Water System Sanitization

[MtnGuy]

I just sanitized the water system in my Surveyor yesterday, and thought I would post the procedure just in case it might help others.

Starting with a system that is supposedly empty of water ( I blew the lines last fall, added antifreeze, then blew the lines again), I started adding water to my fresh water tank. I measured out ½ cup of bleach (1/4 cup per 15 gallons of water for my 30 gallon tank) and mixed about 1/3 of that into an old ½ gallon milk jug just about full of water. When the tank indicator hit 1/3 tank, I used a funnel and a hose to add that to the fresh water tank. I added another mixture when the indicator hit 2/3 full, and another when it indicated full. I then topped off the tank until it came out of the fill tube. I then took the trailer on a 20 mile spin down the road, allowing the bleach to mix in the tank, and also to make sure it splashes up on the top of the tank.

After getting home, my next step is to pump the water into all of the pipes. Cutting the water pump on, I open each valve at the faucets until water flows freely. Surprisingly, I got pink foam out of all of the faucets, and also in the water filter canister. This indicates to me that even though the lines were blown, there are still pockets of antifreeze (or water) in the pipes. That is why I go to the trouble of blowing the lines in the fall, and then adding antifreeze, and then blowing the lines again…..instead of water in the pockets, antifreeze is present to prevent those areas from freezing.

Even though I don’t drink the water from the water heater, and hot water should kill any kind of growth there, I also switched my water heater valves to fill the water heater. I just like the extra precaution of doing that. As I let everything sit for a while, I added a couple of teaspoons of bleach to my milk jug again, and begin filling all of my water hoses, which are now connected together. When I have as much water/bleach solution as possible in those, I connect the 2 remaining ends, I walk the line a couple of times, raising the hose as I go to make sure the water gets to all of the areas. I then hook up the hose to the city water connection and an outdoor faucet, and flush that water into the camper….that should sanitize my fresh water hoses and also the city water leg of the system.

Next, I drain the fresh water tank, and fill it with fresh water, and also drain the hot water tank. I again drive around, but this time just through the hood……I want water splashing on the top again, but don’t need to worry about mixing what is in the tank. I switch the valves back to the winter position on the water tank, to prevent the bleach solution in the lines from going into the water heater. I begin flushing the lines for a minute or so, and then empty my water filter canister….that and the water heater are both dead areas that would be almost impossible to completely flush the bleach solution out. I then open all of the faucets 1 at a time for more flushing. After rinsing the water heater anode rod, I reinstall that, and switch the bypass valves back to the water heater, and fill that. I continue to flush out of all of the faucets until I get my water tank down to where I want it for the next trip. I empty the gray tank, and I am ready to go camping.

Please give me suggestions if you see something that doesn't seem correct.