RV Water System Sanitization, Maintenance & Mistakes Every RV Owner Should Know!

[@EnjoyTheJourneyLife]

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[@seanbhaney]

One point that should be made about draining the fresh water tanks with either a bleach or vinegar solution is DO NOT DRAIN THEM ONTO AND PLANTS OR FLOWERS! Either solution will kill or at the very least, harm any kind of plant life. I personally would just let the water run into the gray tanks and use it to additionally sanitize those tanks as well (of course, making sure they don't overflow!), then just drain them like you would do normally.

[@burtmccormick4727]

At the National RV Training Academy, I was taught never to sanitize the water heater with any kind of bleach solution if it is made of steel like Dometic. Even though it is lined to prevent corrosion, tiny micro cracks eventually form, and if bleach is introduced, it will greatly accelerate the rust on the inside of the tank. You should bypass the water heater when using bleach, and sanitize it separately with full strength vinegar: 1 gallon for each gallon of capacity.

[@amberblackwell4326]

This is EXACTLY what I was coming on here to say!!! I just wanted to read the comments and make sure that someone else hadn’t done it already so I wouldn’t be one of those people that re-posts someone’s same comment. NEVER RUN BLEACH THROUGH YOUR HOT WATER HEATER!!!!! These guys always have such great advice but dang it this could cause a perfect storm of future problems. Make sure to close that line before running the sanitizer through your rv!

[@tedfisk1211]

Agree. bypass your water heater. It is odd that this gent did not mention that.

[@starhopper457]

I'll be there next week. I was about to ask about vinegar. Thanks for the clarification.

[@sallison9999]

Great Video. Our Travel Trailer has two smaller drain valves under the RV to drain any fluid left in the sink and water heater lines. If you have those, I suggest you drain them with the bleach solution and also with fresh water too. Make sure they are completely drained before winter storage too.

[@BabyJakesBBQ]

I would suggest going ahead and running the sanitizer through the toilet lines as well. If the system is primed with water and the lines to the toilet are NOT treated, then after sanitizing the rest of the system any of the microbes present in the toilet line can easily work their way back upstream when water isn’t running, which would give the next round of gunk a head start on an otherwise fully sanitized system.

[@garryhammond3117]

These guys seem to provide a great "all-around" service to al RV tank systems - love the idea of winterizing/de-winterizing aspect.

[@markashlock9017]

I always drain my water heater, as I want it sanitized too. With the set up I have, I have to physically drain it ( good time to clean it and check your anode also). I then go through the procedures he listed. Then I turn on my water pump. The water heater will call for the water first. When it is full, I turn off the pump, and go out and top off my fresh water tank , as some 6 gallons will be used in the water heater. After letting everything set as described, I empty my fresh water tank. I also empty my hot water tank again. I didn’t do that in the beginning, but continued to notice the smell of chlorine when using hot water well into our travels. Re-emptying solved that issue. Then I refill all with fresh water, empty, and repeat. Like he said, easy, but very time consuming. We still run our drinking water through a Berkey😏. PS…Bleach doesn’t maintain peak effectiveness for all that long, and the use by date on most bleach bottles is in code. It’s so cheap, that I write the purchase date on the bottle, keep it in a cool place for no more than 1 year, then replace.

[@valeriechaffins4638]

You should never use bleach in your water heater if you have an anode rod. The bleach will destroy you water heater holding tank! Vinegar only!

[@greggv8]

Have you seen My Bucket List Day's latest video? He's finally posted a video about the frame damage to his Grand Design Momentum. It broke in 17 places! You go off road lots more than he had so I think you should get yours checked and reinforced before it gets to the point of the pinbox coming close to ripping off.

[@matthawrysko]

😄'Tanks' for taking the time to make these types of videos, they are very informative and even though we have been RV'ing (not as full timers) for 12 + years, there are still things to be learned. I sanitize once a year and until this year have never done the vinegar hot water tank sanitization. We travel a couple of times a year, about 5k miles total, and our RV sits in a seasonal site the rest of the year. I'm going to start the sanitizing twice a year, maybe more as we use it every weekend between April and October.

[@billyskullz]

While in the Army, we had 500 gallon water Buffalo's when in the field, to clean it we used 2 cups of beach and fill it half way. This standard came from the medics. Then drive the water tank around a few miles to let it slosh around and then empty that solution and refill with fresh water. The amount of beach just seems like it would be too much beach.

