Stinky fresh water

[Foxfire]

Starting parameters:
I have never used the water tank only city water. We basically are in the camper Thursday to Sunday.
We started the season with clean lines, a new anode and a new water filter.
We spent 6 weeks in Lancaster Pa. then on to NY.
We've spent 6 weeks in NY and all was well.
The first week where the camper reached almost 100 degrees and the water stinks. First the cold water then the hot water. At first running the water ran the smell out, week two and there's no getting rid of the smell.
I drained and flushed the hot water heater, then literally winterized the system with a diluted mix of bleach. Let it sit a couple of hours then changed the filter and anode.
All is well and the water smells great.
What caused the smell and in this warm weather when should I expect it to return..


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[spindrift]

"Standing" water in an RV can give off that rotten egg odor at times. It's due to bacteria that can thrive in this environment. Bleaching your lines is the best way to go.

[camper94]

As stated, Cleaning your entire water system with bleach is the best way to kill the bacteria in your water tank and water hoses.


You need to completely drain the fresh water tank of water. Close off your bypass valve to the water heater, (no bleach in water heater) bleach in water heater will deteriorate the heater.


I use 1/4 cup of pure chlorine bleach per 15 gallons of water. Pour bleach in Fresh Water fill port, then fill your water tank completely full.


If you have an icemaker and filter, be sure to turn off the icemaker and remove the water filter if you can.


Using your electric water pump, begin running water through all your taps and shower until you can smell bleach. Once all your lines have bleach in them, you need to let the water stay in the lines for at least 4 hours or longer. This gives the bleach plenty of time to work and clean your tank and water lines.


After sitting for this length of time, make sure you flush your lines completely until you can't smell bleach any longer.


This should correct the problem.


Make sure you bypass your water heater. Any bleach in a water heater, even small amounts will begin deteriorating the liner in your heater.


I try to flush the fresh water system every 6 months or so. It really depends on how much you use your fresh water tank.


You can also try putting in a dry chemical called "Happy Camper", This is used in my black and grey tanks and there is no odor at all. Works very well.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Jeff&Brenda

A



Make sure you bypass your water heater. Any bleach in a water heater, even small amounts will begin deteriorating the liner in your heater.

I have never heard of that. I've run the bleach solution into my water heater for years and have never experienced what you are stating.
If the bleach is going to hurt the inside of a water heater, there should be a lot more stuff further down the line that is more delicate then the inside of that tank.

[camper94]

Got the information directly from Suburban, the people who make the Water Heaters.

[Lloyd]

If I remember correctly, their tanks are porcelain lined. Which shouldn't be affected by a bleach solution.
Here is a pretty informative link.

RV Water Heater Maintenance

[Tom's38GK]

Another thing to remember is not all water sources are the same. Always check the water supply before letting it enter your system. Chamberlin, SD for instance. Water supply off exit 269 is sulfa water and naturally smells like rotten eggs. If you travel through areas in the West where water is scarce the wells that do produce may be some of the most disgusting water you will encounter. Great post about how to flush your system. I had to flush RV number 4 three times before I could get all the Chamberlin water smell out of my system.