Will my water sanitization be good in 2 weeks??

[gtdkad]

Hello,

We are Going camping in 2 weeks. When should I sanitize my water system?

We just use city water hookups but I want to sanitize everything. I haven't used my Windjammer in 2 years.

I'm concerned that if I sanitize my water system today, will it still be "clean" in 2 weeks?

It will not be used from the time of sanitization and until we go camping.

Thanks.

[bikendan]

IMHO, you're over thinking this. We only sanitized the FW tank, never sanitized if we had water hookups.

[Oaklevel]

We never use our fresh water tank and have never sanitized the water lines. Not saying its not a bad idea to.

[NavyLCDR]

I typically only sanitize the entire plumbing system once per season, at the same time that I de-winterize. 1/2 cup bleach and fill the freshwater tank (30 gals). With the water filter still removed but with hot water heater back to normal (not bypassed) from winterizing, pump water through all the faucets and showers both hot and cold sides until you get bleach smell. Or use swimming pool test strips to detect chlorine. Let it sit for between 4 to 12 hours. Drain the freshwater tank until empty and the water heater. Refill it to full. Pump at least 1/2 of the freshwater tank through all the faucets and showers, both hot and cold, until no chlorine is detected. The swimming pool test strips work great for verifying no chlorine. Install new water filter cartridge. Good to go for the entire season. NOTE: you do not want to pass chlorinated water through an activated charcoal water filter. One purpose of the filter is to remove chlorine.

Then dump your grey tank(s). I have a gravel driveway and I just dump my grey water right there in the driveway.

[BigH]

Everyone who has ever drank out of an rv water system (sanitized or not) will die...

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by BigH

Everyone who has ever drank out of an rv water system (sanitized or not) will die...

Why drink the water when there is beer?

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by BigH

Everyone who has ever drank out of an rv water system (sanitized or not) will die...

Drink beer, drinking too much water will cause your insides to rust.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Why drink the water when there is beer?

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Drink beer, drinking too much water will cause your insides to rust.

Its good to know I'm not alone in figuring this out...

[Flybob]

I sanitize at the beginning of each season.

[Homebrew]

Originally Posted by Flybob

I sanitize at the beginning of each season.

X2 sanitize tank and all pipes at the beginning of every camping season even if you don’t drink the water or use campground water.
Mold & mildew can grow in water sitting in your pipes and fittings.

[Mike134]

Originally Posted by Flybob

I sanitize at the beginning of each season.

X3!! good for the season.

[mhbraun]

Originally Posted by BigH

Everyone who has ever drank out of an rv water system (sanitized or not) will die...

So will all the rest of us...

[itat]

Originally Posted by gtdkad

Hello,

We are Going camping in 2 weeks. When should I sanitize my water system?

We just use city water hookups but I want to sanitize everything. I haven't used my Windjammer in 2 years.

I'm concerned that if I sanitize my water system today, will it still be "clean" in 2 weeks?

It will not be used from the time of sanitization and until we go camping.

Thanks.

We use our 5er on weekends and a few week-long trips per year. I sanitize the water system each Spring before our first trip. I’ve only sanitized twice in one year once when we discovered that we had partially filled the tank with bad water at a provincial park (no signs at all at the water filling station!).

I drain the water system if the trailer will be sitting for more than 2 weeks between outings. I don’t like to have water sitting unused in the hot trailer for too long. No need to re-sanitize; just flush the lines for a few seconds.

[5picker]

It will be fine in 2 weeks.

We sanitize at the beginning of the season and not after that unless we think we got some bad water somewhere. That has only happened once in more years camping than I care to think about!

We fill our fresh tank with our good quality, limestone filtered well water. We have no qualms drinking it or leaving some in the tank/plumbing between trips. (sometimes a month)

Your water quality may vary.

[5er_tom]

I am very picky about where I get water for the fresh water tank. Here at home it is city water and I still use a filter when I fill. While on the road I check with a CG as to their water source. If it is city water, great. If it is well or spring water, I will not use it. I got burned once and learned the lesson.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Flybob

I sanitize at the beginning of each season.

I sanitize the entire FW systemonce a year when de-winterizing like others here have said.

I keep myself sanitized with beer and/or rum on a daily basis when camping.

[TitanMike]

Rather than just once per year sanitizing I add Clorox to my tank at every fill. About 1/2 tsp per every 5 gallons added (metered).

Chlorinated just like my local utility's water, keeps things from growing in my tank, and before I drink it it goes through the factory filter that takes all taste out. Also keeps filter from having things grow in it.

Amount is what Clorox recommends on their website for purifying "unknown" water.

[ChrisParise]

Fwiw, I santize, with bleach, in the fw tank and lines when I dewinterize. Adding bleach directly into the hose works best for me.

As a final step of dewinterizing, I put a 9 volt water leak detector between the pump and water filter housing just in case something develops a leak. ( My pump and filter are under the bed, and once my filter housing started leaking mid season ruining a weekend away.)

Even after initial checking for leaks, I leave the pump on for several hours after dewinterizing, as the final test for leaks.

Then I find an excuse to go out for a drive to slosh the mixture around in the tank. Letting it sit for few days before draining. I don't rinse after the initial draining.

A few days before a trip, I rinse the fw tank and flush the lines. Then I add enough fresh water at home to last for ntil I arrive at my first campsite with water.

Whenever I add fresh water to my tank away from home I always add Camco water freshener, even though we drink bottled water.

When I get home from a trip, I always drain my fw tank and hw heater.

As far as the hw heater is concerned, it gets bleached once a year at dewinterization along with the fw tank. And drained at the same time the fw tank is drained and rinsed on the same schedule as above.

I treat my hw heater tank with hydrogen peroxide at least once mid season to kill any odor causing bacteria.
And I carry a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the medicine cabinet in case i need to treat the hw heater.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Rather than just once per year sanitizing I add Clorox to my tank at every fill. About 1/2 tsp per every 5 gallons added (metered).

Chlorinated just like my local utility's water, keeps things from growing in my tank, and before I drink it it goes through the factory filter that takes all taste out. Also keeps filter from having things grow in it.

Amount is what Clorox recommends on their website for purifying "unknown" water.

It sounded like a good idea until I thought about it for a moment. It sounds to me as if your water filter is filtering out the chlorine.

That means the water lines downstream from the filter and the water heater are not being sanitized..................Unless sanitize them periodically in addition to the process you just described.

If that is the case a little something extra cannot harm anything, can it?

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Rather than just once per year sanitizing I add Clorox to my tank at every fill. About 1/2 tsp per every 5 gallons added (metered).

Chlorinated just like my local utility's water, keeps things from growing in my tank, and before I drink it it goes through the factory filter that takes all taste out. Also keeps filter from having things grow in it.

Amount is what Clorox recommends on their website for purifying "unknown" water.

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

It sounded like a good idea until I thought about it for a moment. It sounds to me as if your water filter is filtering out the chlorine.

That means the water lines downstream from the filter and the water heater are not being sanitized..................Unless sanitize them periodically in addition to the process you just described.

If that is the case a little something extra cannot harm anything, can it?

I do a full sanitation before my first annual trip then like Mike, I add a bit of chlorine as I fill my FW tank. However, I've moved my filter outside of the trailer. Water get filtered as it goes into the tank, no filtering after that.