Forum Discussion
Deb_and_Ed_M
Dec 24, 2015Explorer II
Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I know and understand "Water" is millions of years old...
but what lives in water, or grows in water...
my reason... I am Healthy for 63 (No Med's).. but my wife is another story.. and she gets ill easily . and she takes about 10 pills a day..
I was a "Water Technician" (owned a pool/spa store) and your thinking is correct: stuff DOES grow in wet or damp locations. The most common bacteria is called pseudomonas: a bunch of it will make water smell "swampy", and if you run your finger on the inside of a water line, it will feel slimy. That's because pseudomonas secretes a slime layer to protect itself from dry periods and invasions, like chlorine ;-) It's why you should let the hose run briefly before using it to fill the freshwater tank - it will blow out any un-attached pseudomonas.
Even if you sanitize your tanks with chlorine, it's doubtful you'll ever kill everything growing inside the plumbing. While ingesting some bacteria won't bother most people - in the case of your wife's more fragile health - I would recommend using bottled, purified water for drinking. Go ahead and shower and cook with fresh-smelling tank water. Try to fill the freshwater tank with city (chlorinated) water when you can; or add a freshwater additive to well water. Bleach isn't always a good sanitizer because it has a very short shelf-life.
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