Do you drink water from your onboard tank?

[paganplasma]

tank water

Hi,We do drink water from the tank but clean the tank once a year ,we also keep bottled water on as well because our tank is only 100ltr ,cheers dave

 

[Smaug]

Another old schooler here, who has yet to eat his full peck of dirt, so he ain't dead!

For over 60 years I have been pic-nic'ing, camping, sailing, caravanning & motorhoming in several different vehicles & boats, most with built in tanks of stainless steel & plastic (clear or black, hard & soft). I (& my family) have always drunk from the onboard supply, filled from taps or springs. Never had a problem as a result, altho the kids (& now G-kids) occasionally do themselves in with dirty fingers in their mouths! :lol-053:

I don't drain the tank in my boat, but I do let it run down at the end of the season, but as the boat is used all year round I don't let it run down too much for fear of freezing, I just drain the pump cos the sea helps stop the tank freezing. The van is only drained for over wintering. There is a good hatch in the top of the tank so it's easy to check for algae or other discolouration.

There is so much advice around (often commercially motivated) that it's easy to be frightened, if I ever do have any doubts, I will clean the tank with Milton, rinse it & test it by taste. But each to their own, that's what's so interesting about Fora, everyone has a different experience. Long may it remain so - but share & care, without the bickering please.

 

[John H]

Never drink water in developing countries.

....take copious supplies of the old vin rouge instead!

On a serious note, this quote is a bit sweeping. Many developing countries that I have visited have very good water treatment services and it is safe to drink their tap water. Other's don't. In others it is safe to drink tap water in the large urban areas but not in the countryside. The other side of the coin is that I have a friend who picked up giardia in a developed country from what appeared to be a clear mountain stream. It is not hard to find out where it is safe - I am living proof of that (never had anything but a minor upset from drinking water that is "different" - and that not very often). It seems to me that the best advice is that we give to people who are worried about break-ins etc - take reasonable care but don't get paranoid about it.

 

[AndyC]

I fitted the General Ecology Nature Pure filter to a dedicated tap in our current van and the previous one, we use that for drinking, coffee making, cooking and teeth brushing - all other water use comes straight from the tank.

We've travelled as far as Western Sahara and Turkey and never had any problems with stomach upsets.

Wherever possible we fill with the local tap water, sometimes the locals have told us that it's not suitable for drinking (mainly in Morocco and Albania) but we never suffered any ill effects.

AndyC

 

[maingate]

Word of advice from someone who's been there. Never drink water in developing countries. Just because the natives have drunk it all their life doesn't mean that they've developed some kind of resistance to it and neither will you.

Children in these countries can carry up to 1000 hookworms, roundworms and whipworms in their bodies, which cause anaemia, stunted growth and other debilitating conditions. One gram of faeces can contain 10,000,000 viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs and seven out of 10 childhood deaths in developing countries can be attributed to just five main causes of which one, diarrhoea, is caused by water-borne pathogens.

When I went to Tibet, where the water has very nasty parasitic worms called Giardia and Cryptosporidium, I took one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aquapure-11...7AG0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341559583&sr=8-1

I only needed to use it a couple of times as we were able to obtain bottled water, which is guaranteed to be free of any nasties.

Thats fine if you are only there for a short time. When working for long periods it is not so practical. There were no shops in the bush to buy bottled water anyway.

I work on the one month rule. After a month you are more or less acclimatised to the heat (except for odd areas, think Death Valley, USA), You have had the runs and your body has some resistance to the local bugs. You follow the Medics advice on things like where you drink/ don't drink water, where to bathe/not bathe. The most important thing is that you take great care when having a shower. I was actually taught how to shower in hot climates and how to examine myself for scratches, spots, rashes, anything at all really. Every wound, however insignificant, had to be treated by the medic. A pal of mine was more relaxed about things until he found some grubs that were coming out of his ankle.

 

[Northerner]

Thats fine if you are only there for a short time. When working for long periods it is not so practical. There were no shops in the bush to buy bottled water anyway.

