Contaminated fresh water tank.

[bighatnohorse]

Yesterday I poured a clear glass of water from the fresh water tank.
When held up to the light I could see a lot of particulate matter floating around in it.
It looked much like a snow-globe but not nearly as thick.

Pretty gross!
So I drained the fresh water tank, refilled and treated treated bleach water.
Ran the water pump to fill lines with treated water.
Drained tank again.
Refilled with bleach treated water and let sit overnight.
Currently draining the tank.

(Note: the camper is two years old - bought used three months ago by us. We've been drinking the water! First time in ten years of RV camping.)

So, question. . .has this happened to anyone?
What did you do to correct the problem?
What were your results?

[bighatnohorse]

Yes, I ran the bleach treated water multiple times through the system lines.
The vinegar treatment is a good idea.
How much though (to treat a 45 gallon tank)?

[djousma]

When you were doing your bleach treatments, did you also run the bleached water through all the plumbing? If not, you should have. That's my spring routine every year. Flush the antifreeze, then bleach the tanks, and plumbing, let sit over night, drain and flush. good to go for the season.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Magnesium and lime deposits can accumulate and flake (shed) off plastic. I deal with this all the time down here (like yesterday for example) minerals cake on metal but not on plastic. I dump in a strong mix of white vinegar - let it sit for days - drain then refill with baking soda mixture and let that sit then drain. The amount of material flushed out is an eye-opener for sure.

[DFord]

Make sure you have a screen filter on the pump inlet. I use a refrigerator filter on a special drinking water filter that's rated at .05 microns. I had to look hard at the specs to find one that filtered particles that same. It claims to take out "cryptosporidium parvum" and other similar dangerous organisms. Change is at least yearly and every 6 months of you use it a lot. It also makes the water taste better.

[bighatnohorse]

Okay. . .two full bleach treatments were done.
First one drained and followed by a second bleach treated overnight standing full tank.
Followed by two complete fill and drain cycles.
Third full fill and it appears free of floating snow flakes.

BUT. . .
There was some floating flakes at first.
Filling a one gallon jug from the kitchen sink faucet takes a bit of time. . .40 seconds actually.
So after flushing 3 gallons through the faucet the water now looks clear.
But I'm wondering if maybe there was something growing in the faucet?
Oh well, I see a counter top filter in our future.
Thanks for all the help everyone.

[mgirardo]

When we had our HTT, we kept in a storage lot. I would drain the freshwater tank before putting it in storage. Apparently that was not a good idea. After about 5 years of ownership, I did some floor repairs and removed the fresh water tank. The tank was disgusting. One side of the tank, by the drain plug was growing some serious penicillin. It was nasty.

Since I had remove the tank, cleaning was relatively easy. I did what you did and let the tank sit with bleached water until it was completely clean. I don't think we ever drank the water in the tank (before or after). Before each trip I would basically fill it about 1/2 way just in case we needed it.

Now with our motorhome, I leave water in the tank all the time, except when temps drop below freezing. In SE Georgia, that's not too often. We don't usually drank from the fresh water tank. I usually sanitize the fresh water tank after the last threat of freezing, generally the beginning of March.

-Michael

[bighatnohorse]

Flapper wrote:
First, do the same check on the water you have going into the tank - from the hose, etc.

Good idea. House water was already checked but not water coming through the filter and hose.
So. . .checked it. It's clean. Must be in the tank.
Filling and draining process in progress now.

[Flapper]

First, do the same check on the water you have going into the tank - from the hose, etc. That way you can determine whether a "whole house" filter is needed if it is coming in from outside. Bleach will kill any microorganisms growing in the water - bacteria, algae, etc. But it won't clean it out. That dead stuff, if not flushed out, can settle to the bottom of the tank, and then later be picked up and show up later. So after bleaching, fill and empty your tank several times - normally you won't have to flush that much, but if you have a build up....The good news is that stuff usually flushes out pretty easily.

Or, it may be lime scale - minerals that have precipitated out of the water into the tank. Most of it will stick together, just like it does on shower walls at home, or on coffee makers, if you have naturally hard water. But some of it can be knocked loose and show up as floating bits. It is a lot "stickier", and is harder to clean out.
While not the most powerful cleaner, the safest for that would be white vinegar. A couple of gallons in the fresh tank, circulate through your system, and let it sit at least several hours, or even days. Then again, drain and flush. Don't, however, bleach and use vinegar at the same time.

The good news - while gross, none of the above (if you've bleached previously) is harmful, and is actually a bit nutritious! But if you've tried both of the above, and are still seeing things, you may want to think about a PuR water filter on the kitchen faucet for drinking/cooking use, keep on flushing the tank by normal use (ie - fill the tank, and skip the city water connection) as it could take a while to get it out.

[bighatnohorse]

We've always used an in-line water filter when filling the fresh water tank.
I think the previous owner may have never sanitized the tank.

[Rollnhome]

Filter water before filling tank. $20 will get you a decent in line filter you can connect between city water and tank.

[larry_barnhart]

I believe cave creek is in Az. Normal white stuff we flush from our water heater and same stuff that makes our white truck whiter after washing the truck.

I might be wrong.

chevman

[Valkyriebush]

Sounds like tanks never sanitized and cleaned. Your on the right track. We personally don't drink the tank water though.

[Oasisbob]

Never had this problem. I would have treated as you did. I flush my tank once a year. Might check the vent screen on the fill cap mount. What color were the particles? Far as I know no one makes a locking fresh water cap so anything is possible. Happy Trails

[RJsfishin]

I'd say you're fixing it.
Did you know that if you keep a fresh water tank completely full at all times, that won't happen ? Unless of course you take on bad water.
If freezing is a problem, then that method don't work so good.
In warm/hot weather, the worst thing you can do is drain the tank when not using it. And the problem comes from the 1/2" of water that doesn't get drained.
During the camping season, fill the tank when you get home, instead of draining it, like most do.