Dewinterizing - first trip without sewer

rhagfo wrote:
I need to "Winterize" any where from three to six times a year, we winter camp. Most seem to believe the the Pink stuff is the way to go. DW has sensitive taste, great for cooking, bad for pink stuff. I have adopted draining and blowing the lines, my Pacbrake compressor does a fine job. takes about 20 minutes each time. almost zero water in the lines. Never a bad taste in the water system.

I've thought about not using the pink stuff the last couple years but chickened out and used it as I live in MN and afraid the blowing method will not get all the water. Chicken in MN!!

I need to "Winterize" any where from three to six times a year, we winter camp. Most seem to believe the the Pink stuff is the way to go. DW has sensitive taste, great for cooking, bad for pink stuff. I have adopted draining and blowing the lines, my Pacbrake compressor does a fine job. takes about 20 minutes each time. almost zero water in the lines. Never a bad taste in the water system.

X2 on waiting for the first CG stop.

When I leave up North to go South I leave the MH winterized. I de winterize at the first CG stop or if its still cold maybe the next the further south I get. Parked and hooked up makes it a lot easier to do what you need.

LakeN wrote:
Just dewinterized at home prior to a trip. Rather than bleach, I used Taste Pure to treat fresh water tank + lines. You dont have to flush out several times. We use a basic water filter + water was fine to drink.

I never heard of Taste Pure before, so looked it up online. Camping World sells Taste Pure Drinking Water Freshener. This stuff obviously isn't meant for use in sanitizing water systems, as their material safety data sheet (MSDS) says it is only a 0.4% solution of sodium hypochlorite. Regular household bleach that most of us use for sanitizing is a 5.25% solution of sodium hypochlorite (bleach MSDS). The standard formula for sanitizing is 2 ounces of household bleach for each 15 gallons of water, so the suggested 2 ounces of Taste Pure Drinking Water Freshener per 20 gallons is going to be way too weak to do anything in the way of sanitizing.

There is a TastePure Dewinterizer, with a 12% sodium hypochlorite strength (MSDS),but at about $18 for 16 ounces it's way more expensive than the few ounces of $3.69/gallon household bleach needed to do the same job.

Do it at home and dump once you get to campground. Easy peasy.

Just dewinterized at home prior to a trip. Rather than bleach, I used Taste Pure to treat fresh water tank + lines. You dont have to flush out several times. We use a basic water filter + water was fine to drink.

I like getting a spot at a CG for sanitizing, if just for a night. This way, I can take my time without hogging a dump station. I like doing a fairly thorough job of sanitizing, so I might as well get everything done the right way.

If you can't do it at home just dump along the way, many RV parks charge a nominal fee to do so. We have many fuel stations that offer free dumping as well in our neck of the woods, but we always just do it at home. Have a great trip!!!

Not sure where you are staying but most CG's that don't have site hookups always have a dump station on the grounds.

Another place is other CG's on your way. You just pull and use their dump station.

Also many rest areas have dump stations you can de winterize at before you get to your destination, you just have to look for them and/or just look for this sign as you are driving;



I don't plan my trips and when I need to dump while on the road I 'always' can find one.

robsouth wrote:
I don't understand why you can't just dewinterize and sanitize at home before you leave. What do you need to dump the tanks on the way in? Why not put bleach in your FW tank, pump in to lines, let sit, drain and be done with it all before you leave home?

This is what I plan to do also. No different than washing a car at home. Very diluted bleach and rv antifreeze should harm nothing when draining.