advice and help

[misty lane]

hello all i am new to motor homeing can any body give me some info on cleaning out water tanks on a autotrail arapaho what sort of things will i need ? many thanks alan..

[Thai Bry]

Hi Misty lane ( Alan) and welcome to the forum, some will say the "Mad house", but welcome anyway.

 

You will get plenty of advice on how to clean out your water tank.

 

I have used the following procedure:-

 

Fill up your water tank and prime your system - i.e make sure you also have water in your hot wtaer system. Then drain the whole lot , and make sure both your hot water tank and cold water tank are empty.

I then normally add a little "Milton" fluid and then pour this into the cold water tank and fill back up again.

Again flush this through the system, and once again drain off any excess water.

After this, it should be OK to use and will not leave an after taste in your water system.

 

Hope this helps, as I say, some others will be along and giving your their useful advice as well.

 

Enjoy motorhoming!

 

[misty lane]

thanks a lot- thai bry- that will be a good job done it sounds so simple.

[747]

Make sure you use a weak solution of Milton as it has an adverse reaction on the stainless steel used in your hot water system. It will also leave an aftertaste.

 

For your grey water tank, there are a few methods.

 

Pour some bleach down the kitchen and bathroom sinks and shower plughole. Flush some clean water through and fill the waste tank to about one third full. Go for a drive to agitate the contents and then drain.

I carry bleach in the van and every so often, I pour some bleach (as described earlier), let my fresh water and any hot water run into the waste tank, then head home. On arrival I drain off.

 

Some people use cheap Cola or Orange juice and pour it down the sink. It sounds odd but it works.

[tugga]

I use Milton for my fresh water tanks, but I don't drink it as its has a funny taste, even after using milton, therefore I carry a 5 litre water bottle from a supermarket with us that I top up and use that for my kettle and drinking.

 

When we leave site, I use household soda (95p for 1 kg) and I put about half a cupful in a jug and put hot water on it and pour it down my kitchen and bathroom sink and shower, then I empty what hot water I have left (by letting the tap run) and then head off home and empty it at home. It is great, it stops all the smells and leaves it clean for the next run out.

 

Enjoy your motorhome.

[BGD]

Welcome!

 

OK, at the risk of being shot by others, I'm going to propose that you at least consider one other option: don't bother.

 

 

Some (many?) may say I'm daft for saying this, but...........we don't drink our fresh water (we carry bottled for that), we only shower/wash up/fill the loo flush tank with it.

 

In 5 years of regular MH'ing, maybe 50 or more nights away per year, I've never bothered "cleaning out" our freshwater or grey water tanks.

I just re-fill the fresh tank using a length of garden hosepipe when it's level is low.

 

What do you think that "cleaning out" a tank does that not "cleaning out " a tank doesn't do.......especially a waste tank?

 

 

 

 

Cue cries of utter horror.........................

 

 

[flicka]

A word of caution regarding cleaning your Fresh Water system - Milton will attack Stainless Steel in your Water Heater even in dilute quantity, due to the Chlorine in Milton.

Rather than risk a big bill to replace your Water Heater, consider using Home Brew Sterilising Fluid as an alternative.