~ “White H 2 O Hose / Fresh Water Tank

[Metaphor_7182]

NFG here; happy befuddled owner of a ‘new’ 97 RT (still looking for the manuals RT references in the “Owners Manual”). :h

I have read a good bit on the different types of hose used to fill the fresh water tank and that the white hose is recommended (lead ppm and such). There is [are] also many conversations on the how to / why to sanitize the fresh water tank. Not seeing any threads on the how to / why to sanitize the hose. :?

Comments on the how you do TLC of the “white” hose are requested.

[sadiesassy]

I am new to Rv and have a question basedon this topic.

1. When you sanitize What do you do with the filter in the trailer ? Sanitize it also, remove it? Other?

2. WHen you complete a trip do you remove the water filter in the trailer and dry itor just let it sit there?

[wny_pat1]

Ron3rd wrote:

Mr.Beebo wrote:
Every white hose I ever purchased was junk in short order. Kinked, frayed, split, etc. They were useless after one season so I never concerned myself with cleaning them.

Same experience here, but I bought the cheap white hoses from WalMart, total junk. They do make quality fresh water hoses that won't kink but they're not cheap.

Ron is right. They do make very good drinking water hoses. And like anything else, you pay for what you get! Mine are on their third motorhome.

[wintersun]

I carry 3 hoses. One that is 10' long which is what I use 85% of the time and is easy to take out and put away after use. It works to get water at any full hookup campsite and most dump stations where there is potable water available. If the 10' is not long enough I get out the 25' that is a white semi-flat hose that does not kink like the fabric ones.

The third 25' long hose is one of the fabric type that rolls up to be very compact but is a pain to use as it kinks very easily. If I am stopping off at a friend's house I will use the two 25' and sometimes the 10' to reach from an outside spigot to the camper.

I carry a small funnel with a short piece of plastic hose to use to add bleach to the fresh water tank which in turn shocks any bacteria in the hot water tank. The hot water tank never gets exposed to air and so anerobic bacteria can quickly grow and produce water with a nasty sulphur smell. It only takes a single teaspon of household bleach for every 10 gallons of fresh water to treat it.

Part of the problem is that even with draining the hot water tank there is a lot of water stays in the tank unless you use air pressure to blow it out. With the 6 and 10 gallon Atwood tanks simply removing the drain plug will leave 2 quarts of water sitting inside the hot water tank.

[stickdog]

Jim Cindy wrote:
When I sanitize the freshwater system, I unroll the fresh water hose and hold both ends up in one hand and put some bleach in one end. Does not take a lot. Then while still holding both ends up, add water until it comes out the other end. Screw both ends together and let it lay for an hour or so. Flush hose with fresh water.
Like has been said, don't obsess over it.

+1

[tenbear]

When I sanitize the fresh water tank each spring I put the water/bleach mix in the hose then use the hose to fill the tank. Never had a problem and we do drink the water from the tank.

When we store the hoses we always connect both ends of the hose so it is completely sealed.

[joanne0012]

It is possible to survive without sanitizing everything. Just run the hose for a minute before you fill the tank, to wash out anything that has accumulated. And when you're done, screw the two ends together to keep out debris and varmints.

[wa8yxm]

There are basically two or 3 ways to sanitize the white hose.

1: Most city water has enough bleach in it (Chlorine) to do the job just using the hose to fill the tank.. Park or Well water may or may not.

2: You can do this.. Fill the fresh tank 1/2 full, Mix up your bleach solution and using a funnel pour all but about 1 quart/liter (Exact amount not critical) into the tank, Blow out or otherwise drain the hose. and using a smaller funnel put that last quart/liter into the hose, Hook back up and finish filling the tank.

3:Using a 1/2 inch IPT to garden hose adapter,,, Disconnect the outside shower head from the hose (Many of them will fit said adapter. a nipple may be needed though) don't worry about a bit of leakage.. open the shower valve and pump sanatizing solution through the line. When it has flowed out the other end a while (Say 30 seconds) replace the shower head and finish the job.. You need not re-connect to the shower for the fresh water rinse out.

[richardcoxid]

When I lived in town with chlorinated water I never worried about it. Now that I live in the country and have my own un-chlorinated water deep (about 175') well after every camping trip I-

Before draining the water tank I add a little chlorine to the tank, let it set while unloading, pump some thru the piping then drain the tank and open the low point drains.

When packing for the next trip I fiush the residue from the water tank, flush the piping then fill the tank.

[Metaphor_7182]

Been a long time back packer (80 lb and at times less in a ruck) never had a second thought about the canteens / bladders. I figured to ‘sanitize’ the hose that came with the RT and save some $. :B

It’s one of those kinkless expensive ones, in the middle of a wash/soak and a 10% solution flush through later today. @ Relaxin, that was a great reply, had me chuckle 🙂 BTW I still have the body armour, but the cartridges for the respirator are all out of date. Thx to all for the replies.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I must be a cockroach or something? I have never sanitized the FW tank or the hose or the faucet.

