bobgarden Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 Well - I asked and you certainly told me and as a bonus entertained me with the passion of real motorhomers. What a lot of effort you all put in. I am now clear how I will carry on from here. Proper clean thru once a year. Empty at end of each trip and a quick flush thru before filling at the start of the next. Drink only boiled water i.e. coffee etc I enjoy red wine with my meal . but if I have to have some water - I will add some whisky to it. On second thoughts thats a bit OTT for teeth cleaning. Again my thanks to you all Regards Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkc Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Davenewell@home "Of course my preferred method of making sure that any water I consume is safe is to only drink that which has been through a decent brewery or distillery" Dave............Your my bestist friend you are, hic! Regards PKC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Highe Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hi I'm with Dave Newell. I can vouch for the fact that he isn't over fussy - I've seen him drinking tea in his workshop! Beer, of course, was drunk for centuries because the water used in its brewing was boiled and therefore safe. Tea and Coffee will be similarly safe. If your freshawater tank has a high enough throughput and you always fill it from reliable sources, that too will be safe. Problems will arise if the source is dubious or the water is left to stand for too long. If you leave water standing anywhere for too long it will encourage the growth of microbes, some of which will be bad for you. The hotter the climate, the faster this will happen. Common sense really. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Mel B - 2009-09-04 9:07 PM Rupert, you do it your way, I'll do it my way, my simple steps are: - I always emptying the tank after each trip - I check the tank is clean - as the emptying 'bung' is inside the tank I have to look in it to stick it back in after emptying so can see if it needs cleaning or not, so if necessary it gets a clean - I flush it through for a while each time when filling for the first time before a trip - I always clean the filler tap before attaching the hosepipe to it, both at home and away - If we're away for a fair amount of time I'll periodically totally empty the tank and fill up with fresh water. If you are sensible and make sure you keep the tank and water system clean and fresh, and only fill from potable water supplies, then using the water from the tank shouldn't cause any problems at all. The whole point of having a water tank it to hold fresh water so that it is 'on tap' (pun intended!) and readily available, and I intend to use it as such. I take it this meets your remit of how to qualify as an intelligent person? :-S i always drain and clean my tank after every foray, i have a white plastic water carrier that we can use to fill the tank if required and this is made from the same material as my inboard tank so no prob. there. if i open the 100mm screw top on my tank i can clearly see that it is spotlessly clean and the water tastes fine, as long as the local supply is. i also must be an intelligent person rupert as in the years of drinking water from my tank i have grown an extra head. >:-) >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 We always use the onboard tank for everything including drinking water. I always empty it after use & before going away I fill it up then run about 25% off via the kitchen tap since doing this never had a problem with tainted water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Elswood Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 bobgarden - 2009-09-05 10:19 AM Well - I asked and you certainly told me and as a bonus entertained me with the passion of real motorhomers. What a lot of effort you all put in. I am now clear how I will carry on from here. Proper clean thru once a year. Empty at end of each trip and a quick flush thru before filling at the start of the next. Drink only boiled water i.e. coffee etc I enjoy red wine with my meal . but if I have to have some water - I will add some whisky to it. On second thoughts thats a bit OTT for teeth cleaning. Again my thanks to you all Regards Bob Na !! Bob. If you are truly Zummerzet, you will flush it out with Zider !! Never done me no harm, Waaaaaaaaah !! Who said that ? !!!!!! See what I mean !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Elswood Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 bobgarden - 2009-09-05 10:19 AM Well - I asked and you certainly told me and as a bonus entertained me with the passion of real motorhomers. What a lot of effort you all put in. I am now clear how I will carry on from here. Proper clean thru once a year. Empty at end of each trip and a quick flush thru before filling at the start of the next. Drink only boiled water i.e. coffee etc I enjoy red wine with my meal . but if I have to have some water - I will add some whisky to it. On second thoughts thats a bit OTT for teeth cleaning. Again my thanks to you all Regards Bob Na !! Bob. If you are truly Zummerzet, you will flush it out with Zider !! Never done me no harm, Waaaaaaaaah !! Who said that ? !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffers Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 davenewell@home - 2009-09-04 6:37 PM Had a 22 year old motorhome in today and found several dead insects inside the inboard water tank which otherwise looked perfectly fine. Drink water out of an on board tank voluntarily? Not a chance! D. added protein - surely Dave, personally I prefer my water to come with strong colouring, preferably of the red hue, :-> >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Pasted from a previous reply of mine: "Of course my preferred method of making sure that any water I consume is safe is to only drink that which has been through a decent brewery or distillery ". :D D. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blizzard Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I had always been happy to use water from my caravan onboard tank, supplied via an Aquaroll, with regular cleaning and sterilising, until around 3 years ago when I returned home from a weekend away in the UK with a runny tum. This turned into over a week of the most horrendous pain and inability to leave the ensuite long enough to visit my doc. For the first time in my adult life, I had to call a doctor out to my house for treatment and a stool sample was sent off for tests. The result came back as Campylabacter Enteritis (or similar spelling) and it involved me having to fill health forms and questionaires in, trying to identify every place I had eaten in, to find where I had picked up the bug. It may not have come from my drinking water supply, however I am now a convert to using bottled water for drinking when away and will be continuing this practice in the new motorhome. However, I do believe it's important on an evening to replace bottled water with a selection of other bottled substances... :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Blizzard On this occasion were you on your own in the 'van and did the other person suffer too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blizzard Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 spospe - 2009-09-06 4:09 PM Blizzard On this occasion were you on your own in the 'van and did the other person suffer too? We queried this one as a family at the time, there were 4 of us away and we all drank from the same supply and ate our meals together, yet I was the only one to suffer. Wife and kids decided that I was soft, yet I've never experienced anything like it, either before or since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Hi have people never drunk from their bathroom tap? This is probably fed from a tank in your loft that may well have insects, dust from loft etc in tank. When you have been away on holiday it has stood in the tank, possibly for weeks at a time - sometomes in very warm conditions. The main reason i do not drink from a M/Home tank is taste - our first M/Hone was fine so we used water; the second always had a taste that spoilt the coffee/tea so we used bottled water; our curent one tastes fine - no problem. I too have had campylobacter and sits not pleasant, but that came from a cafe - when i spoke to public health about where i had eaten in previous days they knew exactly where i had picked it up - didn't use that cafe again (no it was not closed). Everybody has own view on risk so do what you are comfortable with. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Blizzard Thanks for the swift reply. The only time that I have been ill, (diarrhoea) whilst away was in Spain and yet my wife was perfectly OK. We had both eaten and drunken the same things, so it is an enduring mystery to me as to just how I got the bug. Sometimes it is very difficult / impossible to say for certain just where these nasties come from and how they get into our systems. My personal guess in my case mentioned above, is that the bugs got onto my hands somehow and in eating, were transferred to my mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I must admit, we do now use bottled water for tea, coffee etc, so that it always tasts the same, we used to use a filter jug which worked OK but it was too much hastle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 peterjl - 2009-09-06 4:47 PM Hi have people never drunk from their bathroom tap? This is probably fed from a tank in your loft that may well have insects, dust from loft etc in tank. When you have been away on holiday it has stood in the tank, possibly for weeks at a time - sometomes in very warm conditions. The main reason i do not drink from a M/Home tank is taste - our first M/Hone was fine so we used water; the second always had a taste that spoilt the coffee/tea so we used bottled water; our curent one tastes fine - no problem. I too have had campylobacter and sits not pleasant, but that came from a cafe - when i spoke to public health about where i had eaten in previous days they knew exactly where i had picked it up - didn't use that cafe again (no it was not closed). Everybody has own view on risk so do what you are comfortable with. Peterjust a note, in domestic premises all cold water even the bathroom tap (unless specificaly altered as per shower etc. will normally be off the main so no prob. i had a phobia about this for many years as my mother always told us kids not to drink water in the bathroom. if you are now carrying water in storage tanks in your attic, for hot or cold water you should have them cleaned and sterilised at least once a year and make sure they are sealed including screening the overflow, i am in the trade albeit in the commercial sector and the number of water tanks i have seen (in both schools and hospitals) with all sorts inc. dead vermin floating around in them beggers belief. :-S :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Hi Clay, you may be slightly wrong when you say basins are on the main, for years the cold to the basin was teed of the cold to the bath as its near, and is therefore from the tank, having been retired for 9 years I dont know what is done now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I've never heard of boaters sterilising their tanks and most of them are laid up for 5 months in winter. I've had my boat 17 Yrs and always use the water for making tea. I never drink it out of the tap as I don't like water unless it's had a tea bag in it. The chlorine in it probably would kill any bugs anyway. I can't see how flies could get in, as the filler is a screw in cap and is watertight. As Dave and others have said, each to his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smifee Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Thought