When is Water getting OLD/Stale

[Chuck_thehammer]

for the fresh water holding tanks...

when SHOULD the water be replaced... 1 week, 2?

I searched.. and did not find a good answer...
I have camped for years.. NON trailer.. but first time out for weeks/months.

Thank You, and Merry Christmas..

[Oaklevel]

Annually..........

[Chuck_thehammer]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I know and understand "Water" is millions of years old...

but what lives in water, or grows in water...

my reason... I am Healthy for 63 (No Med's).. but my wife is another story.. and she gets ill easily . and she takes about 10 pills a day..

I was a "Water Technician" (owned a pool/spa store) and your thinking is correct: stuff DOES grow in wet or damp locations. The most common bacteria is called pseudomonas: a bunch of it will make water smell "swampy", and if you run your finger on the inside of a water line, it will feel slimy. That's because pseudomonas secretes a slime layer to protect itself from dry periods and invasions, like chlorine 😉 It's why you should let the hose run briefly before using it to fill the freshwater tank - it will blow out any un-attached pseudomonas.

Even if you sanitize your tanks with chlorine, it's doubtful you'll ever kill everything growing inside the plumbing. While ingesting some bacteria won't bother most people - in the case of your wife's more fragile health - I would recommend using bottled, purified water for drinking. Go ahead and shower and cook with fresh-smelling tank water. Try to fill the freshwater tank with city (chlorinated) water when you can; or add a freshwater additive to well water. Bleach isn't always a good sanitizer because it has a very short shelf-life.

Thank you.. I now know more...

for now.. bottled water for her taking pills and boiled water for TEA.. during the day.. she drinks bottled Flavored water.

Thank You again...

[mudhound]

We use our for everything but drinking. I drain it one time per year

[jmadren]

TenOC wrote:


By the way, water does not get "old". All the water in the world is millions of years old. There is no such thing as "new" water.

Not true. Yes, most water is old, but new water is made all the time. Many forms of combustion create it - especially the hydrogen fuel cell.

[mbrower]

In the Navy, I had to go into our ships potable water tank to change a float switch. I can't begin to tell you how nasty (slimy) and smelly that tank was. I had to wear a respirator. We used that water for bathing, cooking, and drinking. Never smelled, looked or tasted funny.

I usually keep my tank about 1/4 full to flush the toilet if someone needs a pit stop. I rarely camp longer than one night without at least a water/electrical hook up.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I know and understand "Water" is millions of years old...

but what lives in water, or grows in water...

my reason... I am Healthy for 63 (No Med's).. but my wife is another story.. and she gets ill easily . and she takes about 10 pills a day..

I was a "Water Technician" (owned a pool/spa store) and your thinking is correct: stuff DOES grow in wet or damp locations. The most common bacteria is called pseudomonas: a bunch of it will make water smell "swampy", and if you run your finger on the inside of a water line, it will feel slimy. That's because pseudomonas secretes a slime layer to protect itself from dry periods and invasions, like chlorine 😉 It's why you should let the hose run briefly before using it to fill the freshwater tank - it will blow out any un-attached pseudomonas.

Even if you sanitize your tanks with chlorine, it's doubtful you'll ever kill everything growing inside the plumbing. While ingesting some bacteria won't bother most people - in the case of your wife's more fragile health - I would recommend using bottled, purified water for drinking. Go ahead and shower and cook with fresh-smelling tank water. Try to fill the freshwater tank with city (chlorinated) water when you can; or add a freshwater additive to well water. Bleach isn't always a good sanitizer because it has a very short shelf-life.

[Lynnmor]

Okie1 wrote:
You could not be more wrong, just take a tour of your local water treatment plant to see what it really takes.

Lynnmor wrote:
You can convert well water into city water by adding about a tablespoon of bleach.

The local water treatment plants here use river water. You know, that water that has already been run through multiple sewage treatment plants.

Since we are only talking about controlling bacteria, well water has little or none. Adding bleach will take care of any bacteria.

Love my safe and tested well water.

[Okie1]

You could not be more wrong, just take a tour of your local water treatment plant to see what it really takes.

Lynnmor wrote:
You can convert well water into city water by adding about a tablespoon of bleach.

[mlts22]

Since city water has a lot of chlorine in it, after my yearly sanitization/dewinterization pass, I will drain the tanks after a trip and putting the rig into storage, but otherwise, I try to keep them full, because you never know if you may need the water. Since the sanitization process kills bugs, I don't hesitate to drink or shower from the tank water.

I could be wrong, but I'm not dead yet (hopefully.)

[Jim_Shoe]

I buy gallon jugs of distilled water for drinking, cooking and anything else that goes inside of me. I fill the fresh tank about half full with a white hose for anything that stays on the outside. I refill the tank at FHU CGs and drain it when I get home.

[CavemanCharlie]

BillyW wrote:
I typically leave (city) water in for fairly long periods, up to a month or so, but I've learned the hard way that the water heater must be drained when not in use for more than about a week, or else the dreaded rotten egg smell sets in, requiring extensive cleaning.

Mine doesn't do that. I only drain the water heater for the winter. The rest of the year it stays full.

[2gypsies1]

Another thing to think about.....when you store your RV and drain the tank, there is still moisture in there and quite possibly stuff can start growing depending how long it sits. When you take it out again months later and fill it up, you're not getting the freshest of water. Even if you use bleach you are not scrubbing off that black stuff...it's still on the walls. Now think of all the folks that do this procedure and don't get sick. 🙂 Bottom line - don't worry about having pristine water. It's not going to hurt you.

[Lynnmor]

You can convert well water into city water by adding about a tablespoon of bleach.

[Chuck_thehammer]

I know and understand "Water" is millions of years old...

but what lives in water, or grows in water...

my reason... I am Healthy for 63 (No Med's).. but my wife is another story.. and she gets ill easily . and she takes about 10 pills a day..