Testing Drinking Water

westernrvparkowner wrote:
By far the most toxic chemical in our drinking water supply is Dihydrogen Monoxide. Excessive exposure to Dihydrogen Monoxide kills over 3500 people a year in the US alone. Yet we continue to allow this deadly chemical to be in our water supply without a whisper of opposition from our elected officials. So be careful what you hook up to your RV, you next encounter with Dihydrogen Monoxide could be your last.

And the crazy thing is they sell it in stores everywhere with no restrictions!

westernrvparkowner wrote:
By far the most toxic chemical in our drinking water supply is Dihydrogen Monoxide. Excessive exposure to Dihydrogen Monoxide kills over 3500 people a year in the US alone. Yet we continue to allow this deadly chemical to be in our water supply without a whisper of opposition from our elected officials. So be careful what you hook up to your RV, you next encounter with Dihydrogen Monoxide could be your last.

:B

By far the most toxic chemical in our drinking water supply is Dihydrogen Monoxide. Excessive exposure to Dihydrogen Monoxide kills over 3500 people a year in the US alone. Yet we continue to allow this deadly chemical to be in our water supply without a whisper of opposition from our elected officials. So be careful what you hook up to your RV, you next encounter with Dihydrogen Monoxide could be your last.

2gypsies wrote:
If you want good information on RV water filters and a excellent source for all kinds, look at this site. Also, if you have questions, they are very helpful and take their time explaining things. One filter doesn't do it all. You have to use a combination. We've bought our filters from him for over 16 years.

https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/

Thanks for the info.

If you want good information on RV water filters and a excellent source for all kinds, look at this site. Also, if you have questions, they are very helpful and take their time explaining things. One filter doesn't do it all. You have to use a combination. We've bought our filters from him for over 16 years.

https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/

ro_sie wrote:
I am with you myredracer. that's why I do the best I can for us. and that's using bottled water. I have always said, we don't use that motorhome enough to feel safe about the waterlines. With municipal water lines, they are used frequently so things don't sit and grow. I agree with you, most rvers have no understanding of bacteria and its growth. Pluse, we just upgraded and a new to us MoHO and not knowing where it has been or how it was used , I choose to be as safe as I can be.

BTW, you can call me mywhiteracer. 79 L82 :)

One thing I discovered, except for maybe across the southern US, is that water in CGs stagnates over the winter and provides a really good environment for biological matter to grow and flourish. Sometimes there can also be a long supply line to a CG that supplies no other users on it. Then along comes the start of the next season and the folks that are among the first users in the new season can get a nice dose of some nasty stuff. Good practice is for a CG to flush their lines at the start of each season but doubt many bother. I had a good conversation with the manager of the municipal water district in Blaine, Wa. a few years ago and the result was what you see in the photo below. The particular CG was told in the past by the water district to flush their lines each season but apparently the CG decided it wasn't needed.

Bottled water... That is a whole other separate and interesting topic on potable drinking water! There is pre-bottled water and then the bulk water refill stations. Bottled water has a higher level of regulation but it's testing and enforcement is questionable. Bulk water regs. are much more lax in comparison and you won't know exactly how the water was treated/filtered before it went into your container. This is an area I haven't looked into much but I suspect some (or many?) bulk water dispensing stations simply use "city" water without or with minimal filtration and treatment. Bottled water containers are also an environmental nightmare. And if you get a glass of water at a restaurant, what do you really know about it?



BTW, my red racer is a '68 FA 1300/124 (one of about only 250 ever made and few left). :)

myredracer wrote:

What I don't understand is the common use of exterior inline filters that contain carbon to remove chlorine which leaves all the lines inside your RV unprotected....

Same thoughts here, using those cheap blue hose filters make help you sleep better at night but they aren't benefiting you and could be harmful.

We use only a sediment filter coming into the RV and a carbon filter under the sink. The carbon filter supplies a separate tap where we get our drinking water. I don't like the taste of chlorine in my drinking water but I like chlorine in the rest of the system.

I am with you myredracer. that's why I do the best I can for us. and that's using bottled water. I have always said, we don't use that motorhome enough to feel safe about the waterlines. With municipal water lines, they are used frequently so things don't sit and grow. I agree with you, most rvers have no understanding of bacteria and its growth. Pluse, we just upgraded and a new to us MoHO and not knowing where it has been or how it was used , I choose to be as safe as I can be.

BTW, you can call me mywhiteracer. 79 L82 :)

My 2 cents.
I do sanitize my system once a year. Why not it is minimal cost not labor intensive and does not hurt anything.
We do use a blue filter on the hose that is replaced at the same time I sanitize the system.
We use the blue filter primarily for taste of the water.
I do taste the water before adding it to the fresh water tank. Even with a blue filter some water just tastes bad.
IMHO if YOU are concerned about traces of bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrates or high concentrations of chlorine in your water then get a First Alert WT1 Drinking Water Quality Test Kit or similar and test the water BEFORE you hookup to your RV or add it to your RV tank.

ro_sie wrote:
I guess what everyone is missing here is not the water quality as it comes from the campground, but it is the water lines in the rv. they are dark inside and never really dry because you turn them off at the faucet and at the incoming site, so bacteria builds up in those pipes. If its all the same to you folks, I don't want to drink that.

What I don't understand is the common use of exterior inline filters that contain carbon to remove chlorine which leaves all the lines inside your RV unprotected. Filters do not remove 100 percent of microorganisms and in addition, just because a municipal water system has chlorine in it does not mean it will have zero biological contaminants in it by the time you use it at a CG. Chlorine levels dissipate over time and distance and can be low to nothing at a CG as the bio-mass in the photo I posted above demonstrates. Then when you go home and your RV sits for weeks until the next trip, "stuff" can multiply inside your lines. If you don't like chlorine, use a point-of-use filter.

Another point is that getting a filter with KDF or silver in it is only there to prevent bacterial growth within the filter media and is not there to kill anything passing through it. About all exterior inline filters are good for is for sediment removal and do not have a very low micron rating.

Drinking water quality and the selection and use of filtration is a very complex field and not many RV-ers really understand it very well. For RV-ers that travel around a lot to unfamiliar CGs, that further complicates things. Doulton has a little bit of info. for RV-ers here but it only scratches the surface.