Loaded Question: "How easy is it...?"

ron.dittmer wrote:
I think you are most likely mistaken how the entire inside of the tank got so rusted. I can't imagine 5 screws would stain the inside of the tank. I think it is "well" water with a lot of iron in it.

I would put in a bottle of CLR and fill the tank with water to the point of over-flowing. Let sit for many hours and see if the rust stain goes away. Let sit for 24 hours if you have to. Then drain, refill, and drain again.

Many tanks have the drain port on the side very close to the bottom which means when empty, there is still some water in the tank. If this is your case, tip the tank or jack up the rig at an angle to get out as much CLR solution as possible before refilling with water.

Chlorine bleach is great for disinfecting the tank, ridding it of bacteria. But rust is best removed with CLR, Lime Away, or ZEP.

Unless you have good iron free water at home and flush the tank when returning from every trip, the tank will stain again for most camp ground water is well water, and is often naturally iron fortified.

I think you're correct - odds are the water was simply pretty hard. Yep, I know the bleach is only for sanitizing but I figured it might buy me some time with DW.

I did some looking into CLR last night to see if they recommend it. Of course, there's not much on their site about Fresh Water Tanks in an RV.

You can dip your coffee pot in it. But they say "No" to icemakers (perhaps more out of concern for the inner workings.)

I may try CLR after Spring Break if I can convince myself it'll flush out.

Or maybe put my decades old Chem classes to work and figure out how to test for residuals. :)