Potable Water

If water sits in the holding tank bacteria can grow in it over time. I carry a 8oz bottle of household bleach (which straight from the bottle is already 95% water). A tank in regular use only needs 1/2 ounce of bleach for every 100 gallons of water. If the water is going to sit for months then the amount of bleach to add is 1.6 ounces per 100 gallons of water or about three times the concentration.

This is from the FEMA guidelines for using and storing drinking water. The treated water is safer to drink than any bottled water you can buy in the store and the cost is pennies instead of dollars per gallon.

Here's a good source for RV filtering information.

RV Water Filtering

We've full-timed for 17 years and public parks are always our first choice (national, state, COE, county, city, forest service).

We have two filters and never hesitate using our onboard water holding tank. We don't buy water and have never had a problem with any water source we've used. We have never sanitized our holding tank.

Ajones42

You are correct. The system you describe should be excellent for purifying really bad water. Having a water treatment system using UV light at the end of the process should kill viruses and any bacteria that managed to slip through the earlier stages.

I was referring to the type of filtration systems that are commonly sold for home use.

I rarely drink plain water. Coffee, tea, cider, beer and wine are much better. On average, British people drink about 25% of the amount of plain water that Americans do. Bake in the late 1950's to mid 60's, when I was working in the UK, none of the companies I worked at had drinking fountains in their buildings. The cafeteria folks used to come through the factory and office buildings with tea twice a day.

Shearwater wrote:


Filters either remove sediment or absorb bad flavors in the water. None of them sterilize it.

Not entirely true. We have been offgrid for 3 years as South Texas gate guards and routinely drink/cook with water from questionable sources. No ill effects at all during this time period.

We use sediment filters, charcoal filters, a sterasyl ceramic filter and a UV light filter to attain this level.

More info on my blog should you so desire....

MyOldRV

Shadow Catcher wrote:
yes it goes down to the virus level.
F

I'm curious as to what company with household type systems claims virus filtration?
bumpy

Check my article here that includes sanitizing fresh water tanks. Though we have different rigs the process is the same.

http://roadtrek190popular.blogspot.com/2012/05/de-winterizing-and-sanitizing-fresh.html

We drink the water from out fresh water tanks. When I fill the tank I use a filter on the hose filling the tanks and I have a household filter on the faucet. Double filtered and when we start a trip all of the water is from my own house. There is no reason not to drink it.

All water going into our teardrop trailer tank goes through one two or three filters depending on source. I can pump water from a river or lake and make it potable the final most exclusive filter being General Ecology NBC filter, nuclear biological chemical, and yes it goes down to the virus level.
For good very effective filters check.
http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/

There is so much chlorine in most RV parks my dog won't even drink the water. It burns my eyes when I take a shower. City folks are just used to drinking that much chlorine and don't notice it.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I did a survey on these forums a few months ago about winterizing and drinking from your RV's water system. About 50% of the folk that responded (very unofficial results here), drink from their RV. The other half uses bottled water for drinking and cooking. So it all comes down to you own choice.

If you are careful with the water system in your camper, if you sanatize, (or at least are hooked up to a city water instead of a well ... because city water already has chlorine in it, and if you drain your tanks, your water heater, and don't invite risky water, there's no reason why you should be concerned about drinking from your own RV. It's only as safe as the water you put in it.

Now, if you're pumping directly from a sludge pool, well ... you better boil.

Far too often they use way to much, I've had city water taste like drinking from a Clorox bottle, I'll keep using my well water, thank you.(Unless you have sulphur water)