Drinking Water

[JimK]

Kirk, perhaps you did not notice.  I recommend against using a filter that removes chlorine.  I would restrict filter materials to those that remove sediment only.  Personally I have never found the use for any filter.  I would try to avoid using water with a lot of particulates or silt. and I would not want that in my RV tank or supply lines.

[Zulu]

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

The fact is that the greatest risk that we take as RV travelers is driving around the highways. Do a bit of investigating and see how many people develop drinking water related problems, as compared to those killed & injured on the highways. 

Not a fair comparison. The effects of an auto accident are very evident and often dramatic. The effects of drinking bad water may be delayed, cumulative, or not evident at all.

Also, this is an odd way to judge risk. It's like a heavy drinker saying "At least I'm not a smoker."

[Zulu]

1 hour ago, JimK said:

I would try to avoid using water with a lot of particulates or silt.

You don't full time, right?

[JimK]

1 hour ago, Zulu said:

You don't full time, right?

I full timed for a couple of years and now typically go out for a few months each year.  I can only remember having one serious issue with dirty water.  I could see the silt coming out of the tap.  I put some water in a collapsible jug and it was very cloudy.  I decided not to use that water and moved on within a couple of days.   I have not had any similar issue but that taught me to be careful.  I check the water clarity before filling my tank.  If the water is full of silt and particulates I would not want to trust it to be safe.   

[Randyretired]

A lot of wells will occasionally pick up small particles of sand or rock.  Especially noticeable when pumping a lot of water.  As the well refills water cascading down the well will dislodge a few particles of the rock formation.  This is the same formation that holds the well water.  We had a well like that and a simple particle filter took care of the problem.  Our current well is relatively new and occasionally will have a few sand particles in the water.  If it continues I will use a filter.  In the mean time we avoid pumping drinking water when the well has been pumped way down.  We wait for it to fill.

[Ray,IN]

I forgot to relate my water issue in a private RV park on the N side of Peoria, ILL a month ago. I always run a few gallons out of the spigot before attaching my whole house sediment filter. After the filter was attach for around 20 minutes it was orange from iron in the water source. It looked like floating particles suspended in the water. When I removed the water hose and filter the filter was solid orange with about a inch of settlement in the bottom of the clear housing.

Great reinforcement for my dedication to using a whole house sediment filter EVERY time, but that water was difficult to drink it was so full of dissolved minerals. The under-counter carbon filter remedied that.

[hemsteadc]

In 18 years I have never filtered my water.

[bigjim]

1 hour ago, hemsteadc said:

In 18 years I have never filtered my water.

You have been very fortunate.

One place I volunteered  was filtered  spring water. Filtered  by a basic sediment filter and clorinated properly and tested monthly. I was about 1/2 mile down from the the storage tank.  When I first got on site I put the basic sediment filter on my end before the trailer.  About the 2nd day I was showering and the water basically stopped before I could rinse off. Well that brand new filter was stopped up with rust from in the lines.  I back flushed the filter and was able to use it. Eventually after a few days I was able to operate normally with the filter just catching a little rust and sediment.

I wasn't born Texan but I have been one since I was 5. So I can tell the story of drinking water out of a muddy hoofprint and was glad to get it.  In spite of what Rooster Cogburn said about it in True Grit.😱

Edited August 28, 2020 by bigjim

[sandsys]

12 minutes ago, bigjim said:

I can tell the story of drinking water out of a muddy hoofprint and was glad to get it

I have a filter straw in my bugout kit in case I need to do something like that. I haven't needed such a thing in 73 years, though, so the odds of ever needing it are pretty slim.

Linda

[bigjim]

3 hours ago, sandsys said:

I have a filter straw in my bugout kit in case I need to do something like that. I haven't needed such a thing in 73 years, though, so the odds of ever needing it are pretty slim.

Linda

Still it is a really good idea.

[Ray,IN]

15 hours ago, sandsys said:

I have a filter straw in my bugout kit in case I need to do something like that. I haven't needed such a thing in 73 years, though, so the odds of ever needing it are pretty slim.

Linda

Never drink downstream from the herd.

[bigjim]

47 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

Never drink downstream from the herd.

Or downstream from the guy thing of p== in the stream. Not something ladies can accomplish easily.

Be careful of where  you swim too.