[@larrymangold1048]

That three filter water filtration system (0.2 micron) does nothing for the bacteria that may be present. You would need a reverse osmosis system to remove bacteria. So, you're paying $500 to reduce sediment and chlorine that you can get from an inline Camco filter.

[@The_Good_Life_starts_today]

Informative video but should have some cautions about combining vinegar and bleach and how to bypass the water heater.

[@vincentbonello5725]

I really enjoy your videos with Jim from Kleen Tank. Thank you.

[@BrewCityRider]

Instead of just dumping the bleach water out the bottom of the tank I run it out via the faucets with the gray tanks open. I figure this way you will take better advantage of the solution to thoroughly sanitize all your plumbing. My Keystone manual is not real clear on this and just say's to "drain the system" after letting it sit for 4 hours. Thoughts on this?

[@Freightmeister]

Thanks Tom for these Kleen Tank series with Jim

[@brianbelliveau5551]

I do mine twice a year and let it sit over night good idea

[@debbieshaw5345]

Are you familiar with colloidal silver? I use it to sanitize my hot tub and our EMP supplies. It works great. If you are familiar with it, what do you think? It prevents or kills mold, algae etc. We're new at this but it was my first thought. We have a generator so we can make as much as we want.

[@tompfender8732]

Instead of disinfecting wipes, I prefer to a spray bottle of Clorox bleach solution… the spray gets into nooks and crannies your’re liable to miss with a direct contact wipe down. When arriving at a camp site with sewer hookup, I liberally spray the hose bib, the handle, the shutoff valve (if there is one)… I have seen, first hand, some one hosing the sewer hose directly from the bib, with no gloves… and I also spray the area around the sewer dump site if I have to walk around it…

[@kekoab2213]

Would it be a good idea to have a water gauge to make sure the tank is full?

[@bendemby924]

Don't know what Jim said about cleaning out your fresh water tank and do or don't flushing out your hot water tank at the same time with water heater off Tom thanks for all your RV tips..

[@electricamish]

I do dump the bleach at the head of my supply hose, that way you help to clean the hose you use from the post to the RV, otherwise you supply everything with a dirty hose???

[@genereck7418]

Thought of doing a some videos on older RV's. Not all RV'ers have new/updated trailers.

[@joshuakoffman6282]

Any opinion on using concentrated hydrogen peroxide?

[@timmymcdermott4904]

Do you bypass or howdo you bypass the residential refrigerator and ice machine in the frig?

[@51ubetcha]

After running the sanitizing solution thought the inside plumbing, is it recommended to top off the fresh water tank to replace the water that was just run through the lines?

[@MrCyruskrakow]

Would blowing out the plumbing with air help to reduce mold while the trailer is sitting?

[@joetucker9500]

Does it harm water heater and rubber seals and casket

[@bobabooie6389]

Can you run that solution through the water heater or do you have to bypass that?👍🇺🇲

[@unclelala4216]

I was going to ask the same thing

[@captjim97]

My understanding is that you want to bypass the water heater to avoid any corrosion from the bleach

[@amberblackwell4326]

NOOOOO! Never. Unless you want cracks or damage down the road! Bypass the hot water heater. There are some good videos out there on KZbin about this.

[@Dan_H_MT]

Would it be a good idea to add a small amount of bleach to every refill of the freshwater tank while using it through the camping season? We do not drink the water out of our freshwater tank.

[@bluelagoonacres]

Did you by pass the hot water heater before running thru the plumbing?

[@jerrysgaragethemoneypit2028]

Do you sanitize the close washer? If so how does the bleach affect the components with the solution?

[@roger80465]

Our RV manufacturer (Alliance) recommends using the 'winterizing' setting to avoid the water heater. I'm surprised he suggests using the power fill setting.

[@Bushbob691]

Mine has a Hot water tank Bypass valve. So I just turn that off.

[@DavesGarage365]

Great video. I just watched this video and the RV tank masterclass. I learned so much. Thanks for sharing. I was curious how you linked the products in the description? I am also an RV’er (full time) and started sharing videos and doing affiliate marketing with my products I used. I generally share an Amazon link, but I’ve found the person then has to log in to their account to buy. I like how your products have a photo, price and take you right o Home Depot/ Lowe’s. Would you mind sharing how you are able to link these products in your description, so easily? Thanks again for sharing. My domestic toilet is leaking around the base which is what got me on KZbin today. Now I’m in the rabbit hole of learning a bunch of other things from your videos and the Kleen Tank guy. (My toilet is still leaking around the base, lol). I’m gonna get back to my original product, but I see a tank flush and disinfect in my near future. Awesome videos.

