Most dont sanitize water heater?

TechWriter wrote:
How about a couple of links to those articles?

Here you go:
https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/maintenance/how-to-get-rid-of-your-rv-water-heaters-rotten-egg-smell/#:~:text=Why%20does%20the%20camper%20smell,used%20for%20flushing%20water%20heaters.&text=Most%20people%20who%20own%20RVs%20smell%20this%20awful%20odor%20at%20least%20once.

https://www.hot-water-heaters-reviews.com/atwood-rv-water-heater-is-producing-rotten-egg-smell.html

And this one is from this exact forum:
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27456344/print/true.cfm

When sanitizing water tank and pipes, do heater also...why not ...only 6 gallons more.

TurnThePage wrote:
It takes lots of vinegar and time to kill whatever it is that lurks in the water heaters. Bleach doesn't do it. There's plenty of articles about it out there in google land.

How about a couple of links to those articles?

RLS7201 wrote:
Interesting how some of us have sanitation problems and some don't.
I have never sanitized any of my freshwater system and don't have any smell or get sick from using it. I have an Atwood WH and winterize for about 3 months every year. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Richard

Not really, It all depends on how you RV. If you are fulltiming and at a CG with good approved water, you will constantly cycle all the water on a daily basis. What usually causes the smell problem is people that store the RV for months or years at a time without draining the Water Heater. Add to the fact that they may NOT have had the best water in the Heater to begin with and then you get the smell. Since you never really know the quality of the water you fill with or use around the country, sanitizing is a good thing to do on a regular basis. I have had customers buy a brand new Diesel and after their first 2 week trip come back and complain about lack of water volume/pressure. The problem was, their brand new Cartridge whole house water filter was clogged with sand. Where they stayed had more than just clear water in the supply. The filter did its job. Doug

I sanitize mine with bleach. Have had that rotten egg smell a few times over the years and the water came from a well at the campgrounds we stayed at. I dump about half a cup or a little more into the WH,fill with water, let it sit for a few hours than drain, rinse and fill for using.

Full timing we've never had an issue.

If you are going to leave it set for a month, pull the drain plug. If it's dry inside, you won't get a lot of growth. Takes less time than running bleach thru the system. Also, let's you keep an eye on the annode condition.

It takes lots of vinegar and time to kill whatever it is that lurks in the water heaters. Bleach doesn't do it. There's plenty of articles about it out there in google land.

dougrainer wrote:

Dusty R wrote:
I have found from servicing home water heaters, that its the anode rod going bad that is the cause of the rotten egg smell.

OK, then what causes the egg smell in an Atwood water heater that has no Anode rod? Doug

Bacteria. Naturally occuring in some water sources And they love hot water! Had my Atwood do this once. Had sanitized in the spring, but then for the rest of the summer used just CG water. All previous trips the water seemed fine. But then it sat for a couple of weeks unused, and a couple of days into the final two week trip the smell came. No idea which source they came from. From further research, not in any way a health issue. But the water does smell bad. Re-sanitizing fixed it.

Interesting how some of us have sanitation problems and some don't.
I have never sanitized any of my freshwater system and don't have any smell or get sick from using it. I have an Atwood WH and winterize for about 3 months every year. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Richard

Dusty R wrote:
I have found from servicing home water heaters, that its the anode rod going bad that is the cause of the rotten egg smell.

OK, then what causes the egg smell in an Atwood water heater that has no Anode rod? Doug