Fresh H2O Tank & Mold

[PSU1981]

We are in Texas & are newbies - got our 2015 FC 27FB in 4/2015 & after taking it out a couple of times - summer arrived & it got too hot - especially for our golden retriever. So it has been in covered storage for 4 months. We are gearing up to get back on the road next week. Should I have any concerns about mold or quality of the water in the fresh tank? It has been about 40% full.

Thanks,

Glenn

[Lily&Me]

Of course you should be concerned.

Empty it, sanitize thoroughly and start over.


Maggie

[cwf]

Are you using city water in the FW tank? Get a "chlorine test kit" from Wartmart... Or your choice of places.

Pump some of the water from your galley sink into a clear glass.. Set aside for later comparison. Test the chlorine level.. Note the level.

Don't forget to run the "clorinated"/ bleached water thru the fresh water plumbing so it can clear out all the "bugs". Must leave the water in pipes for at LEAST a certain amount of time (contact time).

To save water you can "treat" the water in there now, fill completely, let sit then drain. Then retreat, refill, yes a second time, then cycle THAT water thru the pipes, hot and cold.

Remember, concentration level and contact time are key.

Capture some of the freshly treated water and test. Compare to original.

After water sits in the lines a while, say, 20 minutes, capture and test another sample.

[cwf]

P. S. Here is what a "search" found:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...ms-134095.html

[Mrjkq]

Dump the tank & sanitize it using a 10% bleach solution ( do the math) filling the tank & running it through your system using all sinks, shower & put a couple gallons in the black tank also. Drain the fresh water tank by opening the valve under the trailer, refill it & proceed to run the system with fresh water. The bleach smell will be very evident but will go away after a couple tanks of water go through the system. We never use the water from our tank for drinking so the smell is just a minor in convince for us. I do this procedure twice a year.

[PSU1981]

Thanks everyone!!

[Mrjkq]

Originally Posted by PSU1981

Thanks everyone!!

Forgot to mention, let the bleach water sit for a couple hours before flushing the system.

[HiJoeSilver]

Make sure you use regular bleach, no scented or splashless types.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Mrjkq

Forgot to mention, let the bleach water sit for a couple hours before flushing the system.

Taking a drive to let it slosh around and let the bleach-ey water cover all the interior surfaces of your fresh water tank is a good idea, and what we always do after de-winterization each year.


Maggie

[Ron A]

I have never used it but here is another option if you do not want to use bleach.
Thetford Fresh Water Tank Sanitizer



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[JCWDCW]

Add 4 oz bleach to a beer bottle and top up with water. Add to the FW tank through the fill port and then top up the tank. Run the taps and toilet until you can smell the bleach. Let everything sit for 3 or 4 hours, drain the FW tank and refill...flush the lines at taps and toilet. I do this once a year and have never had a problem. It will take some time for the chlorine taste to dissipate from the lines, if you drink the tap water; we always use a jug of city water for coffee and drinking water

The 4 oz of 5% bleach will give you 37 PPM Chlorine in a 40 gallon tank. Municipalities use 7 ppm to sanitize their holding reservoirs and cut the level to 1 PPM as it is pumped into the distribution system
JCW

[tjdonahoe]

Don't be leaving your water sit in a tank for four months in warm weather, you are asking for problems, I would use Clorox and flush ...

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

Don't be leaving your water sit in a tank for four months in warm weather, you are asking for problems, I would use Clorox and flush ...

Little-known fact… Water cannot get stagnant unless it has organic material in it. Which means that if you keep your fresh tank clean by sanitizing it with Clorox when you un-winterize (to kill anything organic in the tank), and filter the water that goes into the tank thereafter, the water should easily still be drinkable after several months.

But here's the kicker… all it takes is one bug or one leaf getting into your fresh tank through the vent pipe, and suddenly you've got organic material that can rot in the water and allow the fresh water to stagnate. Why do most vent pipes not have insect screens on top to prevent that?

[Snaken49]

Hi!

I use the Billy Dump products below for fresh, grey and black water treatment. These products are top notch and available directly from the manufacturer.

http://billydump.com/3r/purogeneinfo.htm




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[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Snaken49

3R Purogene Fresh Water Treatment

It's actually no more effective than Clorox. According to a paper published by the World Health Organization on May 8th, 1986, that describes the use of chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite, and sodium hypochlorate as disinfectants for drinking water, chlorine dioxide rapidly breaks down into chlorite when added to water. Chlorite is exactly the same active ingredient as in Clorox bleach. Save your money. Use unscented Clorox, just like your Airstream owner's manual, the World Health Organization, FEMA, and the EPA all recommend for sanitizing fresh water supplies.

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by PSU1981

We are in Texas & are newbies - got our 2015 FC 27FB in 4/2015 & after taking it out a couple of times - summer arrived & it got too hot - especially for our golden retriever. So it has been in covered storage for 4 months. We are gearing up to get back on the road next week. Should I have any concerns about mold or quality of the water in the fresh tank? It has been about 40% full.

Thanks,

Glenn

call me overly cautious but i'm not big on drinking water that's been stored around plastic.. when I camp we have big glass water containers that we fill with RO water from the health food store .. delicious tasting and chemical free ..

[JCWDCW]

If you are in Texas you probably already know you can buy RO water from the kiosks for as little as 15 cents per gallon. We never drank city water while we had a park model in Tx, primarily because it tasted so bad!

For your FW tank; drain it and refill it with fresh water and add 2 or 3 ounces of bleach. Let it sit for 2 or 3 hours and then pump it through your lines (by-pass the HW tank) and then drain and flush again. Next time drain the tanks when you leave the trailer in storage. Then you just need to flush the bottom of the tank and off you go!
JCW