[@kenhelmers2603]

Good to see Jim again. Good info!! Thanks :)

[@allabouttires7723]

Nebie here , how do you get it through the hot water side without pulling from water heater???

[@kathybeeston6429]

Thank you for the great video. Have learned a lot. Very informative. Keep up the amazing job. Never to old to learn 😊😉

[@EnjoyTheJourneyLife]

Great to hear!

[@syzygy1294]

I like the idea of using vinegar instead of bleach. I assume the vinegar you mentioned is regular 5%. I have 30% that is sold by Lowe's. What do you think about that?

[@Woodbutcher681]

I used to use 20% as a weed killer at a plant I worked at. I would dilute it way down. That stuff will burn your skin!

[@Beckycorbetthypnotherapy]

Do you not have to by pass the boiler I think you call it furnace in the states?

[@robertkusek4006]

Do you a native your HotWater tank?

[@davidzimmerman6439]

where can I buy the siphon valve you used to siphon the bleach

[@EnjoyTheJourneyLife]

Sure, here you go: Brass injector amzn.to/48cCqaO

[@davidzimmerman6439]

thanks@@EnjoyTheJourneyLife

[@justinjarvi2290]

I saw this video last week, been searching ever since to find this siphon valve. Thank you!!!

[@kekoab2213]

How much does it cost?

[@jimm7165]

Is there a down side for using "too much" bleach? I used about a quart on 26 gallons and let it sit over night after pumping through.

[@MykahLowe]

Yes, bleach is corrosive and can damage your system if not in the correct concentration.

[@DYKENSFAM]

Did you bleach your hot water heater also?

[@stifflers69mom1]

No you do NOT want bleach in your water heater

[@danrambow7721]

So you are an old person full-timer, and need your water in your RV a little quicker than your 8-hour process would allow. What about just chlorinating your system with a lesser amount of bleach?

[@alularussell778]

Chlorine in greater amounts than the city already adds isn't good for your body, especially a more mature body. Also too much chlorine in your RV system isn't good for plastic parts and has a tendancy to very slowly erode plastic so you're ingesting it, in small quantities but it's there. That's why you do the rinse, to save your body and save your RV from damage.

[@bmcdonald7303]

Thank you.

[@JustinHallowesOutdoors]

great information, thanks

[@peterdejoseph5197]

I understand sanitizing. But why wipe with a sanitizing cloth? Your using bleach won't that clean the fittings

[@dancorby4576]

Thanks!

[@adventuresontheroad1969]

Fantastic video and information here and thank you for helping a blind man see with this! I will be doing exactly what I learned by this video today. Another great video by you sir! Keep it up! BTW.... Somehow became Unsubscribed without knowing it until this morning. Just an FYI

[@parneypots]

Informative!

[@MrWebspark]

Great information..thanks soo much guys! And Tom...I hope you have a Buzz Lightyear costume for Halloween!!!🤣

[@EnjoyTheJourneyLife]

Yes we do LOL!

[@rjw8316]

Get a wind sock for your microphone.

[@tractorbob2745]

NEVER PUT SOMETHING LIKE BLEACH INTO A WATER BOTTLE. You are inviting a tragic accident. At the very least pull the label off and draw a skull and crossbones on it.

[@jayb.8460]

I'm not good at drawing tho.😢 I'm just going to roll the dice.😉

[@onegrail9398]

Not a fan of the 100 question intro where you cut off the answers

[@pamatthew99]

Couple things I don't think you mentioned. 1. Never use scented bleach. 2. Never mix vinegar and bleach together. It creates a poisonous gas. 3. When you are buying a rV look for the ones that have a separate 5 gallon bottle that is connected for drinking and for ice making. There is no way I would drink out of the fresh tank in an RV without reverse osmosis connected and a uv light to kill pathogens. Make sure the unit sits upright unless it's specifically build to lay on its side. Otherwise your filters do not work right.

[@ralphowens4510]

bro, I tried to coment on your latest video. How TF do you pronounce your wifes name? We are literally arguaing over it!

[@Woodbutcher681]

Sounded like she said Sha Ree

[@brentacusmaximus6677]

You need to do this with your hot water tank too and flow it through the hot water faucets. I'm surprised he doesn't mention it.