How often do you clean your freshwater tank?

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  • ADP1963
    ADP1963 Forum Participant Posts: 1,280
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    edited March 2016 #32

     .... so its pretty old now - like us!

    TF

    Would it last THAT long ........ Innocent

    Write your comments here...Ouch Molly ,that has cut me and TF to the quick! Laughing

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited March 2016 #33

     .... so its pretty old now - like us!

    TF

    Would it last THAT long ........ Innocent

    Write your comments here...Ouch Molly ,that has cut me and TF to the quick! Laughing

    Wink

  • Spriddler
    Spriddler Forum Participant Posts: 646
    500 Comments
    edited March 2016 #34

    For those who religiously clean out their tank, I will leave you with this thought.

    How often do you clean out your household loft water tank?

    peedee

    The storage tank in my loft feeds only the hot water system. All cold taps are connected directly to the main supply. We don't drink water from the loft storage tank which only supplies the hot taps and the shower.

  • Vanbirds68
    Vanbirds68 Forum Participant Posts: 149
    edited March 2016 #35

    For years we used Milton or supermarket variations, to clean our water system through via the Aquaroll, once a year at the beginning of each season. Reading CT we realised this wasn't a good idea and switched to Puriclean. However we had noticd a horrible
    bleachy taint to the water - we always use water straight from the van system. The Aquarolls seemed to be the culprit. After much research we gave the Aquarolls a good soaking in bicarbonate of soda, good rinse out - job done, lovely water.  We then just flushed
    the system through with clean water. This is what we shall do in future. This year we plan to start using the on- board water tank for the first time. We'll flush it through with Puriclean & then lots of fresh clean water. The Aquarolls will then be soaked
    in bicarbonate of soda & rinsed. There must be something in the composition of Aquarolls that don't like Miton or Puriclean type cleaners, we never had this problem with the old white water containers. The manufacturers of Aquarolls recommend bicarbonate of
    soda for cleaning out. We've never used bottled water, and dont  intend to! 

  • roosawf
    roosawf Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited March 2016 #36

    For those who religiously clean out their tank, I will leave you with this thought.

    How often do you clean out your household loft water tank?

    peedee

    The storage tank in my loft feeds only the hot water system. All cold taps are connected directly to the main supply. We don't drink water from the loft storage tank which only supplies the hot taps and the shower.

    Write your comments here...I don't even have loft storage as we had mains fed water direct to the combi and have mains presure.

    As for the on board tank I too find Miton an issue but regular flushing with clean water during the season and a deep clean pre season with a similar cleaning agent also striping shower heads and clean with a de-scaler will keep things tickyty boo :-)

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,644 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #37

    For years we used Milton or supermarket variations, to clean our water system through via the Aquaroll, once a year at the beginning of each season. Reading CT we realised this wasn't a good idea and switched to Puriclean. However we had noticd a horrible bleachy taint to the water - we always use water straight from the van system. The Aquarolls seemed to be the culprit. After much research we gave the Aquarolls a good soaking in bicarbonate of soda, good rinse out - job done, lovely water.  We then just flushed the system through with clean water. This is what we shall do in future. This year we plan to start using the on- board water tank for the first time. We'll flush it through with Puriclean & then lots of fresh clean water. The Aquarolls will then be soaked in bicarbonate of soda & rinsed. There must be something in the composition of Aquarolls that don't like Miton or Puriclean type cleaners, we never had this problem with the old white water containers. The manufacturers of Aquarolls recommend bicarbonate of soda for cleaning out. We've never used bottled water, and dont  intend to! 

    What dilution of Bicarb do you use in your Aquaroll?

  • Scottie2
    Scottie2 Forum Participant Posts: 226
    edited March 2016 #38

    Not a motor home, but a caravan...I use Milton and sterilise twice a year..At the start of the season and last thing before laying up. ...Fill Aquaroll with sterilise mix but only draw up water through the cold tap system....Don't use the hot tap as you
    don't want to fill hot water tank with Milton which is basically a bleach and would harm the tank inside...Leave filled cold water system for 24hours, drain of and rinse through thoroughly twice with fresh water.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2016 #39

    if youre using you van constantly, i dont really see a reason to clean the water system....our tap water contains chlorine..

    for those who wish to do so, Truma produce a product called Aquastar which can help and is non corrosive to stainless steel boilers... 

  • huskydog
    huskydog Club Member Posts: 5,460 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #40

    So the answer to the OP is, use the M/H regularly  and you won't need to clean it out Cool

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2016 #41

    So the answer to the OP is, use the M/H regularly  and you won't need to clean it out Cool

    Well, it certainly helps to use kit that needs to be used....

    helps avoid 'sleepy van syndrome' and the law of 'use it or lose it'....Wink

  • ABM
    ABM Forum Participant Posts: 14,578
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    edited March 2016 #42

    The  Huskypup's  learning  fast  isn't  he  !Wink

  • Marksailor
    Marksailor Forum Participant Posts: 57
    edited March 2016 #43

    if youre using you van constantly, i dont really see a reason to clean the water system....our tap water contains chlorine..

    for those who wish to do so, Truma produce a product called Aquastar which can help and is non corrosive to stainless steel boilers... 

    If you have a carbon filter in the water system, then no residual chlorine (which is only around 0.2ppm anyway at the source tap) will find its way into the system. So, no matter how much you use the system, no disinfectant will pass through. The water filter
    (Crystal, etc) will only remove taste- and also, alas, chorline/chloramine. If you remove, or don't have a filter, then if the supply is in constant use, it will be clean, but standing water in tanks has reduced chlorine content, so would be advisable to disinfect/clean
    at least once a year.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2016 #44

    mark, how will i know if i have a carbon filter?

    thre water system is in pretty constant use...

