Cleansing your Motorhome Water Tank (the straightforward method)

Involved about cleansing your motorhome water tank? Wish to sterilise the freshwater tank in your camper or caravan? Right here’s what it’s worthwhile to do to make sure secure ingesting water in your van.

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Cleansing your motorhome water tank

One factor my husband and I’ve at all times been aware of is ingesting water. Mr WB has spent quite a lot of time within the Center East, the place water isn’t at all times secure to drink and he’s a bit of obsessive about ensuring we have now secure water.

At the least- I used to suppose it was obsessive till he obtained Legionnaire’s Illness!

Now, I ought to make it very clear that he did NOT get Legionnaires from our motorhome water tank, but it surely was from one other van, which isn’t used very a lot.

So, to keep away from the identical state of affairs in our van and make it easier to keep away from it in yours, it’s worthwhile to clear your motorhome freshwater tanks usually.

Why cleansing motorhome water tanks is necessary

Most water carries micro organism. When that water is saved in a enclosed house (like a contemporary water tank) micro organism can multiply shortly. This turns into even worse in heat temperatures. Legionella is without doubt one of the most important issues, however so is E-coli and several other different sorts of micro organism.

Sadly, you don’t must drink the water to turn out to be contaminated. For those who bathe from a contaminated tank, or use the water for cooking or rinsing meals, you’ll be able to turn out to be sick. Many of those result in lung situations, like pneumonia and COPD.

Additionally, over time, the freshwater tank in your motorhome, campervan or caravan turns into contaminated by grime, particles and even bits from the hose you employ to replenish the tank. All of this promotes micro organism and makes the water much less secure to devour.

You may also by no means assure that the water you’re filling your tanks up with is secure to drink both. After we have been motorhoming in Scotland, we spent a while on the Isle of Skye and it seems a sheep had died within the campsite water provide and had contaminated all of it! Thank goodness we didn’t replenish!

Nonetheless, many individuals don’t wish to carry extra water for ingesting, because it eats into house and payload, (1litre weighs 1kg) so protecting the water tank clear turns into the next precedence.

Is it secure to drink water out of your motorhome water tank?

This can be a matter which divides opinions massively. Many individuals solely use the water straight from their tanks for showers/ cooking and so on, preferring to both filter the water earlier than ingesting or boiling it for warm drinks. Listed here are some choices for filtered water:

Others are fairly blissful that it’s okay to drink and don’t pay it two minds.

Personally, we use our motorhome water tank for showers, enamel cleansing and washing up, however use extra water filtered from our Lifesaver Jerrycan to drink from, even once we’re going to boil it within the kettle.

We’re additionally debating placing an inline filter within the system, so the water out of the kitchen faucet comes out filtered. That is what we have now on our boat and we drink the water straight from the boat water tank with no drawback.

How typically must you clear a motorhome water tank?

The query of how typically you need to clear your motorhome freshwater tank relies upon loads on how typically you employ it and the place you’re. Personally, we clear ours twice a 12 months, however that’s as a result of we spend quite a lot of time touring Europe in our motorhome.

On the naked minimal you need to clear it completely every year and ALWAYS when it’s been stood for a couple of weeks or extra. That is when micro organism and biofilm can actually begin to develop and make the water harmful to drink.

How do you clear a freshwater tank on a motorhome?

The very first thing to recollect is that no matter you employ to wash your water tank will go away a residue, which you’ll then be consuming for some time each time you employ the water.

Then it’s worthwhile to decide a product. There are a number of in the marketplace, and every have their execs and cons (see beneath).

As soon as chosen, right here’s what you do:

• Shut all faucets and valves
• Add your chosen cleansing product (ie- Puriclean)
• Fill system fully with water
• Activate faucet FURTHEST away out of your tank to get the answer all via your system, let it run for 10-15 seconds (or till you’ll be able to scent the cleaner), then shut
• Go away in a single day. Alternatively, you’ll be able to drive round for a short while, to get the combination into all corners. Simply remember you’re driving with a full tank and the automobile might be heavier than maybe you’re used to.
• Subsequent day, open all faucets, which permits the cleansing product to then run into your gray waste tank and clear that too.
• Fully empty the freshwater tank, then refill with clear water and EMPTY absolutely once more via the faucets to wash out all of the pipes.
• By the tip, you shouldn’t be capable of scent the cleansing product any extra. For those who can, refill and empty repeatedly till the water not smells.
• It’s a good suggestion to vary your water filters now too, so the entire system is clear and able to go.
• Moreover, you may as well clear your different tanks, just like the gray waste tank and bathroom cassette with the beneath product (BUT don’t put this in your contemporary water tank!):

Motorhome tank cleansing merchandise

Like most issues in the case of cleansing your motorhome, there are a number of merchandise you’ll be able to select from.