[richfaa]

We never have  much water in our fresh water tanks when in travel just enough to flush the toilets, etc .  Water taste different in different parts of the country and most of us are accustomed to the water at our Domicile. We carry a couple  gallons of  home water  or store bought water when in travel. We do not boon dock. The water at our Florida winter residence  taste nasty although test good. We purchased a filter system from the water filter guy  years ago and use it in Florida to filter out the nasty taste. We  do sanitize the fresh water tanks twice a year 

[2gypsies]

2 hours ago, bigjim said:

Or downstream from the guy thing of p== in the stream. Not something ladies can accomplish easily.

Be careful of where  you swim too.

If you ever take a rafting trip down the Colorado River you'll find out that women can stoop in line at the river just as well as men.  It's required that the river be used for pee.  For #2 an ammunition can is used complete with a toilet seat.  It's loaded into the boat after every stop and  contents disposed of properly once back to town... after 8 or 9 days.  Naturally, more than one can is used.  You can't be modest on that trip!  😉

[bigjim]

what an image, I shudder to contemplate.

[RV_]

If the campground is state, federal military, or commercially run which is considered public water supplies I would not hesitate. I used just a double sediment and activated charcoal filters inline because the sediment does little for bad tasting but safe water like when sulphur eating bacteria in a well gets into the water heater and makes foul smelling but safe water to drink. The charcoal filter took out the bad taste as well as the chlorine.

We traveled full time not just snowbirds or part time. And did everywhere West of the Mississippi and from Mexico up to and including Alaska through Alberta and BC. We used our water tank all the time even in campgrounds until it needed to be filled again. We would leave only five or ten gallons in it when we got back on the road so we had enough for toilet and lunch as well as watering the dog. Then fill our tank on arrival and use it. Once a year we'd sanitize and in between if we got lazy and used campground water directly for a few months letting the tank water get stale. We have gotten the red algae once or twice and sanitized it out before leaving.

Our home base had sulfite eating bacteria from a our well in Louisiana when my FIL had it before they passed. We were only there 2 or at most three months a year of the seven we full timed. I never let that water in my tank after the first time. And while there we had to use both filters just to be able to drink that soft water with the rotten egg odor. We even shocked the well and that lasted only a few weeks. So we always left with a sanitized freshwater tank almost empty to fill at our first overnight with good water.

Barring medical conditions we never had any water that made us ill in the US and Canada. Bottled water is just tap water and the plastic bottles used to be more dangerous than any public water supply which is where they get the water to filter and bottle to sell us when we can get the same water free from the spigot paid for in the camp fees.

Safe travels! (and water)

 

[JimK]

1 hour ago, Stephen Ryan said:

.....It functions very much the same as a Brita filter on a sink or a pitcher that people use in their homes. We are very happy with this purchase for our RV as the water where we are at you can smell the chlorine in. It literally smells like bleach water on some days. .....

Why do you suppose all of the chlorine has been added to the water?  If there are issues requiring a high level of chlorination, do you think it wise to remove that chlorine from the water entering your RV?

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, Stephen Ryan said:

Will be purchasing more of these in the future as it wears out.

I have used a water filter for all of our RV water for the past 30 years or so. I use the ones you mention now that we are back to part-time with a small RV, but when we were full-time I went to one of the whole house type filters as they last far longer and you have a very wide choice of the type of cartridges available. For the most part I used a carbon block, 3 micron filter but if water was suspect I would go up to one of the higher level filters. 

                             

[Solo18]

I also am in the category of drinking my water for 8 years and still standing.  I bought my motorhome new, and it had a whole-house filter, which I change every few months.  I also sometimes use one of the hose filters, but I also trust state and national park water because it gets  tested more often.  I also sanitize my tank every few months, depending on how hot it is outside.  And since I full-time, my tanks never sit with water in them for very long because I tend to use them instead of hooking up my city water hose. 

If you get cloudy water at a faucet at a state or national park, just let it run a few seconds, and it should clear up.  If it has not been used recently, like you are camping right after the park opens, it might be rusty or cloudy.  Check it after a few seconds to make sure.  And I drink the water regardless of it being city water or from a well because I actually prefer the taste of well water.  Reminds me of my childhood at our cottage--lots of minerals in that water, but we had it tested, and it was safe. 

The water from my tanks always tastes good, and it has never made me sick, at least to my knowledge.  And I save money and plastic waste by not buying bottled water.  I do have several reusable water bottles that can be frozen, so I fill them half-way and then lay them in my freezer on their sides.  Add tap water and let the large cube of ice melt. 

By the way, if you have a whole-house water filter, you should know that there are various levels of replacement filters.  The more expensive ones filter out more things, such as giardia, should you ever have water that has that in it.

