Pinkish-orange algae in water lines

[mobeewan]

I have the translucent pex tubing that you can see through that is like the plastic in milk jugs. There is as light pinkish orange discoloration on the inside of the tubing. I believe it to be the same algae stains that are around the edge of the tub. I plan on doing a good cleaning of the trailer soon and will be winterizing. I was thinking of using the winterizing connection and adding either dilluted peroxide or straight white vinegar into the lines and soaking for a couple days before flushing and sanitizing and then winterizing the water ststem. I would like to dissolve any organics in the tubing to get rid of them. I know bleach will sterilize everything but i also want to remove any deposits left in the tubing. Any recommendations from anyone that has done anything similar? I'll be doing the cleaning the FW tank too.

[Boon_Docker]

Another vote for iron bacteria, flush the lines with a dilute bleach solution.

[TurnThePage]

I have a white "potable water" hose that I use for filling the RV. The hose stays at the sticks and bricks home and hangs on the wall near the faucet. It has a lot of that pink orange coloring. Bleach didn't seem to change anything.

[dodge_guy]

I get that in my house when I don't use my downstairs toilet after a while. And also when the cats water bowl sits unused for a few days. The red is from mineral deposits. It's not bad, but unless you can wipe out the inside of the lines your not going to get rid of it.

[artguys]

Because yeasts are found everywhere a yeast is most definitely present in this issue and likely playing a role. Be careful if you're introducing a acidic , as vinegar is, into the environment as yeasts do very well when vinegar is present . Your problem is more likely a bloom that arrived in your water supply as stated earlier Most often not a pathogen but a issue that your supplier is aware of and hoping it goes away soon as all water districts that are faced with this issue do. The bloom problem is far more common in your water when flow is diminished , like a camper that sits idle for a period of time.

In many cases you can leave home with perfectly good water, do a hook up 100 miles down the road and receive water from a different source/water district and have a bloom problem . It's more common than most people know.

[SCVJeff]

Boon Docker wrote:

Dennis12 wrote:
Go to a pet store and buy an algae eater. You will have to buy a small one depending on the size of your piping. Also keep plenty of water in the lines until the algae eater gets full. You may have to buy another depending how thick the algae is in the lines and how long they are.

Make sure you get him out of the pipe before he eats too much or you will have a plugged line. Then put him in a bowl of fresh water for a couple weeks until he loses weight then back into the pipe again later.

geeeze is it April already? Ok, just buy aquarium snails and let them stay there

[Memphisdoug]

Sounds like rust staining from hard water to me.

[westend]

First, I've never seen PEX pipe in a clear version and that may be additive into your discoloration issues. If the tubing is soft, it is probably an acrylic plastic and doesn't offer the attributes of a PEX pipe.

I'd suggest to use the vinegar followed by the bleach sanitization. Don't be in a hurry when doing these processes as both need time to work well.

[Boon_Docker]

Dennis12 wrote:
Go to a pet store and buy an algae eater. You will have to buy a small one depending on the size of your piping. Also keep plenty of water in the lines until the algae eater gets full. You may have to buy another depending how thick the algae is in the lines and how long they are.

Make sure you get him out of the pipe before he eats too much or you will have a plugged line. Then put him in a bowl of fresh water for a couple weeks until he loses weight then back into the pipe again later.

[Dennis12]

Go to a pet store and buy an algae eater. You will have to buy a small one depending on the size of your piping. Also keep plenty of water in the lines until the algae eater gets full. You may have to buy another depending how thick the algae is in the lines and how long they are.

[artguys]

The color pink is most often the result of distillation .

[artguys]

It's known as a bloom, nothing more nothing less, BLOOM...it has nothing to do with your system, it's in the water supply, if you don't want it add a filter at the tap. I've used the Pur filter, it will eliminate the problem .

[lbrjet]

Second Chance wrote:
Pink slime around tubs, sinks, etc., is not a fungus, mold or algae - it's a strain of airborne bacteria known as Serratia marcescens. Since it is airborne, it's not a "clean to cure" situation but rather "clean to control" and must be done periodically. Since the OP is talking about inside water lines, I'm not sure if it's the same organism. Either vinegar or chlorine bleach solutions will take care of the situation.

Rob

Yep, the pink slime is from the air, not the water.

[dewey02]

If it is big and pink, it may be this.
I believe it is susceptible to cold - in their case they used fire extinguishers to control it.

[ryoung]

If you predominately fill your fw tank with well water, it could be iron bacteria as one poster mentioned. I have dealt with it before.

I wouldn't be that afraid of its health effect. But if you are unsure take a sample of it to you local health department and see if they can identify it.

Here is a link describing iron bacteria.

ryoung