Flushing our water tank

[PITPOP27]

Well, we opened it up because we noticed the last owner left water in the tank  :yikes: Greeeeeennnn yummies inside, so we'll be flushing the tank with the bleach solution recommended in the handbook, any extra tips you've come up with to:
1.  Make the job easier
2.  Make sure it's done properly
3.  help with the non bleachieness of it (Lol I hate bleach! I've ruined so many clothes with it)

Thanks in advance!

[wavery]

Well, we opened it up because we noticed the last owner left water in the tank  :yikes: Greeeeeennnn yummies inside, so we'll be flushing the tank with the bleach solution recommended in the handbook, any extra tips you've come up with to:
1.  Make the job easier
2.  Make sure it's done properly
3.  help with the non bleachieness of it (Lol I hate bleach! I've ruined so many clothes with it)

Thanks in advance!

Bleach is the way to go.

I'd put about a gallon of it in the tank, tow the trailer down a fairly rough road. I'd run my pump on hot water setting to get it through the hot water heater and all of the lines. I'd repeat the proceedure with fresh water, a couple of times to clear out the bleach.

The "Green yummies" will be gone. The left over bleach will dissipate.

Not a good idea to get it on your clothes but 1 gallon of bleach in 20 gallons of water is about the same as you put in your washing machine. Just wear white

I used to use this same procedure on my yacht, once a year. I had 3 - 100 gallon tanks and I was taking on water in all sorts of foreign countries. Actually, rain water was the worst. I used to put 3 OZ of bleach in every (100 gallon) tank full of water to keep the "Green Yummies" away.

[AustinBoston]

I'd put about a gallon of it in the tank...1 gallon of bleach in 20 gallons of water...

This is about three times the bleach Fleetwood reccomends (1/4 cup per gallon) for normal sanitation.  What you describe is not normal.  I don't think it would do any harm to use the whole gallon, and if the tank were really gross, I'd be likely to do the same, but it's not according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I'd expect to have to run an extra flush using that concentrate.

Austin

[wavery]

This is about three times the bleach Fleetwood reccomends (1/4 cup per gallon) for normal sanitation.  What you describe is not normal.  I don't think it would do any harm to use the whole gallon, and if the tank were really gross, I'd be likely to do the same, but it's not according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I'd expect to have to run an extra flush using that concentrate.

Austin

I think that the manuf tends to be a bit conservative for liability reasons. A gallon of bleach in 20 gal of water really isn't that strong IMHO (which means little). Also, I would imagine that they were giving maintenance instruction ("for normal sanitation").  PITPOP27 is talking about having algae in the tank. I (personally) would like to make sure that the algae were gone.

Having said that, 1/4 cup may be enough to kill all of it. It really doesn't take much. an entire gallon may be a little overkill but I don't think that it will hurt anything (other than the "Green yummies) . I think that I would, at least, double the delusion for algae presence as compared to "normal sanitation".

[chasd60]

Don't forget the white vinegar flush if you have any bleach aftertaste. Yea, I know......... How do you get rid of the vinegar aftertaste?
Believe it or not, it goes away with a simple flush with water.
 
Bleach is hard on plastics and rubber, so don't allow it to stand any longer than needed.

[wavery]

Don't forget the white vinegar flush if you have any bleach aftertaste. Yea, I know......... How do you get rid of the vinegar aftertaste?
Believe it or not, it goes away with a simple flush with water.
 
Bleach is hard on plastics and rubber, so don't allow it to stand any longer than needed.

Bleach (More accurately "Chlorine") isn't too hard on plastic as is evidenced in the container that it is sold in. Chlorine is hard on rubber especially when combined with hot water. Cold water and bleach doesn't seem to be a problem unless it is very concentrated over long periods of time. Having said that, I don't believe that you will find any rubber in your system. Most pump parts, seals and hoses are made of neoprene. It doesn't effect neoprene.

Just to keep this in perspective, Chlorine (bleach) is what the Water Companies in most cities put in your drinking water for sanitation purposes. In Los Angeles, the chlorine is so strong that you can smell it in the water sometimes.

If you want to be concerned about something, be concerned about your skin and especially your lungs. Don't inhale that stuff as it comes out of the bottle. It is extremely caustic and can harm your lungs. Also, keep it far away from ammonia. Ammonia and bleach make a very deadly poison.

[tlhdoc]

With the condition you have stated, green stuff growing in the tank, I would first drain the tank and as much of the water system as you can. Then mix 1/4 cup of bleach in with a gallon of water.  Pour that into the tank, fill the tank and then pump the bleach water all trough your water system, water heater, hot and cold water lines, outside shower etc.  Leave it soak for a few hours pump some water through the system to move as much of the dead stuff out of the lines, then drain the lines and do it all over again.  I would also run a lot of water through the lines to move any gunk along after the second bleaching.  There is a screen on the electric water pump that will need to be cleaned. Do several rinses with fresh water and you should be good to go.  If you don't leave the bleach water in the lines for more than a few hours there shouldn't be much bleach taste left in them.

