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Old 09-24-2016, 08:42 AM   #1
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Dumb question??

This may be a dumb question, but I'm curious about what others think. I just read yet another thread about removing the manufacturer-installed water filter. Seems like there's no end to this. I've removed a couple of them myself after finding them to be a PIA. What I'm wondering is this: In over 50 years of camping, using everything from city water hookups to pumping a handle, I've never felt the water was bad enough to want to filter it. Occasionally, there might be a slight off-taste, or iron taste, but we've never been ill because of it that we know of. And in the unlikely event that there was some serious pathogen in the water, I doubt the filter would do much good. Thoughts?

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Old 09-24-2016, 09:08 AM   #2
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You have a very good point. There has been created a billion dollar industry around the fact that your water MAY be bad, ie filters and bottled water in general which is a whole discussion by itself! Hopefully none of us are just throwing a hose in a pond or puddle and using it to drink. And I think your right about not filtering out anything deadly is correct as well unless you spend hundreds of dollars on a much better set up. My biggest complaint has always been water being warm or just not cold enough to refresh...lol.
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Old 09-24-2016, 09:24 AM   #3
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We should all be aware, of the threat posed to our water, by DHMO contamination. Locally, a lot of our neighbors were caught completely off guard by the recent rainy weather, and are now contending with DHMO contamination.

You can learn more about this threat at http://dhmo.org

Several years ago, one of our Neighbors in New York ( we have escape land out there ... ) discovered that his entire pond had been contaminated with DHMO.
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Old 09-24-2016, 09:54 AM   #4
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So the Camco water filter is going to remove this? It's odorless, colorless, and tasteless and apparently in everything? Best stay home and not go anywhere, but then the Radon will potentially get me and I'll be poisoned by the GMO vegetables I had for supper or by the formaldehyde in the woodwork. I get that this stuff, along with almost everything else is bad but gonna worry about it. As long as there are folks still alive at the campground when I get there, I'm good.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:04 AM   #5
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DHMO=H2O nice tongue in cheek referance.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:14 AM   #6
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I do not filter the water for my benefit, I filter it to keep well water sediment out of the water system in the lite.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:19 AM   #7
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We have been using the Camco in-line Activate Charcoal filter (the blue one that screws onto your "normal garden hose" connection) with one hundred percent success.

"Seriously" (We're not talking about the DHMO threat ... ) the activated charcoal does help with some of the random odors. We did not use one on our previous TC and when we took in non-city (i.e. non chlorinated) water, it seemed that the sulfur dioxide (eggs) smell was a minor problem. Activated Charcoal filters do have a finite life so follow manufacturer recommendation for use.

That said, the in-line filter (or just about any filter that doesn't have the funky silver / rare-metals anti-bacterial capability CLEARLY indicated) will NOT take care of toxins or bacteria. Chlorine is proven way to treat suspected non-potable water ... keeping in mind that liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) has a finite shelf life, loses something like 20% potency per year, derated further for temperature. DRY sodium hypochlorite is much more stable, the "preppers" stash it for that very reason.

Finally, since "we can do it" we fill our fresh tank with "city" water, which for us is chlorinated courtesy of the city (and, we are surprised they don't itemize that and charge extra on the water bill.) Then we have known "good" water as we roll ... and if we hit a campsite with no, or dubious water, we are covered.

As mentioned in some other post, we carry bottled water (distilled gallons) for coffee brewing and cooking. That is an artifact of using a Bunn Pour-O-Matic at home, the city water absolutely destroys those machines. Plus have the distilled for radiator, batter if need were to arise. Bottled drinking water for convenience.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:19 AM   #8
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We don't always put an inline filter. We use bottled water for drinking and coffee when tastes matters. We use a filter for showers and cleaning when the water smells.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:21 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford Idaho View Post
I do not filter the water for my benefit, I filter it to keep well water sediment out of the water system in the lite.
One Hundred Percent agree on keeping the crud out !!!!!
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:31 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Jeff_and_Abby View Post
We should all be aware, of the threat posed to our water, by DHMO contamination. Locally, a lot of our neighbors were caught completely off guard by the recent rainy weather, and are now contending with DHMO contamination.

You can learn more about this threat at Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info

Several years ago, one of our Neighbors in New York ( we have escape land out there ... ) discovered that his entire pond had been contaminated with DHMO.
Not an expert on DMHO, however, the site has no reserarch Credentials or academic backgrounds or researchers listed, no institutional affiliation. And no real documentation, other than their views. A lot of surveys of kids (and latest is 2008) Dihydrogen Monoxide - Research Reports

And alerts and advisories are dated for the year 2000. And they want me to send them my research information? http://dhmo.org/alerts/

I am not saying the site is a scam, but I am saying with NO credible documentation by at least a few accredited researchers, I wonder about it.