Most of them work in very related methods, so it’s principally a matter of selecting the product which sounds finest to you. That is the one we use.

What’s Puriclean?

Puriclean is without doubt one of the most well-known motorhome tank cleaners. It’s very easy to make use of and works very successfully to eradicate micro organism, viruses, bio-film, algae, and fungi.

It has a dual-purpose method which each cleans and sterilises in a single go, so no must do two therapies. It cleans the complete motorhome water system: tanks, pipes, pumps, hoses and faucets and might apparently even be used to “take away stains from many home gadgets akin to glassware, plastic tableware, tea and occasional pots and stainless-steel gadgets akin to vacuum flasks”.

One 400g tub cleans a tank of as much as 270 litres and the combination doesn’t scent, foam or hurt any parts within the water system. It may be difficult to know when the tank is flushed, so I’d do it at the least twice to take away all the method earlier than you employ the tank usually.

Are Aquasol and Puriclean the identical factor?

NO. Aquasol and Puriclean are NOT the identical issues. Puriclean cleans and sterilises the tank, whereas Aquasol disinfects water while it’s within the tank ready for use.

We add Aquasol to our water EVERY time we replenish. It’s secure to drink or use in bathe.

Can you employ vinegar, bleach or acid to wash your water tank?

I’ve seen some posts and movies on Youtube speak about utilizing citric or acetic acid to wash a motorhome water tank because it restricts the expansion of micro organism and prevents algae rising.

We’ve by no means finished this, purely as a result of the acetic acid we all know of is hazardous to eyes and pores and skin. Many individuals use it as a weed killer. You will get a milder dose (vinegar is simply 4% acetic acid) however I query how efficient this could be!

So no, I don’t advocate utilizing vinegar or citric acid to wash your motorhome water tank. For those who do select to, you’ll want one litre of cleansing vinegar for each 100 litres of water.

Some individuals additionally point out utilizing bleach. Once more, bleach will be hazardous if consumed and I don’t really feel the danger is value utilizing it, particularly when there are different merchandise in the marketplace which do a fantastic job. I strongly advocate you employ a type of.

For those who do select to make use of bleach, remember it might probably injury stainless-steel, which many motorhome sizzling water boilers are made out of.

Do it’s worthwhile to sterilise a motorhome water tank?

Sterilising and cleansing a tank are related, however not fairly the identical factor. Cleansing is extra ‘washing out’, whereas sterilising is actively attempting to kill all of the micro organism.

One of many causes we like Puriclean is it cleans AND sterilises on the identical time, making the entire course of a lot simpler.

Tips on how to take care of your motorhome water system whereas travelling

Listed here are some tricks to preserve your water tank clear whereas on the highway:

• Change the water usually (at the least each three/4 days).
• For those who don’t naturally use this a lot water (if you happen to’re travelling solo or naturally frugal), then simply fill the tank midway every time so it’s not standing within the tank too lengthy.
• For those who’re motorhome wild tenting and wish to keep off-grid , you’ll be able to fill the tank full however be sure you add chemical substances (we do that each time anyway, irrespective of whether or not we’re wild tenting or on campsites).
• Use a correct meals grade hose to fill the water tank, and preserve it devoted JUST for this job. Preserve the hose in a protecting bag to cease the ends coming in touch with different issues. See our different motorhoming necessities right here.

Can you allow your motorhome with water in it?

Water doesn’t retailer nicely, though many plastic bottles say it should final for a couple of years. However stagnant water will begin to get micro organism and slime very quickly- scarily shortly. I at all times advocate you drain your water system down until you’re utilizing it once more inside per week.

I hope you discovered these suggestions helpful. I do know the considered catching one thing nasty out of your motorhome water system will be worrying, however utilizing a correct food-grade hose and cleansing out your system and tank usually ought to preserve every thing secure.

Final replace on 2023-09-06 / Affiliate hyperlinks / Pictures from Amazon Product Promoting API

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