yucky campground water leaves stains in our shower. HELP!

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triciamclaren

triciamclaren

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2015
Posts
20
Location
Michigan
After camping for a few days we returned home.  I have been cleaning our camper and when I got to the shower and toilet, I noticed stains that are almost impossible to get out.  The pan of our shower and base of toilet both have them.  I scrubbed the base of the shower and was able to make a dent in the stain, but it is extremely difficult.  While at the campground and filling our dogs water bowl, I noticed that water was a tan, yellowish coloer (YUCK).  Any suggestions on how to get these stains out?
 
I've noticed at several campgrounds that the freeze proof faucets will send out about 1/2 gallon of orange water when first turned on.  (I learned when first stating the campground thing to run water out of these before hooking the hose up to clear any bugs, etc)  It has gotten so bad that I now flush the faucet, flush my hose and fill my fresh tank and use my pump. When the fresh tank gets low, I flush the faucet and hose again and refill the tank.  No more orange water at my shower, sinks or for flushing.
 
It sounds like you are in Florida where the water is orange and smells bad. I hope someone has the answer so I can get my sink and toilet back to white.
 
We had an issue in our local system.  If there is potassium in the water, chlorine will turn it brown and also heat from the water heater.  Heavey filtration is the only fix.
 
BillB3857 said:
I've noticed at several campgrounds that the freeze proof faucets will send out about 1/2 gallon of orange water when first turned on.  (I learned when first stating the campground thing to run water out of these before hooking the hose up to clear any bugs, etc)  It has gotten so bad that I now flush the faucet, flush my hose and fill my fresh tank and use my pump. When the fresh tank gets low, I flush the faucet and hose again and refill the tank.  No more orange water at my shower, sinks or for flushing.
Click to expand...

I've got the same kind of faucet here at home. Also got the same problem. As you stated I just clear the lines and hose before filling. But as for OP they most likely where hooked up to serious hard water (high mineral content). Rather common up here in Idaho too there is areas with different mineral content and affect the water in different ways from leaving a rusty stain on everything to enhanced scale / lime build up in water heaters and coffee makers.
 
I'd guess rust
and suggest CLR as already suggested, or any of the other rust and mineral stain removers on the market.

It could be rust as suggested from the plumbing fixture,
or perhaps dissolved iron and/or other minerals in the water.

Here's a fun experiment.  If you suspect high dissolved iron, fill a clear glass or jar with water.
It'll look nice and clear.
Now pour in a bit of bleach and give it a stir or shake.....
bleach remember is an oxidizer, and rust = iron oxide
The iron will precipitate out of solution and rain to the bottom of the glass as a red solid.

This is what happens in your shower....
the water blasts out of the shower head in a spray, mixes with the oxygen in the air
the iron precipitates and stains any surface it hits.

 
A home remedy for this is a cleaning solution made by mixing vinegar & water, about 50/50. For more stubborn stains, use a paste of vinegar and baking soda. Let it sit 20-30 minutes, then scrub (the paste is also a mild abrasive cleaner).

CLR or Lime-Away commercial products usually work well too.

Waxing the surfaces will make water stain removal easier next time.

Filters may help remove minerals from water, though it may take something more than the basic carbon filter, which is mostly just for taste purposes. A better solution is a water softener or RO (Reverse Osmosis) system, but that's only needed if you frequently encounter very hard water.
 
We were camp hosts in 2013at a State Park with that yellowish water..  We were assured the water was safe, but After a few days I ordered a SoftCell Water Softener with pre and post filters.. No more yellow water and we love the soft water.  We're full time and would never hook up again without it.  You can see it at www.softcellwater.com
 
MTPockets said:
We were camp hosts in 2013at a State Park with that yellowish water..  We were assured the water was safe, but After a few days I ordered a SoftCell Water Softener with pre and post filters.. No more yellow water and we love the soft water.  We're full time and would never hook up again without it.  You can see it at www.softcellwater.com
Click to expand...

curious.... guessing this is a manual regenerate cell of some kind..... how do you do that? Add salt manually and flush?
 
If it is a rust stain IronOut works better than CLR for severe stains. I can't stand to breathe the fumes though.
We were volunteer camp host in Cascade State park in ID which is over some of the same underground formation as Yellow Stone. One the 12 or so camping units in the park is even named Poison Creek - for good reason. Anyway when we left they gave us a large amount of IronOut. 
Our shower, toilet, and lavatory were badly stained. When we got to my SILs orchard in CO I borrowed her hasmat spray mask and spent a whole morning getting rid of all the stains.
This was after I tried CLR. I keep some CLR around because it is nicer to use and is great for calcium and lime accumulations but for severe rust I stick to IronOut.
 
blw2 said:
curious.... guessing this is a manual regenerate cell of some kind..... how do you do that? Add salt manually and flush?
Click to expand...
.  Regular softener salt pellets are used to regenerate.  Web site shows details.  I regen mine about 10-12 days.  Best softener I've seen.  See details at www.softcellwater.com
 
Iron out is  available at Ace Hardware:  http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3307833&KPID=5279201&kpid=5279201&pla=pla_5279201  Also at Walmart.
 
Iron Out is great product if the stain is rust (iron-based), but not so good if the stains are from lime, sulfur, calcium, or some other mineral. The same company that makes Iron Out  makes other, separate, products for lime removal, for example. As the name implies, CLR (Calcium, Lime, Rust) is a broader use stain remover, but maybe not as effective on any single stain type as a product dedicated to that stain only.

So, what's "best" stain remover depends on what stain you have.
 
We've been in several places where the water stained our shower and toilet. One place was almost a deep orange/red, the other place we frequent has water that turns our toilet black. Don't know why that is, but it seriously gets under our fingernails and everything. Gross! We just purchased a water softener because we need to spend a lot of time in this place due to it's location.

Hubby scrubbed the shower and toilet with "Barkeeper's Friend" and it took it all right out. Seriously, it was so bad we thought our stuff was ruined.

We've found the stuff in the cleanser section at both Menard's and Home Depot.

It's a miracle cleanser as far as I'm concerned.

-Roni
 
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