i just try and drain it . most of all theres different opinions on this but i allways drain my hw heater ever trip

[F and E Damp]

It really depends on the quality of the city water you filled it with. In Anacortes, we're lucky to have one of the top five municipal water systems in the country for quality and stability. We always leave home with the tank full and have only done one trip where we had to fill it from the CG supply the last day.

Yuck! We only wanted to have enough water for the trip from that CG back home. It took several hours of flushing and treating and re-flushing to get the bad taste out of the water tank. It's much easier to do that now I found the potable tank's drain valve!

In future, regardless of the cost, we'll refill the potable tank from grocery store large bottles if we need to replenish on the road.

BTW, most of the time we use the CG water for everything but drinking and cooking. We shut the CG supply off and use the on-board water through the pump for that. It's a bit of a hassle, but a lot less than hauling a couple pf pallets of bottled water.

[KyDan]

As you said, you're just asking for opinions.... mine is you'll be fine.
The worst I would guess is the water might have a bit of a plastic taste
but probably not.

We have 2 different size blue drinking water totes. Made by Reliance.
We got them in the RV/camping isle of WalMart but I've seen them in
other big dept stores. They come in 4 gallon and 7 gallon.

If I were you and there was any doubt about taste/quality I'd just bring
some fresh from home via one of these.
Use that for making coffee or iced tea and go ahead and use the tank
water for dishes and washing.

We also are lucky in that our municipal water supply is highly rated for
good taste and quality. We still have a "whole house" type filter
under the kitchen sink with an activated carbon filter in it.
This removes chlorine taste and smell from the tap water and makes for
great drinking. We fill our blue jugs there.

This sounds like the perfect solution for Frank and Eileen too!!

Happy Camping!

[Freds342]

Mix it 50/50 with Scotch, and it'll last forever!

[jimh]

Originally Posted by Freds342

Mix it 50/50 with Scotch, and it'll last forever!

tried that...it disappears faster...must be evaporating.

[capucine]

I never drink the water from the holding tank. It can be a real hazard for your health. Better drink the water in bottle ( gallon) that you bought at your grocery store.I know some people will tell you that the water in bottle is no good to you also but I am sure that it is more safe for you!!!!!

[cheese53073]

Originally Posted by capucine

I never drink the water from the holding tank. It can be a real hazard for your health.

A fresh water storage system that has been properly sanitized and maintained is perfectly safe to consume.
using your statement the water would only be good for flushing the toilet. any other use such as washing dishes, washing your hands, bathing etc all will lead to consumption of that water.

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by capucine

I never drink the water from the holding tank. It can be a real hazard for your health. Better drink the water in bottle ( gallon) that you bought at your grocery store.I know some people will tell you that the water in bottle is no good to you also but I am sure that it is more safe for you!!!!!

If that were true, there would be a huge number of sick RV'ers out there.

[MtnGuy]

I don't drain my fresh water tank from the time I sanitize it in the spring until I winterize it in the fall. We fill our water bottles and make our ice from the fresh water tank....no problems so far. I do fill the tank from a municipal water supply....the touch amount of chlorine is probably a good think.

[tentcamper1]

Originally Posted by jimh

tried that...it disappears faster...must be evaporating.

just refilling my jug...

[Campski65]

I keep my tank drained and as clean as possible. Water borne diseases can ruin a great camping trip as well as your health. A good clean sytem is the best way to go and thousands of RV'ers consume the water in their tanks with no ill effect. So no leaks are allowed and every camper should assess their fresh water supply and adapt to their needs and level of risk adversity.
Had a great labor day,
Will see some of you good people of the forum out on the road for this fall's color spotting tour. Upper Pennisula MI should be pretty this time of year.
Happy Camping!