Disinfecting water supply

[tarrco]

I want to put disinfectant in my system on a 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 37B and not sure the best way. I may try putting it in the supply hose from the house which will clean the hose but there is a small pipe outside above the gas filler pipe that is simply marked "water" but I can't find it in the manual. Is this where I should put the disinfectant in? HELP!

Cyril and Jackie

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That is probably the water tank filler port, so yes you could add it that way. Mix in a gallon or tow of water and pur in. Then use the RV water pump to move the water through the lines.

See our forum Library article for sanitizing solutions and procedures.
http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110:water-system-sanitizing&catid=42&Itemid=132

 

[Arch Hoagland]

What is the disinfectant ?

 

[BoomerD]

What is the disinfectant ?

HOPEFULLY, only chlorine bleach...

I do it every year at the start of the season. 1/4 cup of bleach (added to a couple of gallons of water) for each 15 gallons of water capacity. MY Winnebago Sightseer has a 70 gallon fresh water tank, so I add enough for 75 gallons to allow me enough to do the water heater without cutting my tank sterilization liquid low.

Then, I run water through all the various faucets, showers, toilet, etc. until I can smell the chlorine...then let it sit for 5-6 hours before draining everything, flushing all the faucets, showers, and toilet. I do a full rinse at least twice...letting it sit for an hour or so to help eliminate the chlorine.

 

[Rene T]

Not sure if it makes any difference but typically, most people mix 1/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of tank water.

 

[BoomerD]

Umm...yeah, that's what I said... :-[

Stupid keyboard...making typos and stuff...

 

[John Canfield]

Not sure if it makes any difference but typically, most people mix 1/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of tank water.

LOL - we just had a long thread about that topic I moved to the General Discussion board.  Many of us part-timers and full-timers don't bother with adding bleach to the fresh water tank.  When you hook up to city water, that water is chlorinated.  We have never added bleach to our tank.

 

[BoomerD]

John, it sounds like you're generally not going someplace where you might have to depend on your stored water for anything more than an occasional toilet flush while on the road then...
I DO NOT want to drink my tank water, sterilized or not...but I COULD in a pinch...(although, that which doesn't kill you...makes you stronger. ) 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The 1/4 cup bleach per 15 gallons is for sanitizing the system and is much too strong for regular drinking water (though it would only be an objectionable taste rather than harmful).  If you only want to avoid growing things in the water, use 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per gallon. That's what the CDC recommends for emergency treatment of an unknown water source.

For more info, see http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/emergency/09_202278-B_Make_Water_Safe_Flyer_508.pdf

 

[John Canfield]

.. there is a small pipe outside above the gas filler pipe that is simply marked "water" but I can't find it in the manual. Is this where I should put the disinfectant in? HELP!

If it's a white door that you open with a hole inside, that's your gravity water fill.

 

[BoomerD]

The 1/4 cup bleach per 15 gallons is for sanitizing the system and is much too strong for regular drinking water (though it would only be an objectionable taste rather than harmful).  If you only want to avoid growing things in the water, use 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per gallon. That's what the CDC recommends for emergency treatment of an unknown water source.

For more info, see http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/emergency/09_202278-B_Make_Water_Safe_Flyer_508.pdf

Gary, I agree. Water with that much chlorine would taste and smell nasty...and PROBABLY shouldn't be drunk. (which is why after I sanitize the system, I flush it twice before refilling for use.)

 

[Rene T]

I usually just drain the tank,  hook up the water hose and just flush fresh water through all the lines until the smell is almost gone. It doesn't have to be totally gone for me. Others will feel differently. The rest of the smell goes away in a couple of days.

 

[tarrco]

Thank you to all for your input. I still can't figure why this "water" pipe is no where in my manual.

 

[cbeierl]

The last page of the Plumbing Diagram for your coach shows the gravity fill (labelled F-10) in View H in the lower right corner.  Page 4 of the diagram shows where View H is.

 

[Ray-IN]

This pdf shows all the information to disinfect drinking water. http://ndep.nv.gov/bsdw/docs/disinfect_drinking_water.pdf

 

[KC1BUD]

Not sure if it makes any difference but typically, most people mix 1/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of tank water.

In the thirty years I have had everything from a pickup camper to my new 2012 Winnebago Adventurer, I only had a problem a couple of times needing to disinfect the water system. Once in a Midas class c motorhome where the fresh water tank was under the dinette seat, and this time in the Winnebago. The Midas was easy the fill was just outside the tank. But the Winnebago required a little thought. What I did is pour a cup of bleach in a short hose the hose it was attached to has a shut off on it so keeping the bleach in the short hose. I reconnected the hose to the city hook up and turned the motorhome valve from normal to fill then opened the valve on the hose to allow the water to flow and carry the bleach with it into the tank. Problem solved. I didn't do a rinse because this was probably about the same amount that a city might put in their water system. And there was almost no smell.