Vinegar to clean water system..How and how much?

If I was looking at scaling like that, I think I would look at a water softener in front of your rv. I would also use white vinegar, as opposed to cider; seems to be a little less odor, although the acidity is a little lower. I wouldn't worry about the vinegar and the bleach. The vinegar will only lower the pH which actually makes the bleach a more effective biocide. (brand new to RV camping, but 36 years in water treatment).

Full strength on the vinegar or get a commercially mfg scale/calcium remover if the scale is causing issues.
Separate note on hard water spots on paint or gelcoat, vinegar /water or vinegar/water/spray wax mix does wonders on baked on water spots. I have a black gel coat boat that shows water spots froma mile away, lol. There are commercial products but IMO vinegar works about as good as any of the high dollar water spot removers. It's standard issue for wiping down boats.

Dano1955 wrote:
Do the inline water filters take care of removing the hard water minerals to alleviate this?

No, you need a real water softener.

Do the inline water filters take care of removing the hard water minerals to alleviate this?

Wet side of Oregon and Washington have "soft" water - unless you have been drawing water on regular basis from well or camping out of state you likely don't have scale issue.

I assume you will do this after you buy a water softener?
bumpy

And, don't forget to clean all of the aerators and shower head after this procedure. If the water is as hard as you show they will likely be plugged up with all of the deposits you have dislodged. A better idea may be to remove the aerators before starting. Don't forget to flush the water heater as well.
RichH

Hard water has a lot of calcium and magnesium carbonate. When this stuff comes out of the water, it makes a hard deposit (like a rock). This happens anywhere the water is heated, or where water sits and then dries up. It's worse in your water heater, because heating causes it to deposit faster. You will also notice deposits that cause annoying problems around your shower head holes, the sink, at the water level in the toilet bowl, and a lot of soap scum in the shower.

I live in a hard water area, and the deposits don't normally cause problems directly in piping---it's at the point where the water comes out and dries up. I don't think it will cause you problems in the RV tank or plumbing, and the deposits are NOT harmful to people. They are just unsightly and annoying.

Best thing is to flush the water heater often and be prepared to replace the heating element often. You can remove the deposits on the shower head by soaking it in vinegar. Spray down the shower/tub with vinegar. Soak a paper towel in vinegar and lay it on the deposits around the sink & faucet, so the vinegar stays in place and works.

I doubt you have a big problem in the fresh water tank. But if you want to get deposits out of the plumbing, buy some cheap generic vinegar, and pump it in through the winterizing valve, without bypassing the water heater. Do not dilute the vinegar. Open up all the fixtures and run some through all the hot and cold lines. Be sure to leave some fixtures open after the pump is turned off. Dissolving the mineral deposits produces carbon dioxide gas, and it needs somewhere to vent.

Vinegar will NOT sanitize your system. So follow with a fresh water flush, then a bleach fill & flush.

Don't leave the vinegar in the system to mix with bleach. It is not harmful, but will break down the bleach so it's not effective.

That is really hard water (60 grains/gallon).
Do not dilute, use 100 percent solution, leave taps open and leave it sit overnight.

With what you've got going on there, I'd skip the vinegar and use liquid water softener cleaner. The green liquid has phosphoric acid. Pour the whole bottle into the fresh water tank with five gallons of water and pump it into the system. After it's sat for hours, open your drains and dump. Follow with any typical sanitizing or rinsing process.