How To Sanitize Your RV’s Fresh Water System
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Everybody knows that clean, fresh, drinking aka potable water is critical to maintaining a safe and healthy lifestyle. In a sticks and bricks house, we turn on the tap and assume that what comes out is safe for drinking and bathing. (I know there are exceptions, ahem Flint) But what about when we’re on the road? How do we know that what’s coming out of the tap is safe for us to drink?
The short answer is, we don’t!
Fortunately for us RVer’s, our campers include an entire plumbing system along for the ride, no matter where we’re headed. A system that we control.
Of course, your RV water system is only as good as your commitment to keeping it clean. After all, who wants algae or fungus growing in your tanks. So how do we do that? Well first of all we’re going to want to start with a sanitized fresh tank.
The following steps will get you off on the right foot.
If at all possible, the ideal time to start this is early morning on a day when you’re planning to take a long drive. This will agitate the water in the tank, cleaning it as you drive. Plan to end your drive at an RV park with hook-ups, since you’ll be arriving with a tank full of
Here’s what you’ll need?
- Household bleach
- A one gallon bottle or pitcher
- Source of fresh water and a place to drain water
- You may also need plumbers tape
1. Drain any water in your freshwater holding tanks.
Make sure the city water is off or disconnected.
Turn off your hot water heater! You need to drain it, but be sure not to attempt it while it’s hot or under pressure, which can result in injury! Run the hot water inside the RV until it runs cold. This is to ensure that the water inside the water heater is at a safe temperature.
The next steps will depend on where you are currently parked. Many RV parks will not allow you to release any water onto the ground, not even from your fresh tank, so be sure you know the rules.
- If you can drain fresh water on the ground,
Open the pressure valve on the top of the water heater. Use an adjustable wrench to loosen the drain plug at the bottom of the water heater. Usually this plug is plastic. On Suburban brand water heaters, the plug is also an anodized rod. Remove the drain plug or rod. Water will start to run out.
Wait until no more water runs out of the water heater. When the tank is empty, replace the plug or install a new anode rod. Close the pressure release valve.
Flushing the water heater for several minutes before replacing the drain plug will extend the life of your water heater as it will flush out debris and scale. This is also a good time to replace the anode rod if your water heater has one.
Next, you need to locate the low point water line drains under your RV. There should be a pair of blue/red water lines protruding underneath your RV with black caps on them or maybe small ball valves. You will need to crawl underneath the RV and start looking for the lines. They may be near the frame rail somewhere. If you can’t find them, I would put a call into a dealer and ask where they may be. There will be one for the hot and one for the cold water lines which are usually red and blue respectively. Open these and let the water drain out. This will drain the water from the faucets and the lines connected to them.
Still with me? There’s one more thing left to do, find and remove the drain for the fresh water holding tank and drain all the water from it.
At this point you can turn the water pump on for a moment to force any remaining water out. Do not let the pump continue to run once the water stops draining
Close all the drains and make sure all faucets are off.
- If you cannot drain water onto the ground,
You will need to be connected to a sewer connection and have a basin handy to catch the last bit. After disconnecting any city water hose and turning off the water heater, Open your gray water tank valve. (If your black tank needs emptying, do that first)
Turn on your water pump then turn on all of your faucets. Hot and cold water. When water stops coming out, turn off the water pump to avoid damage!
Wait until no more water runs out of the water heater. When the tank is empty, replace the plug or install a new anode rod. Close the pressure release valve.
Next, you need to locate the low point water line drains under your RV. There should be a pair of blue/red water lines protruding underneath your RV with black caps on them or maybe small ball valves. You will need to crawl underneath the RV and start looking for the lines. They may be near the frame rail somewhere. If you can’t find them I would put a call into a dealer and ask where they may be. There will be one for the hot and one for the cold water lines which are usually red and blue respectively. Open these and let the water drain out into your basin. This will drain the water from the faucets and the lines connected to them. Note: some larger RV’s have more than two.
Still with me? There’s one more thing left to do, find and open the drain for the fresh water holding tank and drain all the water from it. There shouldn’t be much left in there
At this point you can turn the water pump on for a moment to force any remaining water out. Do not let the pump continue to run once the water stops draining. Close all the drains and make sure all faucets are off.
2. Create the bleach mixture.
To sanitize your water tank, you’ll use a mixture of household bleach and fresh water. Mix a quarter cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of your RV’s fresh water tank capacity into regular tap water in a gallon jug or bucket. For instance, if you have a 30-gallon fresh water tank you will use ½ cup of bleach mixed with fresh water in your bucket. Do not pour straight bleach into your tank.
3. Pour the bleach mixture into your water system and fill the tank.
Next, you’ll need to get the bleach mixture into the water system. You may need a funnel for this. Once you’ve poured the mixture into the tank, continue to fill the tank to capacity with regular, fresh water.
4. Run the bleach mixture through your plumbing lines.
After the tank is filled, turn on your water pump and run all your interior taps, including your shower, one at a time, just until you smell the bleach in the water. This ensures that the cleaning will include your entire system.
Now, turn off the taps and the water pump and allow the bleach mixture to sit in your water tank while you finish preparing for departure.
If you will not be moving, let the mixture sit overnight in the tank. You will not be able to use this water for drinking or washing during that time so keep that in mind. Note: Since we’ll be flushing the fresh tank a couple times as part of the process, this is best done when traveling to or when parked in a full hook up spot.
5. Drain the bleachy water.
After you’ve given the system time to get clean and disinfected, follow the steps above to drain the tank completely to get rid of the bleachy liquid.
6. Refill the tanks with fresh water.
You should use a sediment filter between the fresh water spigot and your hose to help keep your newly clean system clean. Next, put in another batch of totally new clean water, filling your tank completely once again.
7. Drain again
Drain the second batch of water by turning on your water pump and running it through your faucets. You may need to repeat this step a few times to ensure all the bleach is out of the system. Continue to fill and run it until you no longer smell bleach.
After you’re sure the bleach is out, your tank is clean and ready to be filled with potable water.
Tips for keeping your system sanitized
- Always use a water filter. At the very least you’ll want to use a sediment filter just to keep sand and grit out of your system but if you drink the water in your tank, you’ll probably want a more robust system.
- Don’t let water sit in your tank for long periods of time. If you’re a full-timer this probably won’t apply to you, but for the weekend warrior, make sure to drain your tanks to avoid bacterial growth.
- Never fill your tanks near a dump station. The water there is not usually potable. Besides, have you ever seen the messes some people make at dump stations. Not exactly sanitary.
- Always use a food grade fresh water hose. Regular garden hoses may contain lead and other additives to protect them from sun damage that are not safe for consumption.
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