Which bleach for sanitizing?

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I guess your right Ron, I did get a pay increase:

2 x $0 = $0  ;D
 
Ron & Tom, 
You are both just underlings in the scheme of things.

Wait 'till you get promoted to CEO

Clean Everything Officer...

lou
 
OnaQuest said:
Ron & Tom,?
You are both just underlings in the scheme of things.
Wait 'till you get promoted to CEO
Clean Everything Officer...
lou
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LOL.  I think maybe I am at the top then and didn't even realize I hold the office of CEO. ;D :D ;)  How about you Tom?
 
I got promoted all the way to the top and I'm on my way back down.
 
Gentlemen, this question got me to thinking....... ::) I was told that to clean the FRESH water tank you need to add 1 cup of regular bleach. Let it sit for a few days and then drain it, refill and drain once again. This seems like a real waste of 80+ gallons of water. Is this what everyone else is doing? 
 
That's pretty much it, although the amount of bleach varies with the size of your tank. If you don't dump/flush the tank, your water will smell of bleach and won't taste very good either.
 
Yup! Add bleach, fill tank, run water thru all faucets (including h/t heater), let sit for at least 6-8 hours or overnight (2 days is excessive), drain, refill, drain again. Better to waste(?) a few gallons of water than to suffer through weeks of Montezuma's Revenge - your choice ;D
 
Scoundrel said:
Gentlemen, this question got me to thinking....... ::) I was told that to clean the FRESH water tank you need to add 1 cup of regular bleach. Let it sit for a few days and then drain it, refill and drain once again. This seems like a real waste of 80+ gallons of water. Is this what everyone else is doing??
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My proportion is 3/4 cup (6 oz) bleach to 40 gallons of water.  Dilute in one gallon of water and pour into tank.  Leave for several hours.  If it is an option, performance can be improved by driving the RV around for a bit but it is not essential.

 
Good, I'm glad to here I've been doing something right for a change. I'll cut the duration down from 3-4 days to 1-2 days max.

When storing the RV for a week to a month do you keep the fresh water tank full or empty?

I was also told that the black and gray water tanks should be cleaned and stored with them full of cleaning solution and water until ready for use. Then drain them both and put in the appropriate amount of sanitizing solution and a gallon of water mixture. Is this correct?   
 
I was also told that the black and gray water tanks should be cleaned and stored with them full of cleaning solution and water until ready for use. Then drain them both and put in the appropriate amount of sanitizing solution and a gallon of water mixture. Is this correct? 
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Never heard of that, nor do I see any reason it would be necessary unless the tanks already had a build-up of residue that needed to be soaked off.

Our waste tanks are normally more-or-less empty when the rig is not in use.  I always try to empty and flush thoroughly if possible on the last stop before reaching our winter home base.  However, if they happen to have a few gallons of waste in them - or if they gain a few gallons from additional use during that time - we don't worry about it.  In fact, our rig sometimes serves as guest quarters when we have company at our winter home, so they tanks may get more than a bit of use in between trips.
 
If I'm going to leave water in the fresh water tank, I'll add a small amount of bleach, much less than required for the "sanitizing" process. If the water has been in the tank more than a few weeks, I'll re-sanitize the system. We carry store-bought drinking water. If there's any doubt, we'll also disable the ice maker and stock it with store-bought ice until we get to sanitize the system again.

If I know there'll be a long time before next use, I'll dump the waste tanks at home. Otherwise, we do as RV Roamer does.
 
Scoundrel said:
Good, I'm glad to here I've been doing something right for a change. I'll cut the duration down from 3-4 days to 1-2 days max.

When storing the RV for a week to a month do you keep the fresh water tank full or empty?