I work on the one month rule. After a month you are more or less acclimatised to the heat (except for odd areas, think Death Valley, USA), You have had the runs and your body has some resistance to the local bugs. You follow the Medics advice on things like where you drink/ don't drink water, where to bathe/not bathe. The most important thing is that you take great care when having a shower. I was actually taught how to shower in hot climates and how to examine myself for scratches, spots, rashes, anything at all really. Every wound, however insignificant, had to be treated by the medic. A pal of mine was more relaxed about things until he found some grubs that were coming out of his ankle.

The point I was making is that there are some things to which your body can never develop a resistance. That's why even the locals dies from diarrhoea and are infested with worms. A vast number of deaths in developing countries are because of water-borne parasites. The only way to be certain is to boil it for some time or use a guaranteed filtration system. I can assure you that the last thing that you want in your system is giardia, a very nasty parasite. You can get used to the symptoms and they will eventually ease but you'll remain a carrier for life. Giardia was common in Tibet, which is why I took a filtration system.

 

[robert b]

fresh water tanks

i treat my on board fresh water tank twice a year with a strong dose of milton tablets also dump water after every outing that way i have fresh water every trip out. i caught E COLI H 157 last year by stroking a cow and it nearly killed me. this made me sit up and realise how we take things and viruses for granted all ways be very careful.

 

[champstar]

We use our tank for water if not sure about source etc we use water purifing tablets added to the tank.

What makes people think bottled water is better than tap? Water borne pathogens are easily spread and all it takes is someone at the bottling plant to have or had a GI infection and pass it on. You cant taste the bugs.
It takes around 5 cysts of cryptosporidium to cause and infection...the average infected person will shed hundreds of thousands of those at the time of the squirts. Shigella bacteria which cause dysentry, as litttle as 50 individual bacteria can cause infection and again hundreds of thousands of bacteria are shed.

Free running water, unless from a contaminated source is the best.

The point about urine is correct it is normally sterile but only if mid stream ie not the begining or end bit as these will pick up bacteria. If it tastes of sugar beware of diabetes:tongue:

So the point is it is all about risk, properly dispensed or collected water should be ok if stored properly but if in doubt use purifing tablets or filter etc.

It is true the more the body is exposed to things you can build up tolerance but some bugs are so varied that there are over 2,000 different types of Salmonella so you can catch it again and again.

 

[n brown]

He might have a bidet? As my daughter used to tell people a Bum wash !
And you would not want those nasty pathogens we keep hearing about near your nether regions now would you ?

a french mate pointed out to me that all british bidets were back to front,either you operate the taps behind your back,could be nasty,or you sat ,like a fool,facing the wall ! gave him a laugh though

 

[Northerner]

I think that the clue may be in the first few words of my opening sentence? "My lovely motorhome came with an inbuilt water filter system (3M) ..........."

It's a standard fitting in my 'van and is a very neat installation in a cupboard in the garage. The cupboard houses the water pump, the Truma Combi heater and the filtration system. If you think I'm going to remove it and install it in the valuable space in the kitchen or shower compartment so that the filter will last another few days you can think again!

Anyway, it's nice to know that all the water for showering, teeth cleaning and face washing is pure. And as the lavatory flushes from the main tank I'm not tempted to buy that perfumed flushing stuff.

 

[Northerner]

I find the problem most motorhomes have is a lack of pressure can you still get a half decent shower with the water going through a filter first as this one we have is rubbish !
I changed the pump on the last one and that improved it no end !

I shower all the time in the 'van and all the water outlets are very powerful. Perhaps it's my kind of filter system? The cartridge is very large but bayonets out to be swapped in seconds and I would imagine that it's a doddle to fit for the D.I.Y. types.

I'm a B.I.Y. man (bugger it up yourself).

Water - 3M in-line water filter kit - great tasting, cleaner water. Inhibits bacteria

 

[Byronic]

I realise the thread is about drinking water, but nevertheless I'll take the opportunity to mention that in Morocco the further south you go the greater the chance of contracting Bilharzia not through drinking water but via skin lesions when contacting fresh water eg river and oasis swimming. It occurs in a lot of other countries of course but Maroc is the most likely country where members of this forum could come across it, treatable but narrrrrsty.

