Do you sanitize your hose?

[AustinBoston]

I've never given it a lot of thought, but I noticed that the instructions for sanitizing the water system on our Bayside said nothing about the hose.  I've always put some of the sanitizing mix (Clorox & water) in my hose & shuffled the hose around to get it to spread through the hose and let it sit for a while, then flush with plenty of tapwater.

Anybody else?

Austin

[tlhdoc]

I've never given it a lot of thought, but I noticed that the instructions for sanitizing the water system on our Bayside said nothing about the hose.  I've always put some of the sanitizing mix (Clorox & water) in my hose & shuffled the hose around to get it to spread through the hose and let it sit for a while, then flush with plenty of tapwater.

Anybody else?

Austin

Yes I do the same thing.  I also sanitize the water containers that I haul water in when we dry camp.

[angelsmom10]

I guess I missed something... how often should you sanitize and should you fill the tank or what?  I never even thought about it.  Although we bring water bottles to drink and we have a filtered water faucet on the PU, we really only wash with the PU water.  If I would use to to cook with, it would get boiled.

[champ521]

I also have a water filter on the PU so I don't actually sanitize the hose. Before I connect the hose to the PU, I first connect it to the water spigot and flush the hose for a few seconds.

[deniski]

Most water filters would NOT catch all bacterial or viral contamination (unless they have a special iodine or chlorine canister attached, or you are using reverse osmosis setup).  So if I was going to use water out of the tank for brushing teeth, washing dishes etc, I would sanitize the tank with chlorine solution periodically to be safe.  Should also let the chlorine solution run out of the tap, and then shut it off so that the spigot is sanitized.  Leave overnight, then flush out the next day.  

This is similar to advice our health department gives to homeowners on well water systems.

[towrod]

I sanitize the Holding Tank once a year and flush the hose prior to each
hook up and then store it connected end to end to keep out dirt and critters.

[BaysideBruce]

I sanitize the holding tank and plumbing at the begining of the year and once again sometime in the middle of camping season (late August).  I store my hose with the ends connected together and am very careful not to let them touch the ground while I am hooking up. I also use a two stage filter on the hose for sediment and a carbon filter (Yes I know it does not protect 100% against bacteria but it does improve the taste and it can't hurt any, provided it stays clean too.)

[Cadeuses]

I sanitize the Holding Tank once a year and flush the hose prior to each
hook up and then store it connected end to end to keep out dirt and critters.

The nurse in me would like you to know...
 
  Bacteria and viruses just love "dark, warm and moist" places.  Closing the hose end to end... assists in bacterial growth.  Once the O2 is gone from the hose... it will still grow anerobic bacteria.  Better to drain the hose well, sanitize, flush and leave open to the air where it has some chance to dry out.
 
HTH and have a great day!

[towrod]

The nurse in me would like you to know...
 
  Bacteria and viruses just love "dark, warm and moist" places.  Closing the hose end to end... assists in bacterial growth.  Once the O2 is gone from the hose... it will still grow anerobic bacteria.  Better to drain the hose well, sanitize, flush and leave open to the air where it has some chance to dry out.
 
HTH and have a great day!

Guess I'll start storing the hose with Idophor sanitizer in it and maybe run some in the holding tank too.  I've never had any trouble but just 'cause you can dash across the freeway once and not get hit doesn't mean it's a safe practice!

[Campaholics]

I'll stick my professional 2 cents in:

At work we have make and use USP Purified Water.  There are things that grow in all nutrient levels down to almost nothing.  I agree with Cadeuses, damp is bad.  You need to let the hose dry out before storing it.  We store all of our product and water hoses such that they drain and stay dry.  

Unfortunately, our PU water tanks don't drain completely; leaving us with a nice warm, wet environment for slime to grow.  We should sanitize at least a couple of times per year.

[AustinBoston]

The nurse in me would like you to know...
 
  Bacteria and viruses just love "dark, warm and moist" places.  Closing the hose end to end... assists in bacterial growth.  Once the O2 is gone from the hose... it will still grow anerobic bacteria.  Better to drain the hose well, sanitize, flush and leave open to the air where it has some chance to dry out.
 
HTH and have a great day!

In most climates, it would take about a year for the residual moisture to evaporate from inside 50 feet of hose (great big hose, little tiny opening).  In a lot of climates, it would accumulate condensation in places like garages and basements, even if you could dry it out completely.

Better to close it off so the bacteria can't enter in the first place. (Remember, we're talking about a hose that's been sanitized with a chlorine solution hundreds of times more powerful than than your plumbing at home.  How often do you dry that out?)

Austin

[Campaholics]

Austin,

The bacteria and other things like psudomonia sepeaica (serious spelling errors) are already in the hose.  Psudomonia sepeaica is the brown slime growing in your toilet's flush tank.  Chlorine and/or UV light slows things down some; dry keeps them from being fruitful and multiplying.  

Bob

[AustinBoston]

Austin,

The bacteria and other things like psudomonia sepeaica (serious spelling errors) are already in the hose.  Psudomonia sepeaica is the brown slime growing in your toilet's flush tank.  Chlorine and/or UV light slows things down some; dry keeps them from being fruitful and multiplying.  

Bob

If they grow in chlorinated water then they aren't likely to be very harmful.

How do you suggest drying the inside of a hose?  If you open both ends and hang it up (from a 50 foot pole?) to drain, it would remain damp inside the hose for a week or more.  If you hang it up until it stops dripping, then coil it up, it will remain moist for months.  In some climates, it would remain moist indefinitely.  The whole time, all kinds of bacteria, mold spores, and mildew can enter the hose from the open ends.

Austin

[Old Goat]

When I was growing up in South Florida, many years ago, we played in a county park after school and on saturdays. We drank from a pitcher pump on a well for a long time because the city had no money for improvements..After the war,times were better, and the park was hooked up to city water. There were no fountains installed, so we drank from spigots and garden hoses... I never heard of anyone getting sick from doing this....I have drank from a garden hose all my life when working in the yard around home and have never had a problem....

I always drain my camper hoses and connect the ends together after coiling, and then rinse them off  to remove any dirt before storing..When setting up,I always run water through the hose before connecting it to the camper...  I have never had a problem in many years of camping.........

[Campaholics]

Drinking water out of a garden hose always did taste better.

Assuming the water at a CG is chlorinated is a shakey assumption.  City water almost always is chlorinated.  However, out in the boonies a private well may not be chlorniated.  Still safe to drink, but not chlorinated.

Back to the hose question.  Dry is the gold standard.  We should try to get as close to that as possible.  Drain the hose as best you can, and leave it open.

Well, it's time to ice down the adult beverage, pack the cooler and head out for a great week end of camping.

Happy Camping from the Campaholics.

Bob