Sterilise fresh water pipes

[kingoftheroad]

Hi
Filled up the fresh water tank just before the hols and kept it freshly topped up during the holiday. However, after a few days, what a stink from the taps, eggs smell or what, run water through the taps for ages, couple of days later, smell comes back. The pipes obviously need a good sterilizing, will wait until we get home now and make sure, this is on my to do maintenance list prior to any future trips away, my question is, what's the best procedure and product to ensure we have a smell free trip. Ps, we only need to use taps for washing, not drinking.

 

[Figaro]

I've used Puriclean in the past but never needed to use it routinely.
Your taps should not smell like that, is it possible the water was tainted with something ?

 

[kingoftheroad]

I've used Puriclean in the past but never needed to use it routinely.
Your taps should not smell like that, is it possible the water was tainted with something ?

Hi
No, filled the tank as normal just prior to the holiday and kept it topped up during, been through France/Spain as far as Gibraltar, so been quite warm, never noticed this problem before on other breaks away, th vans been stood a while same as most of us, due to the lockdown etc. The tank itself is definetely ok, drained it, cleaned it, practically had my head in it, so must be the pipework to the taps. A part of me wants to rip the pipes out and change the lot, but I'm sure there's an easier solution. I've never sterilized the system in the past, maybe, that's where I've got it wrong and should have done

 

[bigwood]

We had this problem after filling the tank on a site. The site owners said it was probably a tap that hadn’t been used for a while.
They gave us Puirclean to flush out the system. It took several tank fulls to get rid of the smell of stale water.
We havnt been to that site again and before and we fill the tank we let the water run and check it. I only use our hose and dont trust hoses that are already connected.

 

[M-J]

Puriclean in the fresh once or twice a season, soda crystals in the grey once.

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[Figaro]

With about half a tank of fresh water, add the puriclean and splash it thoroughly around the tank or go for a drive.
Pump it through all the pipes until steralised water starts to come out of the taps.
Leave overnight.
Pump all fresh water into grey waste tank, go for a drive, leave overnight.
Drain grey tank, fill fresh tank and flush repeatedly.
That's my proceedure and seems to work for me.

 

[kingoftheroad]

Puriclean been mentioned a couple of times now, will look it up when back home, order some and make this part of my maintenance on the van, (dont want this problem again while away, its horrible), made note of soda crystals as well for grey water tank, thanks for info guys/gals

 

[Wh05apk]

We've had the same problem, flushed with puri lean, but has now come back a few weeks later despite being used.

 

[TinaLes]

You can use Puriclean, or Cider/White Wine Vinegar or Citrus crystals, as we do, as they are safe for use regarding the stainless steel water boiler.
If my pipes were that smelly, I would fill fresh water tank with sterilisers as mentioned, leave in tank for 24hrs plus, then run pumped water through all the water taps/shower/toilet etc until there was no trace of any smell.
Its always good practice when draining down the water system in the van to not only drain the tank, but open all taps, leaving them fully open in the mid position, including removing the shower head & hose. Force any remaining water out the pipes by blowing as hard as you can up each spout.
Some have used the blown up party balloon method by placing the balloon over the tap head and releasing, others have connected a 12Volt tyre compressor with a tee adaptor inserted into the pipework which forces any water left in the pipes straight out the van via the Grey tanks.
There is a kit available for draining down vans & caravans completely to get all the water out, see below.
LES

Floë Caravan & Camper Drainage Kit - Keep Floëing

If you have a caravan or camper with an unswitchable onboard water storage tank, then this is the Combo kit for your needs. Winner of Practical Caravan’s Caravan Accessory of the Year 2012, our Floë system is a simple way to drain down your caravan or camper, making way for beautifully fresh...

keepfloeing.com

 

[kingoftheroad]

We've had the same problem, flushed with puri lean, but has now come back a few weeks later despite being used.

Oh, not so good, I know what your going through, the smell is horrible, I might change the pipes once where home

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[kingoftheroad]

You can use Puriclean, or Cider/White Wine Vinegar or Citrus crystals, as we do, as they are safe for use regarding the stainless steel water boiler.
If my pipes were that smelly, I would fill fresh water tank with sterilisers as mentioned, leave in tank for 24hrs plus, then run pumped water through all the water taps/shower/toilet etc until there was no trace of any smell.
Its always good practice when draining down the water system in the van to not only drain the tank, but open all taps, leaving them fully open in the mid position, including removing the shower head & hose. Force any remaining water out the pipes by blowing as hard as you can up each spout.
Some have used the blown up party balloon method by placing the balloon over the tap head and releasing, others have connected a 12Volt tyre compressor with a tee adaptor inserted into the pipework which forces any water left in the pipes straight out the van via the Grey tanks.
There is a kit available for draining down vans & caravans completely to get all the water out, see below.
LES