I was also told that the black and gray water tanks should be cleaned and stored with them full of cleaning solution and water until ready for use. Then drain them both and put in the appropriate amount of sanitizing solution and a gallon of water mixture. Is this correct?? ?
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Living in earthquake country, I fill the fresh tank before storing the trailer stabilizing the water with a dose of bleach 1/3 of that used for sanitizing -- 2 oz. per 40 gallons.    This is the recommended procedure for emergency water supplies and is supposed to be usable up to 6 months.  I use city water for tank purposes -- I like the idea that it comes pre-chlorinated as opposed to well water.

Sanitizing grey and black tanks is necessary only if the tanks are going to be worked on.  In the case of sanitizing a black tank for working, I would increase the chlorine load.  How much tho, I do not know, maybe double.  The chlorine has  lot of work to do.
 
Scoundrel said:
Good, I'm glad to here I've been doing something right for a change. I'll cut the duration down from 3-4 days to 1-2 days max.

When storing the RV for a week to a month do you keep the fresh water tank full or empty?

I was also told that the black and gray water tanks should be cleaned and stored with them full of cleaning solution and water until ready for use. Then drain them both and put in the appropriate amount of sanitizing solution and a gallon of water mixture. Is this correct?? ?
Click to expand...

When I going to store my coach longer than just a couple of days I drain water and both holding tanks. I have a hose attachment on my drain hose that allows me to flush out the tank after I drain it.

Woody
 
Granular Chlorine - Sodium Dichlor stabilized chlorine used for superchlorination or shocking of spa and pool water. Dichlor is also an ideal shock for occasional use with alternative sanitizers.? Clears-up many water problems quickly. This is one you get from any spa place. It's a granulated, straight chlorine.
I think the amount to use is one teaspoon per 100 gallons of water. It costs a little more but there isn't any added salts, no sloshing of harmful liquids, and easy to store. Check with a knowledgeable spa person to see if it will work for you.
Treeman
 
Treeman said:
Granular Chlorine - Sodium Dichlor stabilized chlorine used for superchlorination or shocking of spa and pool water. Dichlor is also an ideal shock for occasional use with alternative sanitizers.  Clears-up many water problems quickly. This is one you get from any spa place. It's a granulated, straight chlorine.
I think the amount to use is one teaspoon per 100 gallons of water. It costs a little more but there isn't any added salts, no sloshing of harmful liquids, and easy to store. Check with a knowledgeable spa person to see if it will work for you.
Treeman
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Wow! Great idea! Never thought of that before and we already have the stuff on hand for the swimming pool. Thanks.
 
Personally, I'd stay away from that stuff - or well upwind of it. It's extremely corrosive and can cause permanent damage to eyes, skin, lungs, etc. If you must use it, carry only a small amount with you (1 oz. or less) and be very careful with it. If your blond hair turns green - well you know what caused it! ;D
 
BruceinFL said:
Wow! Great idea! Never thought of that before and we already have the stuff on hand for the swimming pool. Thanks.
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Bad idea bad, bad.  You will have to dissolve the stuff to put it into the tank.    You do not have an accurate dilution rate, you would be guessing.  Remember the stuff is use for 10,000 gallon plus swimming pools.  (Spas use bromine.)  The liquid bleach is already diluted accurately by the mfr. and the dilute factors for use are well known.

What harm could it do?  Well your digestive track is full of friendly little bacteria.  Those critters accomplish a great deal of your digestion.  An overdose of chlorine ions will kill them off nicely.  The result is miserable long term diarrhea which  persists until your intestinal flora is restored.

Liquid bleach is safe, cheap and has a lot of ancilliary uses:  sterilizing sewer fittings for storage, cleaning up accidents, and even in the laundry.  I always carry a gallon with me for such uses. 
 
Well, if you don't like that solution . . . there are other products out there. One such goes by the name Microdin. It's a bactericide, and it's used in Mexico. It is used to treat drinking water, rinse vegetables, silverware, plates and dishes before we gringos use them.
I'm sure some folks who have travelled south of the border have seen it in the markets. Googleing for it, I came up empty.
I have a bottle right here; the instructions are: Agua, 2 gotas por cada litro y espere 20 minutos.
Best,
Treeman
 
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