Flushing through water systems with steriliser
Hi, just interested in how often everyone sterilises their water systems? We have always done ours (water barrels inc) each time before going away (if a gap of more than a few weeks) but now the caravan is in storage it would possibly mean having to do it on site.
How do others in a similar situation deal with this issue?? Any suggestions gratefully received....
Thanks in advance
Comments
-
opinions will vary wildly on this from 'every trip' to 'never bother'...
personally, we never clean the system (its used for 25 or so weeks a year) and use the water for drinking, showering, cooking and washing up.
others will do similar, some will be horrified...our system gets a regular flushing with chlorinated water...this seems to have been sufficient to keep us alive.....so far
4 -
Doing it during winter storage is not needed as by and large you have to leave the tubing drained or you will have much bigger worries from the frost. With drained tubing little biological growth can occur as all life needs water to some degree.
I drain down well and in the season will not bother to sterilise as knowing a bit about the subject I know it is all but futile; best by far not to drink unboiled water from the system and leave it at that.
All said the risks are small for all by the "Detol" drenched generation, but the consequences can be quite severe should they happen.
Leaving most sterilising products against stainless steel, as in van boilers, can be very costly so flush it all out if leaving unused.
2 -
I sterilise the water carriers once a year (if I remember!). I don't sterilise the piping in the caravan but I do make sure it is thoroughly drained by using the Floe draining kit which, although quite expensive is, in my opinion well worth the money as it gets all the residual water from the system. It is surprising how much remains in the pipes after just draining by opening the drain taps (about a couple of litres!). As stated above if no water left in the pipes then less likely to breed nasties.
3 -
We drain down every time so every time I fill fill the aquaroll I drop in two water purification, (or if on a service pitch one once a day) tablets that I get from local dealer (can't remember what they are called). I do then wash and clean teeth with it but use bottled water for drinking and making drinks, which I do at home anyway due to the taste of tap water.
0 -
Us too. Drain off before we move off and refill when we arrive on next site. However we use our van for 2/3rds of the year. If we laid it up for longer than 4 weeks I think that I'd flush the system through before use.
0 -
I went through the same dilemma 30 years ago with my boat .... charcoal filters; sterilisers; draining/not draining; etc; etc.
I eventually settled on doing absolutely nothing for the tank water (used for washing) ......and using a few 5l containers for drinking water.
I now do exactly the same with the caravan.
0 -
My normal response to this is to show a photograph of pipes in a system which was flushed with steriliser before each long holiday - and to say 'this could be the inside of your pipework - would you want to drink from it'. The black slime smells foul - rotting fish, manure, and covered the entire pipe from end to end, and all inside the pump - and is a type of algae, mixed with bacteria. Algae are known to be toxic and certain types can kill wildlife which comes into contact with them. We flushed through with a recommended steriliser - either Puriclens or Milton and thought the water was safe.
It didn't give me a 'gippy tummy' or anything like that, but was suspected to be the cause of neurological (central nervous system) problems causing inability to walk in a straight line, problems with vision, and a variety of other things, which resulted in me having loads of blood tests, scans, including CT scans and MRI's and lots of other investigations - and was thought at one time to be perhaps the onset of MS. The strange thing was that it only happened after each caravan holiday - and was thought at one time to be due to the effect of long journeys on the balance part of the ear and brain or to the air-conditioning in the car being infected with bacteria. This was taken seriously enough for the car to be taken back to Ford and the air-conditioning tested for bacterial and algae contamination. We were actually loaned a car by Ford head office, but the air-conditioning was given the all clear. This was just before we found the problems with the pipework. I stopped drinking caravan water, after we found the pipes in this state and I never had the problem again.
0 -
The biggest problem I find is cleaning the pipe connected to the submersible pump. The outer blue covering tube hides a multitude of sins and I have now done away with it, the inner tube where the water flows has to be cleaned by the "pull through" method like cleaning a rifle barrel as that is the only way to remove the gunge, rinsing through with steriliser has no effect on it. The main system gets flushed through on the first outing of the year then the through flow keeps it clear for the rest of the year.
0 -
ValDa is correct insomuch that draining pipework by any method will still leave moisture present unless the system is purged with something like nitrogen in order to completely dry it. Therefore algae will continue to thrive inside, possible at a lower growth rate in cold weather and could cause the sort of problems she describes.
From an engineering paper on cleaning pipework:
"The disinfection is normally carried out by thorough flushing and then filling the system with chlorinated water at an initial concentration of 50ppm for a contact period of 1 hour. The process has been successful if the free residual chlorine level is not less than 30ppm at the end of this period." This is followed by a fresh water flush.
The recommendation is then to leave the pipework system full.