Floë Caravan & Camper Drainage Kit - Keep Floëing

If you have a caravan or camper with an unswitchable onboard water storage tank, then this is the Combo kit for your needs. Winner of Practical Caravan’s Caravan Accessory of the Year 2012, our Floë system is a simple way to drain down your caravan or camper, making way for beautifully fresh...

keepfloeing.com

Wow, thanks for detailed procedure, part of me wants to renew the pipework. However, that's quite major obviously, will try what you've described when we get home, been a bit limited while away, paid €10 for a small bottle of chlorine from a motorhome place in Jerez Southern Spain, only to read later that it can damage stainless steel pipes in the water heaters, so stopped using it straight away, thanks again

 

[Otter Spotter]

Wow, thanks for detailed procedure, part of me wants to renew the pipework. However, that's quite major obviously, will try what you've described when we get home, been a bit limited while away, paid €10 for a small bottle of chlorine from a motorhome place in Jerez Southern Spain, only to read later that it can damage stainless steel pipes in the water heaters, so stopped using it straight away, thanks again

Puraclean should do the job and will not damage your stainless steel boiler etc. don’t use anything else such as Milton or bleach.

 

[gpat]

This is an interesting one. I think you have two problems here. One is that you have some bacteria living in the pipes that are producing the sulphur and you have a food source for the bacteria. It seems you are killing the bacteria but not the food source. This means the bacteria comes back.

This is quite a common problem in drinking water systems. The food source is often what is known as a biofilm. It has a resistance to disinfectants unless exposed to them for long periods. It may be that you do need new pipes if they are rotting but worth a try with the method below

So. Ignore the scare stories about bleach that prevail on here. Bleach is the best thing to use by far. Yes it will corrode stainless steel if in contact for long periods at high concentration. We don't need to touch the hot water system anyway and we are not going to use high concentrations. The hot water system is protected by the heat anyway and the biofilms will not live in hot water pipes if they are used enough

Milton is fine (or Tesco thin bleach if you can find it). Don't use thick bleach as it contains detergent and perfumes.

Empty you clean water tank. Add about 50mls of Milton (assume its 100l tank). Fill the tank. Then open you cold water taps and flush through until you can smell bleach (if you want to be sure you can get chlorine test kits from pet shops/aquariums). Once you think the chlorine is though let it soak for 24 hours. Then repeat the flush to get fresh chlorine through. Repeat this for at least 5 days. Its a good sign if you start to see black bits coming out of the taps. This is the biofilm breaking off.

Worth a try and a lot easier than replacing the pipes.

 

[Lordmac]

I use Milton 25ml to 50kg put in when at home fill tank 1\2 full the drive about a bit so it swishes about then pull the plug and wash out the taps good enough for babies bottles good enough for me

 

[GAVLAD]

Are you sure the smell is coming from the taps and not the drain?
It could be that the drain pipes and tanks need a clean.
just a thought.

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[Deep Owl]

I have used the Floe system years for several years. It drains your pipes so stopping smells, and ensures no frozen pipes over winter. It is straightforward to use if you go around opening all taps in turn in an organised way!

 

[Trevor Wbm]

Are you sure the smell is coming from the taps and not the drain?
It could be that the drain pipes and tanks need a clean.
just a thought.

Definitely worth checking. Stupidly left our waste tank full long enough for it to fester. We don't have any traps on the shower tray or sink so the smell rises up the pipes.

3/4 filled the tank with hot water and a couple of dishwasher tablets, then drove over lots of speed bumps to clean it. Poured the same mix down all drains too.

 

[Geistguy]

Now I know why I never drink water from the taps.

 

[two]

I've not had this problem (and not sterilised my system either) but think your smell could be coming from your boiler.
When you drain down, you need to drain the boiler too. Contaminated water in the boiler should not get back into the cold water system because a non-return valve should prevent that but, if that's the source, it won't go away by just cleaning the cold side.

 

[PP Bear]

Does this thread help. I use citric acid and it does it all. Should have seen the colour of the water after I first used it

Pure water? Any thoughts?

We live in an area with particularly hard water and I'm getting a bit worried as to the effect this is having on the water system in our motorhome, particularly the boiler. Our window cleaner uses 'ultra pure water' for our windows and the results are fantastic. He no longer has to squeegee...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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[PP Bear]

Also lots of threads about cleaning fresh tanks and pipes, they may help too.