[lappir]

Back when I was  younger I lived on a farm. We had "Well Water". Often times we would have to take a large "Water Tank" to town and fill up the tanks for the livestock, it took too long for the well pump to fill the 1500 gallon tank when the one in town could do it in minutes verses hours and the possibility we would run out for a day or two before the well could replenish. Over the years I have seen more and more concentrations of run off water from fields. Every farmer puts tile in the field to eliminate wet spots so they can farm all of the open ground. The rain water doesn't have a chance to filter down through the soil and is quickly added to the closest running stream, which connects into maybe a pond, but most likely a creek, then  a river and then a delta or the  gulf of Mexico (at least here in the US).  The runoff contains the fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides  and portions of the plant residue some good and some bad and all without the opportunity to break down or be diluted much. 

That is the reason I have multiple filters on my water input into my home and why I think you should too. I forgot to mention the "Fracking" that is going on everywhere to squeeze more oil out of the ground by pumping water under it. Who knows where that water is collected? I know I don't. 

 

Rod

[gjhunter01]

On 8/26/2020 at 3:09 PM, Vette Racer said:

While boondocking we carry 10 one gallon plastic drinking water bottles that we fill up at drinking water kiosks in the area for 25 cents a gallon or 5 gallon for a dollar. We use that for drinking, tea, and such.

So what is the difference in filling 10 gallon jugs vs just filling your RV tank? Just pour the kiosh water into your RV tank!

Another thing, being from the Flint, MI area, the real story is the water always was/is safe to drink, it's the old pipes running from the street water main into the houses that were leaching lead. Newer built or houses with plastic water lines did not have lead issues. The city government faulted by eliminating the lead inhibiter chemical in the city water supply, as a cost savings. The real scandal started with the water testing, the city knew which houses to test for safe lead levels and which houses to avoid. When the city was demanded to test suspect houses, they changed their test procedure to require running the tap water for 15 minutes before taking water samples which would flush out the lead.

We full time for the last 8 years and use our RV water tank of and on as needed and have never once cleaned or sanitized it, however I do drain it dry in between usage. Just this morning, the water hose froze up, so I turned on the pump and we will use tank water until the hose thaws out.

Edited November 5, 2020 by gjhunter01

[2gypsies]

3 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

We full time for the last 8 years and use our RV water tank of and on as needed and have never once cleaned or sanitized it, however I do drain it dry in between usage. 

We also full-timed 16 years and got our water from many different sources as we used public parks or boondocked the majority of the time.  We used the water from the tank for all our needs... drinking, cooking, etc.  No problems.  No sanitizing the tank. We did use good filters for the water coming into our tank and we had a kitchen filter for taste. We volunteered in public parks and know that they have their systems checked regularly by proper authorities.  They wouldn't risk the general public getting sick from their water system.

[Ray,IN]

4 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

So what is the difference in filling 10 gallon jugs vs just filling your RV tank? Just pour the kiosh water into your RV tank!

Another thing, being from the Flint, MI area, the real story is the water always was/is safe to drink, it's the old pipes running from the street water main into the houses that were leaching lead. Newer built or houses with plastic water lines did not have lead issues. The city government faulted by eliminating the lead inhibiter chemical in the city water supply, as a cost savings. The real scandal started with the water testing, the city knew which houses to test for safe lead levels and which houses to avoid. When the city was demanded to test suspect houses, they changed their test procedure to require running the tap water for 15 minutes before taking water samples which would flush out the lead.

We full time for the last 8 years and use our RV water tank of and on as needed and have never once cleaned or sanitized it, however I do drain it dry in between usage. Just this morning, the water hose froze up, so I turned on the pump and we will use tank water until the hose thaws out.

The only way to drain a water tank dry is for the drain to exit in the tank bottom and the RV level, if the drain is in the sidewall there will always be some water remaining.

[Kirk W]

50 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

The only way to drain a water tank dry is for the drain to exit in the tank bottom and the RV level, if the drain is in the sidewall there will always be some water remaining.

That is still true with a drain from the bottom of the tank, unless that drain is in a moulded low point. I had one with a bottom drain but the fitting into the tank had a threaded fitting with a nut that projected up into the tank and left almost as much water there as if the fitting is on the side, at the bottom.

[Ray,IN]

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

That is still true with a drain from the bottom of the tank, unless that drain is in a moulded low point. I had one with a bottom drain but the fitting into the tank had a threaded fitting with a nut that projected up into the tank and left almost as much water there as if the fitting is on the side, at the bottom.

I stand corrected. The only one I've owned had a  nipple on the bottom of the tank, all the rest were in a sidewall.