[wavery]

This is about three times the bleach Fleetwood reccomends (1/4 cup per gallon) for normal sanitation.  What you describe is not normal.  I don't think it would do any harm to use the whole gallon, and if the tank were really gross, I'd be likely to do the same, but it's not according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I'd expect to have to run an extra flush using that concentrate.

Austin

Austin,
I just re-read your post. Are you saying that the Fleetwood manual states, "(1/4 cup per gallon)"?? If that's correct (I doubt that it is) that would mean 5 gallons of bleach in a 20 gallon tank. Could this have been a typo? Did you mean 1/4 cup of bleach in a gallon of water, poured in the tank (Like tlhdoc just posted)? Just curious.

[dthurk]

Austin,
I just re-read your post. Are you saying that the Fleetwood manual states, "(1/4 cup per gallon)"?? If that's correct (I doubt that it is) that would mean 5 gallons of bleach in a 20 gallon tank. Could this have been a typo? Did you mean 1/4 cup of bleach in a gallon of water, poured in the tank (Like tlhdoc just posted)? Just curious.

20 1/4 cups would be 5 cups (a little more than a quart), not 5 gallons.

[chasd60]

Austin,
 I just re-read your post. Are you saying that the Fleetwood manual states, "(1/4 cup per gallon)"?? If that's correct (I doubt that it is) that would mean 5 gallons of bleach in a 20 gallon tank. Could this have been a typo? Did you mean 1/4 cup of bleach in a gallon of water, poured in the tank (Like tlhdoc just posted)? Just curious.

You mis-read his post. He said 1/4 cup not 1/4 gallon. A 20 gallon tank would use 5 cups not 5 gallons.

[wavery]

20 1/4 cups would be 5 cups (a little more than a quart), not 5 gallons.

DUH!! :eyecrazy: Not sure what I was thinking about. :p

[SpeakEasy]

DUH!! :eyecrazy: Not sure what I was thinking about. :p

You gotta get that green stuff outa yo' pipe, man!

[chasd60]

Bleach (More accurately "Chlorine") isn't too hard on plastic as is evidenced in the container that it is sold in. Chlorine is hard on rubber especially when combined with hot water. Cold water and bleach doesn't seem to be a problem unless it is very concentrated over long periods of time. Having said that, I don't believe that you will find any rubber in your system. Most pump parts, seals and hoses are made of neoprene. It doesn't effect neoprene.
 
 Just to keep this in perspective, Chlorine (bleach) is what the Water Companies in most cities put in your drinking water for sanitation purposes. In Los Angeles, the chlorine is so strong that you can smell it in the water sometimes.
 
 If you want to be concerned about something, be concerned about your skin and especially your lungs. Don't inhale that stuff as it comes out of the bottle. It is extremely caustic and can harm your lungs. Also, keep it far away from ammonia. Ammonia and bleach make a very deadly poison.

Neoprene does not stand up well with "chlorine" but it does fair well with Chlorox which is a very dilluted solution of chlorine not to mention further dilluting by mixing with water.

[wavery]

You gotta get that green stuff outa yo' pipe, man!

Ya!! I guess :p

Maybe I should try bleaching it.

[batsignal2]

Hi Pitpot,

I love this website!

Here is my perspective on "cleaning" fungal build-up.  In the heathcare field, we are required to stick to standards developed by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) for taking care of everything from fungal issues to more serious problems like viral growths on surfaces (example: blood spatter that has traces of hepatitus).  

The CDC standard for killing and disinfecting (the purpose of my posting) fungal build-up with a 5% sodium-hypoclorite solution (example: Clorox bleach) is 9 parts water to 1 part bleach or a 10% solution for a minimum of 10 minutes.  The entire surface must remain within the solution for the entire 10 minutes.  If the surface dries prematurely, the surface may look clean, but it may not be entirely disinfected.  Rinsing the surface after the solution has been removed is also recommended.

The other issue with fungal growths is that they are also breeding grounds for bacterium and viral attacks.  If your think your system may have a combination of one of these also, you are going to need a minimum time of 20 minutes to disinfect the surface with the same solution.

You can get hospital grade cleaning solutions which have disinfection times of 1 minute for everything up to viral infections that are very safe for drinking systems.  In fact, we use many of them to clean our systems.  Our systems have rubber gaskets, etc and we have not had problems with decay.  The good thing about these disinfectants is the time factor to disinfect surfaces (1 minute verses 20 minutes), the bad thing is cost.  

If you are interested in names of solutions other than bleach, please feel free to email me and I can send you links to look at.  

Good Luck.

Jeff