Fresh Water Tank

wmoses wrote:

Rosscoe40 wrote:
I'm getting my new TT out for the first time this weekend. I want to hook it up to city water and flush the pink stuff out so I can use the sinks, toilet, and shower. I know normal procedure for de-winterizing is sanitizing the fresh water tank but I don't plan on using it this time. Will it hurt anything if I skip this step? May be a dumb question but I'm new to full hookup.

De-winterizing and sanitizing the FW tank are essentially two different things, although it makes sense to do one before the other.

I have had my RV for almost a year now and it has never been sanitized, since I don't consume the water. Just use it to flush. I have never boondocked but if I do it will be sanitized beforehand. I had the previous RV 3 years and always had city water so even though that was sanitized once I never drank from it either.

All depends on how you plan to use this water.

You don't have to consume the water. If you wash your hands, shave, brush your teeth, shower, etc, you can wind up with some nasty bacteria from unsanitized fresh water systems. In fact, if you use it for cooking and don't bring it to a boil, you can get ill. Best bet if there is any chance of skin contact or ingestion of any type is to sanitize the system.

Even if you're on the road and take a break to use the restroom, simply activating the pump can get bacteria into the entire fresh water system that could make it into your pipes later when you are using city hookups. It just takes a cup of bleach and a few hours to be safe.