Fresh water tank - do you drink water from it?

[deltabravo]

This thread How do you get rid of smell from water in fresh-water tank led to me wonder how many people drink water from the fresh water tank in their RV.

I used to, but I stopped drinking out of the tank in about 2007 or so.

I had a Desert Fox Toy Hauler from 2003-2009. I dumped the fresh tank after every trip. I sanitized it periodically.

I have an Arctic Fox 811 truck camper now, which I bought in late 2009. I dump the tank after each trip in it too, except this past July when I forgot. (water stunk bad when I used the camper this past weekend)

I drank water out of the fresh water tank of the DF. I had a PUR water filter on the kitchen sink faucet as another level of protection.

On one trip with the DF, I woke up in the morning, and within an hour or so I felt horrible. I had no energy at all, and I felt better if I stayed horizontal. When I walked around, I was light headed and my equilibrium was out of kilter.

I spent most of the morning and part of the early afternoon chilling out in a friends zero gravity reclining lounge chair.

I suspected the water was what caused me to get sick. Maybe it wasn't, but that was my first suspicion, and I haven't drank water out of the fresh water tank since that trip, which I think was 2007

Now I carry bottled water. I wash and refill some of the bottles at home.

Do you drink water out of your fresh water tank?

[trailgranny50]

We've always used the fresh tank for cooking and some drinking but sanitize tank regularly and ALWAYS use a heavy duty filter that takes out not only sediment and chemicals but bacteria and cysts and replace it more often than the recommended time. We also keep the hose and filter ends sealed when not in use and flush before each use. We do keep bottled water as well for portability and keeping cold water handy.Never had any problems.

[jfkmk]

bighatnohorse wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
I do supplement my water intake with lots of beer. Maybe I supplement my beer with water. I do not think coffee made with beer would be very good.

So. . .you fill the water tank with beer?

Saaayyyy! Now there's an idea! Could use the low point drain on the outside to refill my mug!

[thetroutman4]

We drink from the tank. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 3 RV's, 3 tanks, a little common sense, 0 problems.

[rockhillmanor]

obgraham wrote:
....I'm waiting for a valid report from someone getting a real illness from drinking water out of a properly maintained RV tank. ...)

That is because most people write off a case of diarrhea to something they ate or that they partied too much around a campfire cookout.

A "properly maintained" fresh water tank? Cleaning a tank periodically has nothing to do with the safety of the water you put IN the tank.

You put spunky well water in it or leave the water in it for long periods and bacteria can and will grow in it. The tank takes on the ambient temperature of the outside air allowing any bacteria that is in it to bloom. That's were the diarrhea will come into the picture if you drink it. And BTW harmful bacteria is odorless and tasteless It doesn't have to smell to be harmful. And small children are at a greater risk of getting sick.

Me, I don't drink the water from the tank or CG hookup. I don't want to be laid up for one minute while I am RV'ing! :C

[Surfrat]

I only use the water from the tank for dishes, showers and toilet. Otherwise I use this jug stand and spigot I saw on a dive boat.

[bighatnohorse]

Reddog1 wrote:
I do supplement my water intake with lots of beer. Maybe I supplement my beer with water. I do not think coffee made with beer would be very good.

So. . .you fill the water tank with beer?

[Bob__B]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Bob B wrote:
I won't even drink my tap water at home without RO filtering it first.:(
(There is a large group of petroleum storage tanks that are leeching into the ground water.....they SAY it's not enough to be a problem....but my tap water smells like petroleum and I won't drink it.)

I pack jugs with RO filtered water or get water from the bulk filtered at Walmart....The Walmart water is also RO filtered water....tastes pretty good to me.

I understand your concerns with the ground water possibly being contaminated but you might want to rethink using RO water for drinking.
*RO water, in general, does not hydrate the body well.
*A residue from the plastic membrane seems to find its way into the water, and then into the body.
*Reverse osmosis water is severely mineral deficient and has an acidic pH.
*Can cause leeching of minerals from the body
*Possible kidney failure


RO units are great for making 'pure water' (we used them to make water for our high pressure boilers) because it strips the water completely.

The body needs to be hydrated and have minerals replenished.

I agree with your concern that all minerals are removed from RO water......hadn't heard about anything leeching from the RO filter....Will do some research on that.
I add a some trace minerals back to the water. Either these http://www.amazon.com/Trace-Minerals-Research-Mineral-Tablets/dp/B000AMU0LW or some of the drops.

[obgraham]

I fill the tank just before departure, than am very careful where and how I refill. Drink it as we go along. Our water is very clean because we live not far from a nuke plant -- the frogs die off quick, and they are easy to see at night.

I'm waiting for a valid report from someone getting a real illness from drinking water out of a properly maintained RV tank. ("I once got woozy after 6 beers and a water chaser" does NOT count.)

[trail-explorer]

Junket wrote:
Yep drink the water but it taste a lot better with a little Jack or
VO
Ken

WINNER!!!

Best post yet.

[Junket]

Yep drink the water but it taste a lot better with a little Jack or
VO
Ken

[nelson]

Yes we drink our water

[TexasShadow]

Yes we drink the water all the time. We have a filter on the whole system and another on the kitchen tap.

[Bumpyroad]

bobndot wrote:


It is my understanding, the bottled water you buy has no testing requirements. I do not know it for a fact, but repeatedly see it posted/said.

:B

google FDA drinking water standards.
bumpy

[bobndot]

Reddog1 wrote:

bobndot wrote:
... My doctor warned me not to drink the water from my rv water tank because the one of the universities did a study finding that a large percentage of the people tested ended up having uncontrollable urges to become moderators .
I said "OMG no " :S :B

Bob

You must not have read the follow-up report. With more study, they found that drinking more beer than water removed the threat of having the uncontrollable urge to become a moderator. :B

It is my understanding, the bottled water you buy has no testing requirements. I do not know it for a fact, but repeatedly see it posted/said.

:B

[Reddog1]

rjxj wrote:
... I think I'll rig up a long wire with a bleach soaked swab to clean both of those hoses.

Unless you have an inspection plate on your water tank, I advise you not to clean those hoses. If you can get to them easy, I suggest removing them then cleaning them. Inexpensive at box stores, I replace mine a few years back. It would be great to find hoses that would not grow the stuff.