Bicarb or Milton to clean aquaroll & system?
We're about to set up our caravan for the first time. Information on this CC website recommends cleaning the Aquaroll & water system with Milton. The Aquaroll Official Video is quite clear that bicarb of soda is the only way, at least as far as the aquaroll is concerned, to avoid tainting the water.
Any comments or words of experienced wisdom, please?
Many thanks,
Richard
Comments
-
I'm learning as much as you are but I'm sure I read somewhere (here or another forum?) that Puriclean is the best thing to use?
£2.99 for a tub from your local automotive store which is good for 3 or 4 cleans.
I don't drink from the Aqua roll so it doesn't worry me.
Your choices should work as well.
0 -
Puriclean & similar are good for cleaning the water systems
found on caravans and motorvans BUT I'm not brave enough
to enter the argument about using the water tank contents
for drinking etc == Tooooo many people do and / or do not
hold strong views on one side or the other of this argument.
Must admit tho' the vast majority of 'em are still alive and
kicking ( mainly kicking those of the opposite view !! )
Seriously, take a stroll thro the various outdoor traders etc
and you will see the cleaners etc all lined up to divest you
of your hard earned Fivers !! Just don't leave Milton or such
like fluids in contact with the pipework etc for too long 'cos it
can attack the metalwork 'cos it is acidic.
B
1 -
We have always used puri clean, seems to work well.
0 -
I use puriclean but I never use the Aquaroll water for drinking or cooking - I don't trust that the pipes will remain clean enough for my delicate stomach - there seem to be two definite schools of thought on this one - including people who have never got sick and people who have got sick but never after not using the aquaroll for drinking. I keep a 5 litre bottle and fill that at the tap if the site water tastes ok - or buy bottled for drinking.
0 -
Thanks all. Reading round some more, I realise I have just stepped into a favourite caravanning minefield topic indeed! There are major discussions on another forum about this, complete with the occasional frayed temper...
But so far nobody seems to mention using bicarb of soda, whatever other products, or none, they go for. Interesting.
I think I'd better just keep quiet about whatever decision we reach, it just may have implications for years ahead if I meet one of you on a site somewhere
0 -
Most things in caravaning are a mine field and as far as I'm concerned all part of the learning curve.
As you may see from another thread I'm not sure what additive to put in my toilet!
My above "dont" should have a been a "won't" as we never had it in the trailer tent, ie: it's new (but still would drink from it, upset stomach and all that)
Let us know what you decide to go with and your reason. Any good advice helps us newbies out.
I look forward to all the "I wouldn't have done it like that" advice on the camping sites. We all have to start out at the beginning
1 -
I've used Puriclean on my aqua roll once in six years. I drink from the system and it's never done me any har.....gh.....
7 -
Similar experience here CY. When I use anything, we use Puriclean, However we do not drink cold water from the tap - I prefer bottled anyway - you can keep it in the fridge etc. We use aquaroll water for cooking, washing up, cleaning teeth etc. Someone told me in the dim and distant past that Milton isn't a good idea for the boiler etc.
David
0 -
Hi Harrib0, as a fellow newbie the main conclusion I'm coming to is that probably lots of things work for lots of different people, and it's largely down to personal preference. We're moving into caravanning for the first time after years in tents, so used to much more basic technology, or more often, none! I suspect this question might be parallel to posting a question about what sort of tea is right to drink.
And again, I'm grateful to all the people who've taken time to address what I hadn't realised was such an old chestnut of a question - it all helps.The question of which is the correct tea is not intended as a new thread, by the way
.0 -
I too had heard that Milton wasn't good for the system but lots of people seem to use it!
I had never heard of Bicarb as a cleaner but do tell us more?
ValDa has a horrid picture of her exterior pipe cut to show the black gunge inside - so I am in the "don't drink it" camp. I don't drink tap water at home either until it has been filtered.
