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antifreeze in fresh water tank

jking006
Explorer
Explorer
hello every one,

I bought a class c last summer that needed some mechanical work.
long story short is most mechanical work is done and looking forward to taking a few trips this summer.. It has been sitting for a few years and was winterized the entire time it sat.. however someone put about 5 gallons of the antifreeze in the tank.
my question is whats best to clean it out and is the tank still safe to use for fresh potable water????
23 REPLIES 23

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
do the water lines at the same time fill flush. etc. bleach ,let sit couple hrs on the bleach.

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
To clean out the tank, all you can do is drain it, add more water, drain it, add more water, drain it, add more water. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the tank is clean. Once it's cleaned out, run water through all the lines and flush, flush, flush. When no more foam in the water occurs, it's finally all cleaned out.

Last step, since it's been sitting so long, is to sanitize. (Bleach or city water as City Water has chlorine in the water.) The stronger the bleach, the faster it sanatizes. But the strong the bleach, the more caustic it is on valves, and such, So make sure you rinse well the bleach water after sanitizing too.

One more little tip. When you get ready to sanatize, fill the tank with water-bleach solution and take the camper out for a good drive. The sloshing in the tank will wash the top, sides, and bottoms and reach every speck inside the tank. Then drain after driving around. The beating around of the water will help break anything loose that might be clinging to the inside walls. So when filling, don't fill it all the way, leave some space (air) so it can slosh real good.

The driving and sloshing is probably the best way to pulverize and break up anything in both black and gray tank, and to clean your fresh tank really good.

Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Explorer
I would drain and refill and drain several times. Personally, we never drink out of our fresh water tank( has a slight plastic taste")anyway but use it for toilet, showers, dishes, and fill a 3 gal. container for drinking. Then our drinking water is always fresh.
Jayco-noslide

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
I'd be rinsing and draining with HOT water, many many times. Sounds nasty.
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

jking006
Explorer
Explorer
the tank is easy to get to. looks easy to remove.. hardest part I can see to take it out would be the drain goes through the side of the body.. other than that its under the seating area behind the drivers seat..

vic46
Explorer
Explorer
Non-potable antifreeze is TOXIC! You could get it tested to determine what it truly is. If non-potable you need to investigate your options regarding making the tank safe for potable use. If potable many flushes with a bleach treatment would be in order. After the notes period of time the tank may be beyond regeneration. How accessible is the tank?
[COLOR=]Never argue with an idiot. You will be dragged down to their level and then beaten with experience.

jking006
Explorer
Explorer
I am not sure what type it is.. it is redish color so I would assume it is the rv potable stuff.. I do know it stinks pretty bad.. I opened the faucet on the galley sink before I knew it was in the tanks and a really bad odor came out that sent me outside gagging..

Johno02
Explorer
Explorer
Drain it, flush it WELL. flush lines, If it was RV antifreeze, OK to drink, Radiator antifreeze, flush a lot more with city water, Maybe do the bleach sanitize thing, OK to use. Either case may have a bit of residual odor or taste, should not be any problem health wise. It will go away, but may take a while. Reason to use city water is for the chlorine used to purify. Bleach cycle does the same, bleach taste is better than antifreeze.
Noel and Betty Johnson (and Harry)

2005 GulfStream Ultra Supreme, 1 Old grouch, 1 wonderful wife, and two silly poodles.

vic46
Explorer
Explorer
Do you know what kind of antifreeze? Potable or not potable?
[COLOR=]Never argue with an idiot. You will be dragged down to their level and then beaten with experience.