 

[rhml]

Hi
Filled up the fresh water tank just before the hols and kept it freshly topped up during the holiday. However, after a few days, what a stink from the taps, eggs smell or what, run water through the taps for ages, couple of days later, smell comes back. The pipes obviously need a good sterilizing, will wait until we get home now and make sure, this is on my to do maintenance list prior to any future trips away, my question is, what's the best procedure and product to ensure we have a smell free trip. Ps, we only need to use taps for washing, not drinking.

what i have done for years is to reduce the level of water to v low then add two water sterilisation tab, i then oull some of the water through the pipes and leave them sealed. the chlorine will not go away and keeps everything clean. I suspect the smell is from your grey water tank. diluted bleach down all your pipes.
i live in gods country, Cwll , so frost is not an issue

 

[Figaro]

Add about 50mls of Milton (assume its 100l tank)

50mls doesn't seem enough to have any effect ? Did you mean 500 mls, ie half a litre ?

 

[gpat]

No 50mls is plenty. Should give around 5mg/l of chlorine which is plenty for killing nasty biofilms

My calc

Milton is 1g/100mls chlorine so that's 0.5g 100litres
That is 500 mg in 100 litres
5mg/l

Your tap water has about 0.3mg/l

 

[bigwood]

I was advised not to use Miltons Fluid because it could case problems with the stainless steel boiler in the water heater.
Management has just reminded me it took four flushes to clean our water tank and pipes.

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[gpat]

I was advised not to use Miltons Fluid because it could case problems with the stainless steel boiler in the water heater.
Management has just reminded me it took four flushes to clean our water tank and pipes.

See earlier. It wont harm stainless steel unless you over do it!

Also this is just the cold water system. I advised not to run the milton infused water through the hot water

 

[Jonno1103]

I use fresh water tank cleaner before every trip and add water purifier everytime I refill or top up the tank. I once spent a fortnight in hospital due to contaminated water, it wasn't pretty and the dehydration it caused was serious. Now I'm paranoid.

 

[kingoftheroad]

This is an interesting one. I think you have two problems here. One is that you have some bacteria living in the pipes that are producing the sulphur and you have a food source for the bacteria. It seems you are killing the bacteria but not the food source. This means the bacteria comes back.

This is quite a common problem in drinking water systems. The food source is often what is known as a biofilm. It has a resistance to disinfectants unless exposed to them for long periods. It may be that you do need new pipes if they are rotting but worth a try with the method below

So. Ignore the scare stories about bleach that prevail on here. Bleach is the best thing to use by far. Yes it will corrode stainless steel if in contact for long periods at high concentration. We don't need to touch the hot water system anyway and we are not going to use high concentrations. The hot water system is protected by the heat anyway and the biofilms will not live in hot water pipes if they are used enough

Milton is fine (or Tesco thin bleach if you can find it). Don't use thick bleach as it contains detergent and perfumes.

Empty you clean water tank. Add about 50mls of Milton (assume its 100l tank). Fill the tank. Then open you cold water taps and flush through until you can smell bleach (if you want to be sure you can get chlorine test kits from pet shops/aquariums). Once you think the chlorine is though let it soak for 24 hours. Then repeat the flush to get fresh chlorine through. Repeat this for at least 5 days. Its a good sign if you start to see black bits coming out of the taps. This is the biofilm breaking off.

Worth a try and a lot easier than replacing the pipes.

I like the sound of this method, only 4 days and we'll be back in the UK, then its bleach and hosepipe at dawn, thanks for info

 

[bigalw35]

what i have done for years is to reduce the level of water to v low then add two water sterilisation tab, i then oull some of the water through the pipes and leave them sealed. the chlorine will not go away and keeps everything clean. I suspect the smell is from your grey water tank. diluted bleach down all your pipes.
i live in gods country, Cwll , so frost is not an issue

Not wishing to argue, but the water from our taps smelled after only being in the pipes over night, I wash and dry the fresh water tank after every trip, I now put 100 mil of elsil in with every full tank of fresh water no smells now, the smell is NOT coming up the drain holes from the waste tank but was from the taps, so elsil does work well

 

[PP Bear]

See earlier. It wont harm stainless steel unless you over do it!

Also this is just the cold water system. I advised not to run the milton infused water through the hot water

Sorry I’m not sure with the hot water system, how do you sterilise the hot water pipes etc, without it going through the boiler

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