Some Tips to avoid contamination
- Use a "drinking water safe" hose designed for RV/Marine use; garden hoses can leach chemicals.
- Use -- at the least -- a sediment filter. Tiny bits of sediment, rust flakes, etc., that might get into the fresh water tank can damage the water pump and other elements of the system.
- Some folks recommend using water from the tank all the time, even you have a city water connection. This prevents the water in the tank from sitting for long periods.
Using a funnel, put in about 1/3 cup (some use less) of Clorox into the tank for every 20 gallons or so of water, then drive a little to slosh it around. Run several gallons of hot water to get the mixture into the hot water tank. Run enough hot and cold water from every fixture (sinks, shower, toilet flush) to get the mixture into every line. Then, let things sit for about 10 minutes to allow the contact time for effective sanitation. Drain, refill with fresh water, drive around a little more, flush all lines and drain again. Refill the tank. If any Clorox smell or taste is still present, add about a cup of white vinegar and do the "drive and slosh" thing again. Finally drain and fill with fresh water. [When KoKo has been in storage for over a month, we use the above procedure and we run the clorinated water through all the water lines. Once the tank has all fresh water in it, we run water through the lines to clear the clorinated water]
Keeping it Fresh:
We add a capful of Purogene [Chlorine dioxide] each time we fill KoKo's tank. It's tasteless and keeps the water fresh.
Contributors: JC Taylor, WxToad
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