0 -
More on the Bicarb - I checked with our scientist neighbours (as in industrial chemist in the day job). Bicarb's great for removing any plastic smells, but they reckon it won't actually bump off bacteria and their mates. Meanwhile the bit of paper with our new Aquaroll, along with their Official Video are both quite insistent that bicarb is the only thing to use in there.
As to the rest of the system, the neighbourly advice is to get some wine bottle cleaner, as it shouldn't affect any metal work.
But all this from a complete caravan newbie and his non-caravanning neighbours, so no experienced authority here.Meanwhile at home we really need to get a filter, as our hard water is the death of kettles and things.
Thanks for joining in so helpfully!
0 -
HH & Haribo,
For the first ten years of my gainful employment
the company was officially part of the Civil Service
therefore I am confident enough to say that :--
The Correct tea is HOT, Strong & Sweet and of
whatever variety you like !!
Brian A B M
EDIT !!
P.S. If the wine bottle cleaner reccommended is "Acetic Acid"
expect a few funny looks or questions -- I was informed at
the local home brewing supplier that its regularly the substance
of choice for naughty boys etc to mix with certain illegal &
noxious white powdery substances
!!B
1 -
Although this subject can be divisive, I think the majority would be cautious about using Milton and allowing it to stand for several hours in a metal hot water tank, as Milton could adversely affect the heating element and reduce it's working life. It can pit and eat through the metal. Like Valda I also cut open an old blue connecting pipe and found the inner surface coated with black slime, caused by the sun on standing water. I therefor use some old plastic milk bottles for drinking water, one in the fridge to keep it cool.
0 -
I use diluted milton and let it stand in the aquaroll, then pump it through the caravans system, let it stand and next day flush the system out. That will be it until the following year.
I drink from the taps also, have done for over 20 years, been known to drink from streams and rivers, bathed in quarries and rivers, swallowed contaminated water in public swimming pools, reached retirement and still in good health. Don't like beer though.
1 -
As the Aquaroll literature/website clearly states - bicarbonate for cleaning out the water containers. But never put it through the system! We have in the past used Milton, Puriclean & suchlike but it does tend to taint the water. Now we just give the system and Aquaroll a good flush through if they've been standing for a few months. We also drink the water 😮, cook, make tea & coffee, shower, clean teeth etc etc and are still here to tell the tale. Others, of course, will disagree...
1 -
When wine making I always used Sodium metabisulphite as a disinfectant and fermentation stopper.
For our caravan system I will use Milton, our children survived it and the water doesn't stay in the caravan's system any longer than it did in them.
0 -
I've just done our Aquaroll with Puriclean. I don't run it through the pipes though. I always purge the pipes with "Floe" after each trip which gets rid of the residue water in the system. That said we don't tend to drink directly from the tap except for cooking and cleaning teeth. We keep a water bottle with a filter in the fridge for drinking which I fill direct from the site tap.
0 -
Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear
The Acetic Acid I mentioned yesterday is actually CITRIC
Acid. For some strange reason I checked on it during the
Spurs cup game today, why I don't know but the brain
kicked in
-- must have been dreaming, I suppose !!B
0 -
Very tempted here to divert OT into a discussion of The Correct Tea... knew I shouldn't have mentioned it!!
(From one who, as unable to consume milk, has long been addicted to decent quality herb & spice teas, of which there are even more varieties than the usual brown stuff. But that's all OT, so I'd really better not go down this route....!)
0 -
You are correct it comes down to personal preference. Me I drink the water and don't sanitise the system. Most drinking water is chlorinated anyway so has a low bug count
You do what you are happy with. But be aware that chlorine can attack stainless steel. Bleach and Milton ( cos Milton is just bleach with an advertising budget) and puriclean are all Chlorine based. For treating an already cleaned and rinsed aquaroll the Bleach is very effective should you choose to us it. Tbh the only thing I treat with bleach is the waste container to freshen it up and even then only occasionally
0 -
This thread is reminds me of my first day in the Middle East in the 1970's when I was offered a large bottle of Gordon's gin with which to clean my teeth as the local water wasn't considered safe. I'm wondering if I should revert to that system.
0
!!