cloudy water

[maznblu]

Greetings.
On a recent trip we had to use the on-board water a few times rather than city water. At the last stop we did this, the water came out cloudy with a white tinge. My husband (a newbie camper) refused to use the onboard water any more. I thought it might be calcium carbonate that had been stirred up by moving and/or by the action of the pump. The water did not have a bad smell, just this tinge.

Can anyone suggest other explanations and recommend some treatments? Also, do others put bleach or other antibacterials into the onboard tank when refilling it? How about extra filters, etc.? I saw a filter at Camping World for use between the city water supply and the rig connection. Is this a good, bad or indifferent idea?

Thanks.
Eugenie

[overlander76]

Is there air in the water? Put your shower head in a pitcher of water and turn it on and see if ANY air bubbles come out. In my system I have clear tubing on the water pump and you can see air bubbles being picked up by the water pump. If this is the case and your pump is sucking air somewhere on the suction side, it will "carbonate" the water when it builds up pressure and stops. Mine only did it when I would first turn the water on. It wasn't so bad after it ran for awhile like in the shower. Mine was so bad it would even get a little "head" on the top of your glass like soda pop for just a second. This was my problem and playing with the hoses that go into the water pump fixed the problem. Increased water pressure too.

Now if your water is cloudy because you have a dead mouse rotting in the tank, that's onother issue.

[overlander76]

Also you should have an onboard filter somewhere. Mine is behind the access door (magazine rack) just to the left of the front door. They are available at inland rv and other places. Your pump should have a screen filter too in that location. It's in line on the suction side. My air leak was actually coming from here.

I use a small amount of bleach sometimes in my tank. There are places online that you can research how much to use. Do a search on google for drinking water or something. If your tank is rank, fluch it out with bleach a few times and then just use a little bit in your drinking water. If you fill with city water, most cities put chlorine in the water anyway. I would stay away from the anti bacterial stuff. I personally think they're bad news.

Brian