Left Bleach in FW tank…ooops. How long is safe?

Household bleach is already diluted to a 5% solution - check the container. EPA recommends adding bleach to drinking water that is going to be stored for any length of time. Treating the fresh water tank is the easiest way to insure that the water that is left in the hot water tank after draining does not have a problem later with bacteria as the drain sits high and the last two gallons stay inside unless you use an external pump.

4 teaspoons of household bleach is enough to protect 20 gallons of drinking water for months. I do this for all water we add while traveling as I know better than to blindly trust what comes out of a public tap much less a plastic bottle.

HuckFinn410 wrote:
OP here.
Just thought I'd follow up on my own original post....I like it when others do it, so I thought that I would.

Fair enough. Thanks for the follow up. So many post a question and then disappear. Glad you didn't have any problems.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
.....bleach even in dilution can affect seals/gaskets.

What proof do you have of this?

OP here. Just to follow up on this. After about 3 weeks (that's as soon as I could make it to the camper) of approx. 3 cups of bleach sitting in my 30 gallon fresh water tank, I drained it and all is fine. No adverse effects....and the smell of bleach was minimal. I did run some through all the water line and drained and refilled the fresh tank.

It's sparkling clean now!

Just thought I'd follow up on my own original post....I like it when others do it, so I thought that I would.

Household bleach from the local supermarket has already been diluted to a 5% solution. 2 cups in 30 gallons of water takes the 5% solution to a 0.02 percent solution.

Per the EPA for drinking water that is going to sit for months all you need to add to 30 gallons of water is 6 ounces of household bleach. The only time to use more is if you get a bacterial buildup as in the hot water tank and get the sulfur smell in which case you can shock the tank by using 4x the bleach in the FW tank and running the water through the hot water tank and letting it sit overnight and then drain everything (though you will not be able to completely drain the hot water tank unless you use a pump to remove all the water).

For drinking and cooking, I buy gallon jugs of distilled water. They're pretty cheap. I've found that the potable water in CGs can have an "off" taste, especially when making coffee or brushing my teeth. Not bad, just different. The fresh water tank in the MH is used for washing, flushing and showers. Same with the local water in CG hookups.

Suggest not putting bleach in black and grey tanks. Kill bacteria culture which is necessary for waster break down. The bleach will not hurt anything in the water tanks. Sometimes if left in toooo long it will crystallize and plug pump screens. I would suggest running diluted baking soda water through after evacuating the bleach to sweeten the system again.

Hmm, I'll have to let my parents know this. They've used bleach in the washer that dumps into their septic for 40 yrs. Hopefully they catch it in time.....

I'll keep using it in mine as well.

srt20 wrote:

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
When you use any chlorine product please be mindful of where it is going when you dump. Bleach is very destructive to on site digestive wastewater systems.
Municipal systems that use aeration for wastewater treatment can handle a lot more chlorine.

So is bleach harmful to use in my washer at home? I have a digestive system.

yes. Bleach kills the microbes necessary to digest solids in septic tanks. When you must use bleach do it in a container you can dump out on your driveway, sunshine breaks down unstabilized chlorine into harmless salt (NaCl) compounds in minutes.
Call your state dept. having jurisdiction on wastewater treatment. Not Your local septic pump out company. They want to sell you enzymes and pump your tank.
Back to topic, the state officers can also advise on sanitation of holding tanks, . EPA recommended amount of super chlorination is variable dependent on PPM/ Hrs for sterilization.
As a rule of thumb, for routine maintenance, a 50 PPM treatment with household 5.5% calcium hypochlorite bleach for 2 hours will sanitize an unsuspect system.
Fouled systems, like one with odors from hot water tanks require a 100 PPM 4 hr. treatment, followed with flushing.
Research EPA Ground Water Rules (GWR) for non community water systems which covers most rural campgrounds.
Firstly , test your own well for total coliform. Your state drinking water program officers will guide you on testing, on disposal of chlorinated water.
Max

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
When you use any chlorine product please be mindful of where it is going when you dump. Bleach is very destructive to on site digestive wastewater systems.
Municipal systems that use aeration for wastewater treatment can handle a lot more chlorine.

So is bleach harmful to use in my washer at home? I have a digestive system.