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InTheRockies's avatar
InTheRockies
Explorer
Sep 18, 2021

Sediment in Freshwater System - Need Help!

Hi folks. I have what appears to be an orange/rust colored sediment in my travel trailer’s fresh water system. I had been using the freshwater tank without issue, and then filled it up at my last campground and noticed severe discoloration of the water coming out of the faucets and into the toilet bowl. I tried sanitizing the tank with a bleach mixture (I hadn’t really observed the issue to be sediment at that time) and it is still orange water when I run the water pump.

I plan to drain the remainder of the fresh water tank tomorrow and capture as much of the water as I can in a bucket to see if it’s discolored. I can also try using the bypass on my pump to pump what I know to be clean water through the pump and see if it runs clear or not.

Any other suggestions on what to try and troubleshoot, and if it is sediment deposits in the tank, how do I flush it out? That stuff just settles and seems like just filling the tank with clean water a few times might not wash all the heavier sediment deposits out.

Thanks in advance for your help.
  • Put a whole house filter on the hose you fill the tank with and that ill help to mitigate debris ending up in the tank
  • Always use a filter on water going into the camper.

    If I had iron deposits in my fresh water tank. I would fill the tank with filtered water. Open the drain and drive the camper on rough roads while it was draining the water. Hoping some of the deposits get suspended in the water and flushed out. May even do it twice.
  • AJR wrote:
    Always use a filter on water going into the camper.

    If I had iron deposits in my fresh water tank. I would fill the tank with filtered water. Open the drain and drive the camper on rough roads while it was draining the water. Hoping some of the deposits get suspended in the water and flushed out. May even do it twice.


    Water containing iron cannot be completely filtered with conventional filters, they only remove the larger particles.

    Driving around is a good idea if you can find a place where you won't splattering motorcyclists or affecting others.
  • Should also clean the strainer on the water pump. It can trap grit contained in the water from the fresh water tank.
  • Thanks again all. I flushed the fresh water tank with filtered water several times and it’s clear now. I checked the strainer on the water pump and it was pretty clean. Appreciate all the help and education I received here!

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