contaminating fresh water

[rooster63]

Was at an aire in Avranches recently which had a service point for getting rid of waste, black and grey and potable water at a cost of 2 euros. Although there was a flush to clean the dump drain there was no way of rinsing the cassette out. Observed a fellow Brit using the potable water tap to rinse his cassette out with the tap inserted into the filler spout of the toilet cassette!

Don't think I'll be topping up my fresh water tank at an aire in the future!

Perhaps I should have said something, but there were 2 of them and a lot bigger than me!

[Derek Uzzell]

Even if a dedicated ‘WC cassette rinsing’ tap is provided, and the purpose of that tap is clearly marked and the tap itself is well away from the ‘fresh-water’ tap, there’s always a risk of what you’ve described happening.

 

It’s wise to assume the worst and always give a campsite’s or aire’s fresh-water tap a thorough cleaning (preferably using a sterilant like bleach) before connecting a hose to it,

[Tracker]

We used to consider that every water tap be it on aires or sites or marinas etc had been similarly abused and so I always washed the tap with copious amounts of running tap water before connecting.

 

Whilst I appreciate your concerns I consider that there are enough real things that can kill you without worrying too much about the theoretical ones too!

[Grumblewagon]

Most times, I don't bother with buying water at Aires. I nip into a convenient Lidl, Aldi or similar and buy bottled water - 20 cents or so for 2 litres. I use this for drinking, cooking, cleaning teeth etc.. Water from the tank is only for washing and cleaning - and I try ti ensure that it's from a clean source.

 

[EJB]

Wipe the tap as Tracker says..no problem ;-)

[snowie]

Tracker - 2018-06-20 1:53 PM

 

We used to consider that every water tap be it on aires or sites or marinas etc had been similarly abused and so I always washed the tap with copious amounts of running tap water before connecting.

 

Whilst I appreciate your concerns I consider that there are enough real things that can kill you without worrying too much about the theoretical ones too!

 

To be fair Tracker, it sounds as though “used to consider” means that you considered the risk of upset stomach a risk, maybe not one that would kill you.

But you were right to be cautious.

Regards, Snowie

[Tracker]

snowie - 2018-06-20 5:22 PM

To be fair Tracker, it sounds as though “used to consider” means that you considered the risk of upset stomach a risk, maybe not one that would kill you.

But you were right to be cautious.

Regards, Snowie

 

'Used to' Alan in the context of 'not any more' because we no longer have a van, but if we did still have a van it would be 'still do'!

[Spyder]

Tank water is always just for washing and cleaning. Only drinking water kept in bottles is used for cooking and drinking.

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

Well i see it this way. If you have a maintained FW- tank like me having 120 ltr capacity, and a option of a larger one in space, and filled whit expensive water from my home. if boiled it styrile like your eyes. A good test is to make a cup of tea out of it. The best cup of tea dixit my partneir is seawater distilled to to drinking water, like in kuwait and on ships. Ships have also drinking water on board in tanks fron ashore.

[StuartO]

I recently suffered an episode of diarrhoea and vomiting due, we think, to some bad water we filled up with at a UK campsite.  It was by no means a trivial illness and although I shall spare you the sordid details, I had a truly horrible 24 hours and could do nothing except hover close to the toilet.  We had to abandon our holiday and go straight home to do a deep clean.  Thank goodness we had a second toilet cassette, which my dutiful wife swapped over (a first ever) following my directions. 

It was very probably a Norovirus attack which I probably contracted by showering using the water, which smelt drainy at the time; I inhaled microparticle contaminated by the virus.  Norovirus (I now know) is mostly spread by droplet inhalation or ingestion although it can also be contracted by ingesting contaminated food or drink, or even by hand-to-mouth contact after touching a contaminated surface; it is very contagious.  It can be extremely incapacitating; no wonder the airlines don't let flight deck crew eat the same dish.  Norovirus is apparently responsible for about 20% of episodes of infective gastroenteritis.

The mistake I made was allowing a pushy and somewhat bossy campsite owner to direct me to his hosepipe, which he then handed to me to fill my tank.  I assumed this hose was purpose-specific and was used frequently for the purpose but in fact it probably wasn't and the campsite owner almost certainly didn't flush the hose through before giving it to me, although he said he had.  I subsequently complained of a "drainy" smell but this was dismissed as unconnected.  We didn't use the water except for washing up etc but about 48 hours later I vomited spectacularly and then started with the explosive runs.

I will never fill the tank with any hose other than my own in future and nor will I fail to apply the test we always use on French Aires  of smelling and tasting a sample of the water first.

I did get the episode investigated by Environmental Health but without clear conclusion; no bacterial cause was found and the diagnosis of Norovirus, which cannot be tested for easily, is by exclusion.  I am certain the cause was the bad water from a stagnant, dirty hose on a UK campsite but when Environmental Health called there to test the water, the Campsite had changed hands and the previous owners (good ridance) had taken their garage hosepipe with them!  The new owners were given advice by Environmental Health and do not intend to make the same mistake.  (Hence it would be unfair to name the Campsite.)

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

I described the situation taking water in the tank frrom home and a weekend festival. Being in the UK filling was never a problem. However contamination can occur, and for dogs. Have some good medicines whit you.

[Alanb]

We put our first MH on the road nearly 27 years ago, and have always used water from the tank for drinking. However our trips have been restricted to the UK, and with rented vehicles in NZ.

 

We have never suffered any illness from this practice, but we do have several simple precautions, to which we adhere.

 

1. Always drain the tank after a trip.

2. Use garden hose to fill at home, but this is generously purged before any water is put in the tank.

3. Puge MH pipework before a trip.

4. When filling before a trip, put a few litres of water into the tank, and then drain again.

5. If using a hose for filling, it must be our own.

6. Keep hose clean, and store in dedicated plastic bag.

 

While we may use a food grade hose in the UK, and have of necessity to use the supplied hose on our NZ trips, the difficulty of keeping a hose clean, and draining it after use (a two person task) has resulted in our favoured filling method being to use a 10 litre container with extended pouring spout.

 

Alan

[hallii]

I have travelled extensively throughout Europe over many years ( 50 odd years camping/caravanning and motorhoming ) one of my pet hates is the way other people treat the drinking water taps. Even where the drinking tap is plainly marked "No WC" or similar, they will insist on using it to rinse the cassette.

 

I once requested a Frenchman did not use the Drinking water tap to rinse his cassette, his reply was simply " It's only a tap ".

 

The problem is that some people have different standards as to what is acceptable, and I don't think it will change. There are many newcomers to M/H at the moment and some of these are on the steep learning curve.

 

So, as Derek has said, use some bleach solution to rinse the tap including the handle, wipe with a dry cloth and then you should be OK. I carry a small garden sprayer with bleach solution ready made up, the "curtain twitchers" are always entertained when I use it, sometimes asking what I am doing, I try to educate them but I fear it may be in vain!

 

H

[Tracker]

I reckon if there is a risk of contamination it is much more likely to be within the pipework or water supply itself than the tap and in over 50 years of motorhoming, mostly non site, and using tank water for everything we have never experienced illness attributable to contaminated water.

There have been occasions when the water just does not taste 'right' but an empty out and refill generally cures that.

If you don't like the taste or just don't fancy it fair enough, your choice.

Sensible precautions as outlined are, err, sensible but there are so many things out there to get you in modern life that we were never too worried about water being one of 'em.

One is probably at greater risk of illness from restaurant food, or inadequate refrigeration on board the van, than tap water!