 

[AndyC]

Bilharzia

I realise the thread is about drinking water, but nevertheless I'll take the opportunity to mention that in Morocco the further south you go the greater the chance of contracting Bilharzia not through drinking water but via skin lesions when contacting fresh water eg river and oasis swimming. It occurs in a lot of other countries of course but Maroc is the most likely country where members of this forum could come across it, treatable but narrrrrsty.

A useful warning.

We were aware of this possibility but not being keen swimmers we have never swum in any of the rivers or oases. Not really warm enough in the winter anyway! We even took advantage of the donkey ride across the river to see the kasr at Ait Benhaddu, rather than paddling which a lot of the visitors do. TBH I doubt if it would be a problem there, as the main centre for infections was further south, but just in case....

AndyC

 

[Byronic]

A useful warning.

We were aware of this possibility but not being keen swimmers we have never swum in any of the rivers or oases. Not really warm enough in the winter anyway! We even took advantage of the donkey ride across the river to see the kasr at Ait Benhaddu, rather than paddling which a lot of the visitors do. TBH I doubt if it would be a problem there, as the main centre for infections was further south, but just in case....

AndyC

Can't say categorically but you are probably correct in stating that it wouldn't be a problem around Ait-Benhaddou, the rivers rise in the Atlas so probably too fast flowing, and cold. Not so sure about the oasis pools though, virtually stagnant at times.
A great drive the Draa Valley route isn't it....... those red towns? Until there's a flash flood that is and the River Tidili becomes the River Very Bigili along with its mates!!!

 

[Tbear]

We use our tank for water if not sure about source etc we use water purifing tablets added to the tank.

What makes people think bottled water is better than tap? Water borne pathogens are easily spread and all it takes is someone at the bottling plant to have or had a GI infection and pass it on. You cant taste the bugs.
It takes around 5 cysts of cryptosporidium to cause and infection...the average infected person will shed hundreds of thousands of those at the time of the squirts. Shigella bacteria which cause dysentry, as litttle as 50 individual bacteria can cause infection and again hundreds of thousands of bacteria are shed.

Free running water, unless from a contaminated source is the best.

The point about urine is correct it is normally sterile but only if mid stream ie not the begining or end bit as these will pick up bacteria. If it tastes of sugar beware of diabetes:tongue:

So the point is it is all about risk, properly dispensed or collected water should be ok if stored properly but if in doubt use purifing tablets or filter etc.

It is true the more the body is exposed to things you can build up tolerance but some bugs are so varied that there are over 2,000 different types of Salmonella so you can catch it again and again.

Running water direct from a spring may well be ok but from a stream. Who knows how man dead sheep are floating in it up stream or how may slurry pits have overflowed into it.

The point about urine is not correct. MSU samples are the cleanest as most of the muck in the urethra is flushed out at the beginning of peeing but not all. If it where true then nobody would ever have suffered from Bladder or Kidney infections.

No system is perfect, even boiled water can then be drunk from a contaminated glass so the use of common sense and best practise is always best

 

[fishy & Nina]

Right...that's it!

I've read all the posts on this subject, emptied the van of water.......from now on it's whisky only?:banana:

Please don't start on about liver disease etc.............................:wacko:

 

[Byronic]

Right...that's it!

I've read all the posts on this subject, emptied the van of water.......from now on it's whisky only?:banana:

Please don't start on about liver disease etc.............................:wacko:

If you like your whisky on the rocks watch out for the ice, that could be made from suspicious water. Don't have nightmares!!!

 

[fishy & Nina]

If you like your whisky on the rocks watch out for the ice, that could be made from suspicious water. Don't have nightmares!!!

Thanks for the warning - for me it's a strictly 'neat' drink!:angel:

 

[Smaug]

Thanks for the warning - for me it's a strictly 'neat' drink!:angel:

Sheesh (sharp intake of breath) that's mouth & throat cancer territory then. :scared:

:lol-049: :lol-049: :lol-049:

 

[arkrite]

not been m/h long but caravaned for years and always drunk water from tank in tea and coffee anxke ik esnty dunzt nee amee arms butt him ho ka simse i for dr smirnof

when in doubt drink vodka
tastes funny in coffee though