Obviously we have to drain down during the winter, so the inference must be that we should use the above disinfection method at the start of each season, which is what I do and then forget about it.
Having said that I do keep a bottle of water in our fridge since I find chilled water more refreshing but the bottle is filled from the 'van's tap.
0 -
The Truma plug onto my caravan came apart. While fixing it, I also came across the gunge in the pipework .... not pleasant. I assume this is to do with the tainted water taste from my caravan's taps ..... we drank water from the last caravan with no problem at all.
0 -
dm, i agree...if moving from one site to another, why would you need to drain down (and then refill...)...i dont drain down from one months end to another (unless we are at home for a few weeks and there is a real liklihood of a frost.
surely, 10kg of water cant have any effect on towing a caravan...
if so, id be more seriously worried about the bedding and the clothes in the wardrobe (significantly more than 10kg) but i doubt they are jetisoned each trip....
if i did this, i could be dumping 50ltr or more of fresh water and a (expensively heated) tank of hot water, what a waste.....
0 -
Whilst I sympathise with Val Da’s presumably very rare situation I would ask how often does anyone sterilises their house plumbing system? Occasionally I sterilise the aquaroll (once a year if I can bothered) but the only reason we drain down each trip is to reduce nose weight. I take the view a good spell of a hard frost (as in the past week with temps around -6 at night) will probably de-bug most water systems. I believe in the view we all have to eat a bit of dirt in our lives and the epidemic of allergies to this, that and t’other is in part due to over zealous cleanliness. And that is from someone who has Crohns and has yet to have any stomach related issues which could claim to arise from dodgy Caravan plumbing. I am not sure how drinking bottled water is any better and have yet to see any evidence water from bottles is somehow ‘safer’ than 99.999% recurring tap water in the developed world.
1 -
"I would ask how often does anyone sterilises their house plumbing system? "
I would point out that our house plumbing system is very very different to that in our vans. Unless we are into drinking water from our house hot system in installations where we have a header tank, the cold water is "chlorinated". Plus right from the waterworks to the cold tap that sterilising agent is physically trapped there, additionally, none of the water or the system is exposed to the atmosphere. It is if using the hot water supply in designs with headers hence drinking water should never be drawn from that system.
So, we sterilise our home systems for every second from the day the house was built.
Then take the caravan; the water immediately it is taken from the site tap is exposed to the atmosphere where it rapidly is depleted of the statutory sterilising agent and can pick up whatever is airborne. To add to that, the container used could have been empty and exposed to air for hours, days weeks months, or left damp and stagnant? The van's pipework is vented again for periods, it is not forever charged as in our homes and just like the container can lay stagnant.
The systems as said are totally different, so don't let us work on false concepts but look at what we really have.
Even so the risks of things going wrong is not typically high but can be. My view is this is a risk we can so readily side step and so we don't drink unboiled water from the van, I suspect I would have got away with it if I did, however knowing the issues we choose not to.
1 -
http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm
Please have a look at the above link.
it should give a clearer understanding on bacterial growth in pipework.
0 -
Personal preference indeed and if worried or has affected you then do what you think will alleviate it. Me, I don't and have never tried to live in a sterile bubble, so I drain before winter and flush through after to rid of any insects etc. I brush teeth and rinse mouth direct from the tap, have done the same for years with no ill effects.
1 -
With the exception of Val Da’s reaction are there actually ANY recorded incidents of caravanners or motorhomers becoming ill with stomach bug, legionnaires etc DIRECTLY attributable to the potential risks raised in various posts that statistically suggest there is a raised level of risk of illness? I am with Methevens take on life.
0 -
to coin a topical phrase....'me too'....
0 -
our 'drinking water' comes out of bottles....mine is red, OH's is white
0 -
But what evidence do you have that your 5 litre drinks container is any safer than an Aquarol? I would suggest non and you just think that it is.
For the record I/we drink straight out of the caravan tap and never had a problem, again this isn't really evidence just an honest observation.
But I have been very ill after drinking that red and white stuff that comes in bottle and is often sealed with a bit of tree bark.
0 -
as i said earlier 'me, too!' lol
0 -
Yes I know. But this debate is like the Tyron bands debate. Lots of opinion and conjecture but no evidence. I am not saying using a seperate water container or Tyron bands will do any harm. But that not the same as saying failure to do so puts you at risk.
1 -
I’m in agreement with your comment.
I believe it’s more above the collection of information and and making up your own mind. Doing what you are happy with. And what’s good for you
There are so many factors that are unique to each person, their water system, their habits and person health conditions.
I’ve been involved with water systems and the treatments of such and experienced outbreaks of bacterial growth within.
I follow some basic rules but know realistically it sometimes comes down to things happen beyond your control.
0