I would try to be one of the 'intelligent people' and looked in my water tank. It was full of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RupertGS Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 smifee - 2009-09-07 2:21 PM Thought I would try to be one of the 'intelligent people' and looked in my water tank. It was full of water. Ah, you may have thought that you were mimicking what intelligent people do, but intelligent people know that you cannot see with the naked eye the micro-organisms that cause water-borne infections.Good try though, at least we've got you thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Got one of these when we got the van, never check water and I never drink water from home, but what comes out of here is delicious and clean. http://www.generalecologyeurope.com/naturepure.html I know others on here have them but couldn't find a reference to them in this thread so thought I would add my 2penneth. :-D Each to their own I say, whatever you are comfortable having. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kedavi Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I'm not sure there is a single answer to this that suits everyone, but here's a few thoughts of mine: I've spent most of my working life in the water treatment industry, building and refurbishing water treatment works and treatment processes for many of the major water companies from Scotland to Essex and many points in between. The industry has a very good record in general and things are improving all the time. But if the general public ever saw some of the dilapidated plants, poor hygiene conditions and dodgy practices that went on within the industry they would be very, very surprised. It is normal practice to clean out the service reservoirs (the covered tanks that store the final water that feeds the network to your house) about every five years, but many haven't been done for very much longer than that, and some will have never been done in a lifetime. Often there will be a few of feet of brown sludge, a few dead animals, penetrating tree roots, and evidence of rainwater ingress inside from leaking covers. I doubt that a motorhome water tank could ever compete with this! But the point is that with the residual chlorine that exists in the treated water, the water (almost always) remains sterile. All water companies have to carry out daily lab analysis from their sources to confirm this, and there are very few failures. When the water passes through into the distribution network the chlorine in the water degrades throughout it's travels. When it finally arrives at your tap there will be less residual chlorine than there was when it left the water works. The treatment process aims to result in a target chlorine level at your house - too much and it will taste unpleasant, and too little and it will be inneffective. When you fill your motorhome from the mains the water will be chlorinated correctly, but the effectiveness of the chlorine degrades over time. If the tank is used frequntly and the water is 'turned over' there shouldn't be an issue as it won't be in there long enough to cause problems. But water that is stored in your motorhome in poor conditions for a long period of time can eventually breed bugs if the hygiene is not maintained. When I use my motorhome I empty the tank and refill it, adding a small dose of chlorine booster. My family and I have used the onboard supply for everything including drinking with no problems so far. My own belief is that trying to live our lives in a fully sterilised world is neither achievable nor productive. The current adverts for Domestos multi surface cleaner on the tv showing the paranoid mum trying to achive a totally sterile environment worthy of an operating theatre are laughable. Why would you want to do this, and what happens to her kid when he eventually does encounter a germ that she has missed? The more we try to live like this the more problems we will create for ourselves as our bodies become less and less tolerant of the everyday bugs in our natural surroundings. I have recently been to India, where the majority of people don't have access to what we would consider to be clean drinking water. The people there drink water that would make almost anyone from this country violently ill in no time, yet it has no effect on them. They have better immune systems because they have been exposed to the bugs. And they don't use Domestos multi surface cleaner either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 kedavi Very well put, you have just about summed-up my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemoss Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Well said kedavi - that's exactly how I feel and what I've been doing, but without the benefit of your professional experience. I too think there's a danger in too much over-zealous cleanliness and will continue to drink water straight from the motorhome tank. Empty between trips, fill regularly during is my motto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 trooper - 2009-09-06 7:49 PM Hi Clay, you may be slightly wrong when you say basins are on the main, for years the cold to the basin was teed of the cold to the bath as its near, and is therefore from the tank, having been retired for 9 years I dont know what is done now.hi trooper, on occasions i have come across this . i did mention that there were times when things altered. but in my 40 years in the trade i personally found that the vast majority of baths, basins etc. are connected to mains even the old lead. it may vary in your area as i have no reason to doubt you have seen differently. so i think the best thing we can do is meet up on a camp site somewhere , open a few tinnies and while away the time boring our other halves chewing the fat over plumbing matters. cheers mate (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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