Sterilising water tanks

Gadabout2

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Can anyone offer me advice on sterilising my water tank, preferably with Milton, e.g. strength etc... ? When we use some of the other products on the market, we find we can still taste it in the water, even after several flushes.
 
I use milton tablets - 1 for every 5 litres (ie i fill my 70 litre tank then drop in 14 tablets). Then i leave it half an hour to let them disolve, then go for a little drive to sloosh it around a bit. Then i drain the tank through the tap so that's cleaned as well, then flush through with half a tank of fresh water. I've never noticed any taste from residue. I do mine once a year.
 
I`ve been using Oasis sterilising tablets (same as Milton). The instructions say 1 tablet to 4 pints (2.3 litres) of water but I have a 20 litre tank and use only 2 tablets. No taste but that might be because it also gets rinsed well afterward.
 
So far I've never had to bother sterilising my tank and perhaps my regime is the answer. After a trip I empty it immediately and later, on the short drive to where I store it, I leave the emptying tap open, so that every last drop gets out as I go up hill and down dale.

For the next trip, as I fill it, using a hose of course, I leave the emptying tap open for five or ten minutes so that, as it's filling, it's also emptying and flushing out the tank. After a few minutes I close the tap and let it fill up. I suspect that the problems with water may well be caused by leaving it stagnant for too long.

It also helps of course that I have a 3M water filter system, which ensures fresh-tasting water every time but I didn't have a filter on my last 'van and when I sold it after four years use there had never been a need to sterilise the tank, which I put down to my method of regular flushing.

Or maybe I've just been lucky!
 
from time to time make sure you fill with chlorinated tap water [ you can smell it ]

exactly the same as fancy brands of steriliser ...and free
 
I posted on another forum that I used Milton baby bottle cleaner. I was advised that this liquid attacks the stainless steel of the boiler resulting in a multitude of holes and a £1000 bill to change boiler. Never got an answer as to how long, years, it would take for my annual treatment to destroy my boiler or if this was in the same vein as being gassed, ie I no a guy who no's a guy who no's a guy but I have never actually seen a boiler with this damage.

To be fair Truma do not recommend this type of cleaner, so be aware, you have been warned.
 
shortcircuit said:
I posted on another forum that I used Milton baby bottle cleaner. I was advised that this liquid attacks the stainless steel of the boiler resulting in a multitude of holes and a £1000 bill to change boiler. Never got an answer as to how long, years, it would take for my annual treatment to destroy my boiler or if this was in the same vein as being gassed, ie I no a guy who no's a guy who no's a guy but I have never actually seen a boiler with this damage.

To be fair Truma do not recommend this type of cleaner, so be aware, you have been warned.
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This is probably true because the instructions on Milton say to use plastic not stainless steel but surely you can use it to clean the cold water system, as long as you dont draw water through the hot taps none will go into the boiler.
 
It is true that under some conditions, certain Stainless Steels can suffer stress-crack corrosion where the chlorine gets concentrated at the bottom of minute cracks and causes further weakening.


Plain old unscented household bleach is as good as any for both a general clean up once or twice a year and for sanitising water that is a bit dubious.

Main problem with after taste arises from people using far too much bleach for the amount of water involved.
 
No amount of sterilizing will make the water taste good if it is already bad tasting! My tank water always tasted plasticky, even left a burning sensation on my lips:scared: Use of a good filter (Nature Pure) solved all that:cool1:

John
 
Thanks to all

Thanks everyone for all your helpful tips. Really good to get some good ideas. Particularl;y like the idea of using the filling process as a flush. I'll gove them all a try. Thanks.
 
having worked in thw water industry .i asked the chemists on sww. what they advise. i was told fill the tank with tap water from a mains water in uk . leave a while empty it out do it again .then fillup and drink away. some do say that they taste things. use a nature purefilter .or i use a doulton birken feld system . i bought from brown church landrovers in london. they build overland vehicles. other than doing the above have never added anything in 11yrs. try not to put dirty or foul water in the tank. mind have hadlots of river water in there whilst in africa. i also catch rain water whilst away and drink that.
 
I have used Elsil to purify the water & I see they now have a tank cleaner product Elsan Drinking Water Management There was no taste from the elsil treatment & I still occasionally add it to the tank if we aren't using the van for a while, I fitted a water filter with tap for using drinking water, more than paid for itself in not buying bottled water when we are abroad (new filters cost about a tenner & last for about a season)
 
why would you buy bottled water when abroad ?
european water standards are the same as in the uk ,been drinking the water everywhere for 30 years , and still here ...so far !
 
Most times we wouldn't be too bothered but some places we have filled have been heavily chlorinated. Also watching the behaviour of some campers using a drinking water tap for flushing their toilets :mad2:. Mainly though we would buy bottled water because of the taste & the filter really does it's job, have to hope that it also gets rid of nearly all the nasties that can get into the water supply. In using a filter for a couple of years & sometimes filling up from dubious sources we have never had any problems.
 
The water you drink is never going to be Sterile. As VWalan says just give a good flush now and again, especially if its been left for a while. The most important thing is to fill from the safest source you can.

Richard
 
Tbear said:
The water you drink is never going to be Sterile. As VWalan says just give a good flush now and again, especially if its been left for a while. The most important thing is to fill from the safest source you can.

Richard
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I'm buying the Lifesaver Jerrycan for my Campervan. I already have had the Lifesaver bottle for over a year and use it regularily even when
in a hotel. Nothing escapes the filtering from Bacteria to Viruses.....here's the link for your information... Lifesaver Bottle - Water Purification Systems
 
We just use the cheapest baby bottle steriliser, fill the tank, leave for a day, flush the whole lot out once, maybe twice and hey ho, all is well.
 
Why not just fit a filter & extra tap? I got mine from Pozzani, cost about £35 for the tap/fittings & filter when I bought mine. Get rid of most of the stuff that can harm you & removes any taste from the water.
 
Kontiki said:
Why not just fit a filter & extra tap? I got mine from Pozzani, cost about £35 for the tap/fittings & filter when I bought mine. Get rid of most of the stuff that can harm you & removes any taste from the water.
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I'm going for the lifesaver system because you can use water from anywhere, stream, river, even a dirty puddle if it came down to it (though I wouldn't if at all possible do that as it shortens the filter life). Nothing escapes it, not even viruses which go straight through any standard type
filters. I intend to fill the onboard tank with the filtered water and use the smaller lifesaver bottle to refilter for the coffee, cooking etc, but essentially
the water in the tank will be safe to drink at all times which should make any sterilising both very effective and less frequent.

No matter where you go or what water you use it will be sterile, so can be used to flush any wounds too for first aid. Ok, it's expensive, but if
you have a bad winter and pipes freeze, or in a flooding situation, you will always have safe water even outside of camping.
 
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