charles wrote:
I was having that problem on a regular basis. It ended up being the garden hose I was using to fill the tank. I sanitized it with a cup of bleach and fresh water from a new hose. Since using the new hose, I can let it sit for months with no odors. I never drink or cook with the water from the tank but I could not take the sulphur smell, so far so good.
Nick
Good advice from Charles;
I would add:
As a shock treatment (Sanitise when bacteria and algae are present of suspected use three pints of bleach per 100 gallons.
Add the bleach to a partially full tank then add water to spread the bleach throughout the tank.
Run all the fresh water taps until you smell bleach then shut them off.
Let the tank and system sit for 24 hours them drain. Flush all the water lines with fresh water until no more bleach odor can be detected at the taps.
Fill and drain the fresh water tank. If the draining water appears dirty, refill and flush until it runs clean and then add more bleach and let it sit again. You won't need as much bleach this time if the stink is gone.
When you are all done there may be some residual bleach smell but this will not be harmful and will dissipate as you draw from and refill the tank.
Bleach taste and smell can be easily removed from the water with a carbon filter such as the Brita filter.
We regularly add a few teaspoons of bleach when filling the tank, especially when we are filling from a natural campground or any source which may not have chlorinated water.
We use the tank water for washing, cooking and drinking. Drinking water goes through a carbon filter to a separate tap. We don't drink from the tank while in Mexico but we do cook, wash and brush our teeth with it. We also have a three stage filter for filling from sources that may be less than perfect such as wells, and when in Mexico.