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited March 2016 #45

    I think Marksailor and I are singing from the same hymn sheet on this.   Except he does it far mote eloquently than I can

     Carbon  filters are ineffective in reducing the number of bacteria in your water supply. They will add to it because the bacteria will happily live on and in carbon filters doing what bacteria do, eg multiplying.  I sell filters to the pharmaceutical industry,
    for me to sell a sterilising grade filter it must be shown that it is capable of being able to filter a solution that contains at least 1 X 10^7 bacteria and still produce a sterile filtrate.  1x10^7 is a lot of bacteria, but that
    challenge amount is not per filter it is per square cm of filter area.  Oh the standard test bacteria is special small one grown under special conditions to keep it small.  

    So its obvious that this a sale pitch to get you buy one filters?   Wrong you don't think that we could sell these filters for £10 a time in an accessory shop.  You couldn't afford them.  Even then after all that you could argue
    that, that filter doesnt truly sterilise, beause microplasmas will go through it and as for viruses don't even go there.

    Keep your system clean and practice good hygiene but don't believe that tipping something into your aquaroll and running it through the taps will sterilise your water system then think again.  

    After all that bad news a bit of good we have evolved over millions of years to be resistant to the vast majority of these bugs. Be careful, but don't be paranoid and above all don't be fooled by carefully worded marketing Bull.
     

  • Aspenshaw
    Aspenshaw Forum Participant Posts: 611
    500 Comments
    edited March 2016 #46

    www.truma.com/uk/en/water-systems/information-aquastar.php

    Truma dropped AquaStar.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2016 #47

    Boff, i think my point was that i DIDNT want a carbon filter if it stops chlorine passing through into the system, where it can do what it does at home....

    our system is in pretty constant use and i am happy that this, along with the 'normal water we drink every day' os not gping to kill us.

    however, if a carbon filter fails to allow this to happen, i shall consider removing it.....if i knew i had oneUndecided

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited March 2016 #48

    BB You posted as I was typing so my reply wasn't directed at you!  Unless I am psychic. As far I know the only psychic power I posses is hind sight, which reading this forum seems to be quite common Laughing

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
    1000 Comments
    edited March 2016 #49

    BB You posted as I was typing so my reply wasn't directed at you!  Unless I am psychic. As far I know the only psychic power I posses is hind sight, which reading this forum seems to be quite common Laughing

    slways a good string to one's bow.....Happy

  • Marksailor
    Marksailor Forum Participant Posts: 57
    edited March 2016 #50

    Most carbon filters are either in the filter housing (like Crystal, ultralfow, etc.) or in a seperate unit in either the main cold feed interally, or sometimes just supplying the cold water kitchen tap. Manuals should tell you where- they need to be accessible
    for changing! In a MH, I would expect it to be shortly after the onboard water pump, or under the kitchen sink... probably!

  • Vanbirds68
    Vanbirds68 Forum Participant Posts: 149
    edited March 2016 #51

    For years we used Milton or supermarket variations, to clean our water system through via the Aquaroll, once a year at the beginning of each season. Reading CT we realised this wasn't a good idea and switched to Puriclean. However we had noticd a horrible
    bleachy taint to the water - we always use water straight from the van system. The Aquarolls seemed to be the culprit. After much research we gave the Aquarolls a good soaking in bicarbonate of soda, good rinse out - job done, lovely water.  We then just flushed
    the system through with clean water. This is what we shall do in future. This year we plan to start using the on- board water tank for the first time. We'll flush it through with Puriclean & then lots of fresh clean water. The Aquarolls will then be soaked
    in bicarbonate of soda & rinsed. There must be something in the composition of Aquarolls that don't like Miton or Puriclean type cleaners, we never had this problem with the old white water containers. The manufacturers of Aquarolls recommend bicarbonate of
    soda for cleaning out. We've never used bottled water, and dont  intend to! 

    What dilution of Bicarb do you use in your Aquaroll?

    Hi Nellie - four tablespoons per Aquaroll.

  • Scottie2
    Scottie2 Forum Participant Posts: 226
    edited March 2016 #52

    Don't have carbon filter in my caravan and don't use it from October to March...I use the Floe system to purge any remains drain down water but empty pipes can still have bacteria , hence my Milton twice a year thread.

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,644 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #53

    For years we used Milton or supermarket variations, to clean our water system through via the Aquaroll, once a year at the beginning of each season. Reading CT we realised this wasn't a good idea and switched to Puriclean. However we had noticd a horrible
    bleachy taint to the water - we always use water straight from the van system. The Aquarolls seemed to be the culprit. After much research we gave the Aquarolls a good soaking in bicarbonate of soda, good rinse out - job done, lovely water.  We then just flushed
    the system through with clean water. This is what we shall do in future. This year we plan to start using the on- board water tank for the first time. We'll flush it through with Puriclean & then lots of fresh clean water. The Aquarolls will then be soaked
    in bicarbonate of soda & rinsed. There must be something in the composition of Aquarolls that don't like Miton or Puriclean type cleaners, we never had this problem with the old white water containers. The manufacturers of Aquarolls recommend bicarbonate of
    soda for cleaning out. We've never used bottled water, and dont  intend to! 

    What dilution of Bicarb do you use in your Aquaroll?

    Hi Nellie - four tablespoons per Aquaroll.

    Cheers V. Only just found your reply, sorry for the delay in responding.

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2016 #54

    We clean ours at the biggining of the season, although we usually use it all year round, not yet this year as its been getting work done on it. When we are using it, we flush it through every time we come home, but thats about the limit of it. We don't make
    drinks from the water in the tank and we mostly use sites for showers and doing the dishes etc. so don't really fret about cleaning it regular.