Sediment in Freshwater System - Need Help!

[InTheRockies]

Hi folks. I have what appears to be an orange/rust colored sediment in my travel trailer’s fresh water system. I had been using the freshwater tank without issue, and then filled it up at my last campground and noticed severe discoloration of the water coming out of the faucets and into the toilet bowl. I tried sanitizing the tank with a bleach mixture (I hadn’t really observed the issue to be sediment at that time) and it is still orange water when I run the water pump.

I plan to drain the remainder of the fresh water tank tomorrow and capture as much of the water as I can in a bucket to see if it’s discolored. I can also try using the bypass on my pump to pump what I know to be clean water through the pump and see if it runs clear or not.

Any other suggestions on what to try and troubleshoot, and if it is sediment deposits in the tank, how do I flush it out? That stuff just settles and seems like just filling the tank with clean water a few times might not wash all the heavier sediment deposits out.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[InTheRockies]

Thanks again all. I flushed the fresh water tank with filtered water several times and it’s clear now. I checked the strainer on the water pump and it was pretty clean. Appreciate all the help and education I received here!

[mfinnerty]

Should also clean the strainer on the water pump. It can trap grit contained in the water from the fresh water tank.

[Lynnmor]

AJR wrote:
Always use a filter on water going into the camper.

If I had iron deposits in my fresh water tank. I would fill the tank with filtered water. Open the drain and drive the camper on rough roads while it was draining the water. Hoping some of the deposits get suspended in the water and flushed out. May even do it twice.

Water containing iron cannot be completely filtered with conventional filters, they only remove the larger particles.

Driving around is a good idea if you can find a place where you won't splattering motorcyclists or affecting others.

[AJR]

Always use a filter on water going into the camper.

If I had iron deposits in my fresh water tank. I would fill the tank with filtered water. Open the drain and drive the camper on rough roads while it was draining the water. Hoping some of the deposits get suspended in the water and flushed out. May even do it twice.

[philh]

Put a whole house filter on the hose you fill the tank with and that ill help to mitigate debris ending up in the tank

[Grit_dog]

Or don’t worry about it. It’s iron, it’s good for you, lol.
Seriously. Worst possible effect is you have to clean iron stains off the toilet once or twice?
Keep on campin

[down_home]

Didn't read all the replies but....turn off water heating elements, open the tank drains and connect FiLTERED water source to fill tank valve. The intake side may be faster than the drain side so watch the fresh water tank level.
Some is probably in the water heater too, so with heating elements turned off, unscrew drain plug,AND FILTERED WATER SOURCE supplying pressure unscrew the water heater tank plug, Watch out for hot water, 6 to 10 gallons of it. Install NEW drain plug WITH teflon tape
Then close drains and run faucets with areators taken out.
OnCe it looks clean, then sanitize system.
Repeat after me. Never let unfiltered water into the RV!

[JimK-NY]

If you can't get rid of this after flushing the tank a few times, then consider adding a few gallons of vinegar to the tank. That should dissolve any rust particles allowing you to flush out all of the sediment.

[mobeewan]

Could also be from rusty campground pipes.

[InTheRockies]

Grit Dog: sorry my post was confusing.

Yes, there had never been any discoloration in the water from the fresh water tank until I filled it this last time in a state park in Maine. I could not detect any discoloration in the water as I was filling the tank. The water was flowing and it looked clear.

I drained the tank as soon as I noticed the discoloration. I tried flushing it once (refilling with what I knew to be clean water and draining again) but the sediment or iron was clearly still sitting in the bottom of the tank. So I’ve now emptied it and refilled it twice more and it’s better, but still some iron in there I need to get out.

[InTheRockies]

Thanks all. I flushed the tank a bit today and collected some of the water as it drained, let it sit in a bucket, and about 20 minutes later could see the iron settled at the bottom of the bucket. Will continue to fill and drain until it seems to be gone.

When I filled the tank with the bad (iron filled) water, I could not detect any discoloration as it was going into the tank. The water was going in at a good clip and looked clear as it was filling.

I will use an inline filter from now on when filling the fresh water tank. I always use one when hooked up to city water connection, but will cover this base from now on. Funnily enough, I saw a fellow camper using a filter on their fresh water hose to fill their tank today and thought, see, that’s what I need to do….until I noticed they were using the (clearly marked) non-potable water spigot at the dump station used for flushing! Whoops.

[MFL]

I agree with above, likely iron deposits from well water at last CG. A friend purchased an older CG in the SD Black Hills that had this issue. It had a filtration system, that would fail (shut down), and all water, including the washers in laundry room would turn orange.

I would drain your tank, flush if possible, and time should remove any further discoloration. Using any type filter, is usually a good idea.

Jerry

[Grit_dog]

From clear to severe discoloration in one tank?
Umm, was it orange coming out of the spigot?

The rest of your post is also confusing. You have what appears to still be the offending water in the tank and wondering why it’s still discolored?

[naturist]

Sanitizer does nothing for iron deposits, which is probably what you have. Drain and flush should do the trick. If there remain stains in fixtures, oxalic acid will remove them. It is the primary ingredient in commercial rust stain removers. Chlorine bleach will not do the job, don’t try it as it will make things worse.