Ray,IN Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) 22 hours ago, Bill w/bus said: Use Purogene as alternative to bleach. Bleach takes at least two rinsed to clear the odor from the system. When, not if, you sanitize your water system make sure that you adhere to at least a thirty minute soak after the solution is flowing from all the water outlets. A proper sanitizer solution is a mild acid solution with the antibacterial addition. I use Purogene with citric acid powder mixed together and added to the water system via the pump. Maybe a once a year project. For less frequent usage then sanitize once and drain the system when going into storage. Add the Purogene at rate of one ounce per thirty gallons. Should fix your problem. Good luck with your system. Bill Per this website, the dosage is 32oz Purogene + 4oz citric acid per 50G to sanitize. For water disinfection, those amounts are cut in half. Purogene is chlorine dioxide, special attention should be given to sections 6 and 10 of that SDS. I'm not saying not to use it, however it should be handled and used with the appropriate precautions, just as I use Sodium Dichlor for water disinfection and sanitizing. Edited July 4, 2019 by Ray,IN Quote 2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 5, 2019 Report Share Posted July 5, 2019 For whatever reason we have not had a issue with water over many years of Rv.ing. Since 2006 we have been on the road at least 80 % of the time in general do not use the onboard fresh water for drinking or cooking. Helen has a onboard water purifying system that she uses for that purpose. We have a meter that measures the purity of the water and have never anywhere found it to be below Federal standards but the smell and taste can be a problem for us. We do have a system from the water filter guy that we use on the water input for prolonged stays we flush and drain the fresh water tank and hot water tank on a regular basis. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 6 hours ago, richfaa said: We have a meter that measures the purity of the water and have never anywhere found it to be below Federal standards What meter is that? Quote SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 6 hours ago, richfaa said: For whatever reason we have not had a issue with water over many years of Rv.ing. Since 2006 we have been on the road at least 80 % of the time in general do not use the onboard fresh water for drinking or cooking. Helen has a onboard water purifying system that she uses for that purpose. We have a meter that measures the purity of the water and have never anywhere found it to be below Federal standards but the smell and taste can be a problem for us. We do have a system from the water filter guy that we use on the water input for prolonged stays we flush and drain the fresh water tank and hot water tank on a regular basis. Rich, you mean you have a turbidity meter? One that measures dissolved solids? A pH meter, to assess the acidity/alkalinity? Obviously not an ICP to check for heavy metals as you have to send that one out. And what about possible bacterial/fungal/viral contamination - for that you need to check the residual chlorine content of the water. And for hydrocarbons, you need Mass Spec. Water analysis is complex and what you really need to a water supply that undergoes routine testing and makes those results available to those who use the water. And before someone asks, yes I often go online when in small towns where we have never been before and review their latest report on the municipal water supply. Quote Barb & Dave O'Keeffe 2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 (edited) The only meter richfaa can be referring to would be a TDS meter, which we know cannot measure water quality. If anyone uses a TDS meter, a reading above 500 is suspect though. Edited July 6, 2019 by Ray,IN Quote 2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 A TS meter is not a sufficient way to check for a contaminated water tank. It is absolutely amazing but after a few weeks of storage bacteria will grow in even highly purified reagent grade water. Regular use with chlorinated water will help to keep the tank sanitary almost indefinitely. If the tank sits for weeks on end with little or no use, I would sanitize it before use. There is another related issue. In many camping areas the water is pure but not chlorinated. Without chlorine, bacterial growth is going to occur even if the tank is in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 For whatever reason we have not had a issue with water over many years of Rv.ing. Since 2006 we have been on the road at least 80 % of the time in general do not use the onboard fresh water for drinking or cooking. Helen has a onboard water purifying system that she uses for that purpose. We have a meter that measures the purity of the water and have never anywhere found it to be below Federal standards but the smell and taste can be a problem for us. We do have a system from the water filter guy that we use on the water input for prolonged stays we flush and drain the fresh water tank and hot water tank on a regular basis. I do not know the type of meter and none of you can.I will look. It was given to us by a friend whose job involved testing water purity for the city. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 13 hours ago, Ray,IN said: The only meter richfaa can be referring to would be a TDS meter, which we know cannot measure water quality. If anyone uses a TDS meter, a reading above 500 is suspect though. Not if you are in the Arizona desert. Quote Barb & Dave O'Keeffe 2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Well we found it and it is a intellitec digital water purity meter and it is a TDS meter so I guess I will have to throw it in the trash as it is useless. The water we use is usually city water from a city we are nearby . It is apparently a miracle we have not contacted some horrible disease using this worthless meter over the years . We have used the meter when we know we are using well water and never found anything out of the ordinary but then again we were using a worthless meter....who knew. Thanks for the information it is good to have experts on the subject. