Fresh Water Tank Flushing

Morning all!

Our 'new' Trident does not appear to have been used in quite a while (maybe 12 months if I had to guess??).
Before we start using the fresh water tank, should we flush / clean it with some chemicals or just fill and empty it a few times?

Many thanks,
Steve

Hi Steve.

I use Milton steralizing fluid to clean my tanks. Some of the other members use a weak bleach solution. Both seem to work. What I do is fill the fresh tank with water and a cup full of Milton run the van around a bit to swill it about in the tank (road humps are great for this) then run it through the van pipelines into the waste tank. Refill the fresh tank with clean water. Run the van around again (I try to leave it in the waste tank for a couple of days if I can. I kills of waste tank smells. Then flush out the tanks. Job done for the year.

Cheers. Whisky.

Thanks Whiskey - we'll give that a try. It looks like Boots sell the milton fluid - will pop down there lunchtime!

Steve

Asda have their own version of Milton at about half the price.
I suspect that the other big name supermarkets do this too.

Frank

Wilco baby sterilising fluid (ie Milton) big bottle dead cheap

Unfortunately we live in the middle of nowhere - but we do have a Boots in Brecon where I work. So just picked up a bottle of Milton's! Will give it a whirl sometime this week...

Thanks again everyone for your advice!

Steve

I’ve always used Puriclean. Maybe I’m just being taken in by the advertising stuff but it seems to work well.
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Tesco thin bleach at +/-28p per 2 litres.

Unscented - perfect for sterilising water tanks.

Best regards,

Well - gave the tank a good flush today - althought I wasn't sure how much sterilising fluid to put it.

Anyone know the fresh water tank size on a Trident?

Thanks again,
Steve

Steve,

I wouldn't get too excited, or worried.

The bugs that generally cause stomach upsets are "coliforms" such as e-coli in its many forms.

As a general rule they come from animal or human sewage and you are much more likely to pick some up from beneath the fingernails of a "greasy spoon" waiter than from an unsterilised water tank!

For myself, I use about a cup full of Tesco bleach once a year to flush the tank out (i.e. bleach in - fill up to overflowing - leave it for fifteen minutes - drain down - refill - drain down again - refill).

For the rest of the year I stick a Milton tablet in every two or three re-fills.

Best regards,

Ian

As a matter of interest, does anyone have any views on using Sodium Metabisulphate (commonly used as a wine bottle steriliser)? I used to home brew many years ago, and still have a lot of this left!

I should add that the Sulphur Dioxide that it gives off when mixed with water can cause problems for asthmatics, but as it would be used outdoors (typically) this shouldn't be a problem. Unlike bleach, it should leave no residual taste.

Hi Steve,
Assuming you are new to motorhoming, a very common method is to use the tank water for washing only, and carry a seperate 5 or 10 litre container for drinking water, which is also useful for topping up the tank when you cant get near a tap to use your hosepipe.

Brian2

PS To find the size of your tank use a kitchen measure to find the capacity of a watering can, and use this to fill the tank counting how many cans are necessary, some people carry said watering can for easy filling of the tank on site.

-mojo- wrote:As a matter of interest, does anyone have any views on using Sodium Metabisulphate (commonly used as a wine bottle steriliser)? I used to home brew many years ago, and still have a lot of this left!

I should add that the Sulphur Dioxide that it gives off when mixed with water can cause problems for asthmatics, but as it would be used outdoors (typically) this shouldn't be a problem. Unlike bleach, it should leave no residual taste.

Hi there,

As I hate "waste" and "spending money" I looked up the situation on Wikipedia and discovered:

Sodium Metabisulphite

It is used as a preservative and antioxidant in food and is also known as E223.

It may cause allergic reactions in those who are sensitive to sulfites, including respiratory reactions in asthmatics, anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.

Sodium metabisulfite and potassium metabisulfite are the primary ingredients in Campden tablets, used for wine and beer making.

The acceptable daily intake is up to 0.7 mg per kg of body weight. Sodium metabisulfite has no side effects; it is oxidised in the liver to harmless sulfate and excreted in urine.

Sanitization and cleaning agent

It is commonly used in homebrewing and winemaking to sanitize equipment. It is used as a cleaning agent for potable water reverse osmosis membranes in desalination systems. It is also used to remove chloramine from drinking water after treatment.

My reading of this is that it looks OK to use; within the specified guidelines.

Best regards,

Thanks for that - I didn't realise that the body was so tolerant of it. Seems ideal for the purpose, assuming that it doesn't harm tank and pipe components (seems reasonable to assume it doesn't, given its use in brewing).