How long do you store fresh water in tank?

You need to not confuse the septic smell with fresh water unless you are from a very mineral rich water system (South West) the water tends to be odorless.

Yes Fresh Water may go INTO your 'FRESH water' tank smelling just fine.

Now, USING the fresh water within your coach add dirty soap from washing and showering, toothpaste, spit, grease, food stuffs etc ALL that then goes INTO your "GRAY" water HOLDING tank.

It is NOT odorless when dumped on the ground.

I have been parked next to people who drain their gray on the ground, it STINKS and STINKS bad. Don't care what the laws about it are, it is INCONSIDERATE of other campers to dump your gray tank at your site.

Water left over a long period of time will get stale and develop a rather sour unpleasant smell. RV accessory stores usually sell water fresheners either in a powder form or as a liquid. Most folks will drain and sanitize their system when they have this situation.

NEVER more than TWO years....Dennis

- wrote:
I drain every thing and refill each time, clean in the spring.

I drain my tank after every trip, including the hot water tank and the low point drains. I tend to drink the water that comes out of the tap on my RV. Of course, we fill up from home/city water prior to going anywhere, so we know the water is reliable. I haven't had full hookups lately as I've only camped at Ohio state parks. Looking forward to having FHU in the near future, however.

What 2gypsies said! This coach was bought new in May 2012. Sanitized the tank then - who knew what had happened while it was on the lot. Haven't done anything but use it and refill it. We use it for all our water needs, Tiffin has set the filter "after" the tank so last step before our use is through the filter.

When connected to our municipal water here when we are not traveling, I always keep the fresh water tank completely full. We never know when we may need fresh water during hurricane season. If we sit the storm out or if we have to evacuate, we want to leave with a full tank. In several decades of RV travel, we have never had our water go bad to the point that it either stunk, tasted bad, or made us sick. We do have the under sink filter for any drinking or cooking water.
I would worry about an empty tank, that is NOT completely drained(how can you tell you drained every drop) that is full of air and has a better chance of breeding mold than a completely full tank of chlorinated water.

As full-timers we used our fresh tank continuously for 16 years, including drinking and cooking from it. We never drained it and never sanitized it.

If you're part-timers, letting it set a month would be just fine. However, before heading home, use that water and let it get down low for when it's at home. When you're ready to take off again you'll be filling it for more use and that will 'freshen up' the water.

Even if you drain it all the time when you get home, you will never get the moisture out of the tank and there will still be a small amount of water in the bottom below the drain plug. So keeping the water in your tank isn't going to make any difference.

I remember googling this and I think I read that FEMA states 6 months.

I use chlorine that I use for my hot tub to sanitize at the start of the season/spring. We do drink our water in addition to bottled water -- there are tons of people on here that do drink the water they store.

I've had my City water in my tanks for over a year at certain times, then refill when needed. I don't sanitize my tanks and I don't drink that water. Just for bathing purposes only.

DanTheRVMan wrote:

Busskipper wrote:

TNGW1500SE wrote:
How long do you store CITY fresh water in the fresh water tank before you get concerned?

Drain before it freezes - that's it - it's water it will not go BAD.

JMHO,

Water goes BAD

I have lived on two coldesacs and the water would start smelling when snowbirds left for the season due to low flow. Chlorine dissipates over time.

"Clean" water has microbes in it at low levels tolerable to us with no ill effect. Once Chlorine dissipates microbes can multiply.

The quicker you use it or drain it the better, but I do not know the shelf life of clean water and your plumbing system. It is a good question.

We use a pur filter to reduce Cryptosporidium levels or drink bottled water

OK - the water is still WATER - I use it to wash with and in the 50 years of doing this rv thing the only water that went bad was... None it was still water - but in respect to my wife we drink bottled water and and I put something that kill Microbes in with the Ice :S a Canadian Mix :B

I keep hoping that it might change to something more valuable - but every winter when I drain the Grass still loves it and well.... that is the end on "How long do YOU store City water"

On the couple years we wintered in the RV it actually lasted a lot longer.

You need to not confuse the septic smell with fresh water unless you are from a very mineral rich water system (South West) the water tends to be odorless.

JMHO

Busskipper

:B;):p:B

:W