I'll continue to use NO filter in my house and my trailer and not a bit worried about it; other than the iron taste in some wells.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:40 AM   #11
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Thanks for not being too serious about DHMO. Keeping the crud out of my RV is the reason we use the filter as well. Don't usually use the onboard tank for drinking either because I can't seem to get rid of the rasberry antifreeze taste and smell. Have tried a number of fixes but it persists. So, just use it for hands and dishes. Have a 4gal IcyTek water cooler to fil with ice an fresh water from home that does the trick....and ice cold beer! Which I now read has DMHO in it....lol.
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Old 09-24-2016, 12:36 PM   #12
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We have taken the built in filters out of the last two rigs. Too much a pita to keep up with. We do use bottled water for drinking/coffee. If we are somewhere for awhile that has nasty water we might use the portable filter at the spigot.
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Old 09-24-2016, 01:13 PM   #13
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We use bottled water for drinking and cooking. I do use an inline filter to keep crud out of the water lines and faucet screens. I always keep 30 - 60 gallons of water from home in the FW tank just in case stuff happens.
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Old 09-24-2016, 01:23 PM   #14
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We use inline filter to keep crud out of the water system. We use bottled water for drinking and cooking. I have an onboard filter but have never installed the cartridge.

Our first time out this year I was filling the onboard tank and the water slowed to a trickle. When I took the inline filter off I found green sludge from the parks water system had clogged the filter. I believe they were just turning on the water system for the year and the green sludge was from the park water system sitting over the winter.
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Old 09-24-2016, 02:06 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by TakeItEasy View Post
We use inline filter to keep crud out of the water system. We use bottled water for drinking and cooking. I have an onboard filter but have never installed the cartridge.

Our first time out this year I was filling the onboard tank and the water slowed to a trickle. When I took the inline filter off I found green sludge from the parks water system had clogged the filter. I believe they were just turning on the water system for the year and the green sludge was from the park water system sitting over the winter.
Over the decades I found problems a couple times. Now I run the faucet for 10 - 15 seconds before I connect my hose then another few seconds before connecting the hose to the 5er.
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Old 09-24-2016, 02:10 PM   #16
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Over the decades I found problems a couple times. Now I run the faucet for 10 - 15 seconds before I connect my hose then another few seconds before connecting the hose to the 5er.
I too run the faucet for a couple seconds before hooking up. That is a habit I picked up after I found bugs crawling out of the faucet before hoking up one time.
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Old 09-24-2016, 02:58 PM   #17
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I have said this and believe it.. "Living is hazardous to your health!"

There was just an article in the WSJ about letting your kids get really dirty when they are young. Let em play in the dirt and eat junk off the ground. Helps build up their immune system. That is how I grew up, barefoot and dirty most of the time.

Now im not saying drink poisonous water but use common sense. We use bottled water for drinking but I will brush my teeth with spigot water and use it to cook. It just seems to me the filters could be a breeding ground for bacteria as they sit not used for long periods of time, sometimes in a very hot climate, without fresh cool or cold water flowing thru them and you can't sanitize them like you can your holding tank..... Just saying.
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Old 09-24-2016, 06:58 PM   #18
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DHMO contamination.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff_and_Abby View Post
We should all be aware, of the threat posed to our water, by DHMO contamination. Locally, a lot of our neighbors were caught completely off guard by the recent rainy weather, and are now contending with DHMO contamination.
We had DHMO in the neighborhood swimming pool. What a pain. It had to be completely drained to remove the DHMO. It cost a bundle. Thank goodness it no one was swimming at the time, excess immersion in water mixed with DHMO is a little known but significant cause of drowning.
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Old 09-24-2016, 07:09 PM   #19
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This may be a dumb question, but I'm curious about what others think.
They are cheap and some people like them. I would guess that the filter manufacture provides the housing to FR at cost or below just to get the replacement filter sales. So they get included to help make the RV sale. Any claim to a material benefit to health of filters is pretty questionable and I bet the manufacturers don't make any specific claims about health or performance either.

My home fridge has one and it costs $50 to replace. It's a rip off as far as I'm concerned because our tap water is very good. I'll check closer when we buy a new fridge in another 15 years or so.
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Old 09-28-2016, 07:05 AM   #20
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Dumb Question

Since I posted this thread, it seems to me a kind of consensus exists among the respondents: (1) most people use bottled water to drink, camp water for everything else, (2) few people like the manufacturer-installed water filters and, (3) if they use them, they do it to keep crud from clogging the camper's water pump filter. I hadn't thought about #3 when I posted this question. So thanks for the additional info!

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