Oh; when I put some water in my tank I put a cap full of that Fresh Water stuff in the tank when I remember, but that's it.

When the big Pandemic hits, I should be good to go! :B

[schlep1967]

My spring ritual used to sanitize everything. Hook all hoses together. Attach male end to water storage tank fill. Take female end to hose spigot. Slowly pour bleach into female end of hose until I get at least a quart or more into the hose. then hook the hose up to the water supply. Slowly turn on the water. Don't crank it open full bore. Just let it slowly fill the hose, moving the bleach along the length of the hose and into the water tank. After a few minutes you can up the flow to fill the water tank the rest of the way. Then go into the camper and run water using the water pump through every water line in the camper including filling the hot water tank. Let it sit over night. Next day drain the water tank, the hot water heater and you can open the low point drains if you want. Refill your tank and run water through the system again. At this point I normally just drain the tank to rinse out some of the bleach. Then I am done. We don't normally drink water from the tank. We bring it from home.

[westend]

relaxin wrote:
well first you need body armor,,,, just in case a germ or 2 have guns, then you need a level 3 bio hazard suit with respirator, just in case some microbe jumps out at you,,, have a 2000 degree incinerator handy just in case things get out of hand and the germs are overwhelming you.

ohhh wait, we're talking about rv hose and tanks

LMAO!!!! kidding,,, (though you may need the biohazard suit if you intent to crawl up the dump pipe to clean the black tank)

I don't know about this whole garden hose thing, seems more an attempt to sell a more expensive hose to everyone,,, talk about getting hosed literally, any hose for residential use has to be made suitable for potable water (here in Cananida anyways) anyone who lived in a house previous to the eighties had 50 50 solder or even pure lead solder previous to the 60's I beleave in their copper waterline joints.
if you want to be on the safe side, tie one end to a chair pointing up mix a bucket of water and bleach, 25% bleach, good and strong tie the other end to a chair pointing up put in funnel and pour into hose, let it sit for an hour then hook up to tap and push out into rv tank and run water through it for a couple minutes to rinse out, put a couple cups total of bleach in your tank and slosh around either air bubbler or take for a drive, run through system, let sit for a few hours and drain and rinse out, if your not using right away (within a month) ad a couple ounces to the tank with like 5 gallons of water (city tap water) just to boost it a bit.
I give mine a flush once a year, it gets used enough through each season to not worry about it between trips, and I use a green hose, I have one for the unit not a cheapy, that is not used around the yard.

Hey, save your bleach, you don't need anything near that strong to sanitize anything. This organization recommends 10% but my own real-world experience points to even less.

Like you said, though, sanitizing doesn't have to be the Bourne Ultimatum. :B

[Ron3rd]

Mr.Beebo wrote:
Every white hose I ever purchased was junk in short order. Kinked, frayed, split, etc. They were useless after one season so I never concerned myself with cleaning them.

Same experience here, but I bought the cheap white hoses from WalMart, total junk. They do make quality fresh water hoses that won't kink but they're not cheap.

[relaxin]

well first you need body armor,,,, just in case a germ or 2 have guns, then you need a level 3 bio hazard suit with respirator, just in case some microbe jumps out at you,,, have a 2000 degree incinerator handy just in case things get out of hand and the germs are overwhelming you.

ohhh wait, we're talking about rv hose and tanks

LMAO!!!! kidding,,, (though you may need the biohazard suit if you intent to crawl up the dump pipe to clean the black tank)

I don't know about this whole garden hose thing, seems more an attempt to sell a more expensive hose to everyone,,, talk about getting hosed literally, any hose for residential use has to be made suitable for potable water (here in Cananida anyways) anyone who lived in a house previous to the eighties had 50 50 solder or even pure lead solder previous to the 60's I beleave in their copper waterline joints.
if you want to be on the safe side, tie one end to a chair pointing up mix a bucket of water and bleach, 25% bleach, good and strong tie the other end to a chair pointing up put in funnel and pour into hose, let it sit for an hour then hook up to tap and push out into rv tank and run water through it for a couple minutes to rinse out, put a couple cups total of bleach in your tank and slosh around either air bubbler or take for a drive, run through system, let sit for a few hours and drain and rinse out, if your not using right away (within a month) ad a couple ounces to the tank with like 5 gallons of water (city tap water) just to boost it a bit.
I give mine a flush once a year, it gets used enough through each season to not worry about it between trips, and I use a green hose, I have one for the unit not a cheapy, that is not used around the yard.