Testing Drinking Water
Does anyone know where I can find Test strips to check my incoming water for bacteria? I want to do the Bleach gig to my lines but really want to check the water afterwards.
Forum Discussion
ro_sie wrote:
I am with you myredracer. that's why I do the best I can for us. and that's using bottled water. I have always said, we don't use that motorhome enough to feel safe about the waterlines. With municipal water lines, they are used frequently so things don't sit and grow. I agree with you, most rvers have no understanding of bacteria and its growth. Pluse, we just upgraded and a new to us MoHO and not knowing where it has been or how it was used , I choose to be as safe as I can be.
BTW, you can call me mywhiteracer. 79 L82 :)
One thing I discovered, except for maybe across the southern US, is that water in CGs stagnates over the winter and provides a really good environment for biological matter to grow and flourish. Sometimes there can also be a long supply line to a CG that supplies no other users on it. Then along comes the start of the next season and the folks that are among the first users in the new season can get a nice dose of some nasty stuff. Good practice is for a CG to flush their lines at the start of each season but doubt many bother. I had a good conversation with the manager of the municipal water district in Blaine, Wa. a few years ago and the result was what you see in the photo below. The particular CG was told in the past by the water district to flush their lines each season but apparently the CG decided it wasn't needed.
Bottled water... That is a whole other separate and interesting topic on potable drinking water! There is pre-bottled water and then the bulk water refill stations. Bottled water has a higher level of regulation but it's testing and enforcement is questionable. Bulk water regs. are much more lax in comparison and you won't know exactly how the water was treated/filtered before it went into your container. This is an area I haven't looked into much but I suspect some (or many?) bulk water dispensing stations simply use "city" water without or with minimal filtration and treatment. Bottled water containers are also an environmental nightmare. And if you get a glass of water at a restaurant, what do you really know about it?
BTW, my red racer is a '68 FA 1300/124 (one of about only 250 ever made and few left). :)
