Getting good clean drinking water in your RV is a health issue. There are basic steps you must follow. All new RVs provide instruction manuals on this subject. You can find this procedure in most books about RVing. Start by filling your fresh water tank about ¾ full. Make sure the water heater is turned off.
Dilute ¼ cup of household bleach for each 15 gallon of tank capacity into one gallon of water in a clean container.
Do not add bleach directly into the RV fresh water tank.
Add the chlorine/water solution into the water tank according to your RV’s procedures.
Turn on your pump and open one faucet at a time to let the solution run through, approximately one or two minutes, until you smell the chlorine.
Top off the RV fresh water tank and let stand for at least three hours, overnight is better.
Turn off the pump and completely drain the fresh water tank by opening the drain valve. You can help speed up the process by flushing the faucets for several minutes each, (you will need to turn the pump back on for this, but don’t forget to turn it off when you are done). Open the hot water tank drain plug and drain until it is empty.
Close all valves, faucets, drain plugs and refill the water tank with fresh water.
Flush each faucet for several minutes each repeating until the tank is again empty. (Make sure you are using the water pump and not an external water supply.)
When you fill the tank for your next adventure, the water should be safe to drink. If you can still smell chlorine odor, you can repeat the fresh water flush.
Another water tip:
How to avoid the water burps in your RV water lines when hooking up at your camping site:
You can purchase a shut-off valve for your water hose at most hardware stores. Install such a valve at the end of the drinking water hose that will be connected to you RV and shut it off.
Hook up the other end of the drinking water hose to the water supply and turn the water on.
Point the shut-off valve in a safe direction and open the valve to purge out the air out of your drinking water hose. Turn off the valve when a steady flow of water is observed.
Now you are ready to hook up the shut-off valve to your RV and switch it on.
This should avoid the burps and spits you get, especially when you flush the toilet.