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 The meter is worth little if anything. A low reading does not mean the water is safe. A high reading does not mean the water is unsafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Why would a company knowingly sell a device that does not work.We are going to g ive them a call and ask why they sell a worthless device. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 2 hours ago, Barbaraok said: Not if you are in the Arizona desert. Roger that. I get readings between 700 - 800 in Lake Havasu City. A TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter essentially measures hardness. Quote SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 Well i guess the TDS meter works for what it was intended to ,measure which is not water purity. We got to find a better meter Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 43 minutes ago, richfaa said: Well i guess the TDS meter works for what it was intended to ,measure which is not water purity. We got to find a better meter I don't think you'll find one meter that deals with all the possibilities of water pollution. Besides dissolved solids, there are chemicals, bacteria, viruses, etc, etc. I just assume the worst and filter for as much as I can on a non-municipal budget. Quote SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 We use a system from the water filter guy. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 2 hours ago, richfaa said: Why would a company knowingly sell a device that does not work.We are going to g ive them a call and ask why they sell a worthless device. Because it is not intended to determine water safety regarding sanitation. Many people use these meters to monitor pool water. High levels in drinking water can alter taste and very high levels might be harmful for those with renal failure. There are other reasons to avoid high TDS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowGypsy Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 We filter our water through a Berkey, but have never drank water from any of our RVs' fresh water holding tanks. Quote Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2gypsies Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 During our 16 years of full-timing and getting our water from many different types of sources we didn't have any issues. We filter the water coming into the RV with a good filter (not a cheapie WalMart-type). Call and talk to the RVFilterStore for recommendations of what you want to accomplish. We also use a under sink filter for taste. We've always used our fresh tank for drinking and cooking. Quote Full-timed for 16 YearsTraveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 We also do not use the onboard fresh water tank for drinking water. Helen has a onboard filtration system that she uses for cooking, coffee, etc.We rarely carry more than 1/3 tank of water in the tank and it is used for flushing when in travel. We are 98% of the time on a full hookup site . We do have a filtration system from the water filter guy that we use on extended stays and the main purpose is to eliminate taste and smell.We dId not understand the TDS metering but we do now. Quote Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 3 hours ago, 2gypsies said: During our 16 years of full-timing and getting our water from many different types of sources we didn't have any issues. We filter the water coming into the RV with a good filter (not a cheapie WalMart-type). Call and talk to the RVFilterStore for recommendations of what you want to accomplish. We also use a under sink filter for taste. We've always used our fresh tank for drinking and cooking. We have done that also with all of our RVs since the first one that had a water tank in 1974. Quote Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sehc Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 TDS is a legitimate water quality test. It would have kept you from drinking a lot of bad water. TDS is regulated in drinking water for a reason. Just a note. When I was in a cannery, qc would use a test strip to make a quick test for e-coli. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIMBEA Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 We have installed a Ultra Violet disinfecting system in our house (for well water) and it has passed all state inspections for safety. We had a bout of e-coli and now we a clean. Would this be something to consider for an RV?- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 13 minutes ago, JIMBEA said: We have installed a Ultra Violet disinfecting system in our house (for well water) and it has passed all state inspections for safety. We had a bout of e-coli and now we a clean. Would this be something to consider for an RV?- It sure would. I've had a UV filter in my RV since we started full timing. At the very least, it stopped an algae outbreak from getting into my RV's plumbing system. Quote SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy W Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 Just as a reminder, "bleach does not kill mildew, mold and some algae" it only bleaches it so it looks like its gone. I would suggest using hydrogen peroxide. Its cheep and in eliminates the oxygen the bacteria need to grow. You can also use white vinegar but it is a mild acetic acid 2% and it smells too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Billy W said: Just as a reminder, "bleach does not kill mildew, mold and some algae" it only bleaches it so it looks like its gone. No, bleach actually does kill mildew, mold, and algae. 3 hours ago, Billy W said: I would suggest using hydrogen peroxide. Its cheep and in eliminates the oxygen the bacteria need to grow. You can also use white vinegar but it is a mild acetic acid 2% and it smells too. Would that be a 3% (off-the-shelf), 6% (cosmetic - hair bleaching), 35% (food grade), or accelerated hydrogen peroxide (AHP)? Edited July 7, 2019 by Zulu Quote SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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