Fresh water chlorination
Dear RV Doctor:
The water in our RV had a bad odor “” a musty smell “” so we added some household bleach to the tank and let it sit awhile. Now we cannot get the bleach taste out. What do you suggest we do?
Stacey Johnson, Sacramento, California
Stacey, not only can foul- or stale-tasting water ruin an RV vacation, but it may even be harmful. However, the pungent flavor of household bleach might even be worse “” like drinking water from a swimming pool! There is usually sufficient chlorine in most city water supply systems for safe storage in an RV, but if foul-tasting water persists, it may be necessary to treat the fresh water system from scratch. Of course, the fresh water tank stores only the quality of water put in there, so be sure to taste it prior to filling up. Here’s the approved method of chlorinating the entire fresh water system:
1. Drain and flush the fresh-water tank; leave empty. Be sure the water heater is not in the bypass mode.
2. Mix 1/4-cup of liquid household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solution with one gallon of fresh water.
3. Pour directly into the fresh-water tank.
4. Pour in one gallon of the chlorine/water solution for every 15 gallons of fresh-water tank capacity.
5. Top off the tank with fresh water.
6. Remove or bypass any water purification equipment and/or filtering cartridges.
7. Turn on the water pump and open every faucet in the RV, including exterior faucets and showerheads.
8. Allow the solution to pump through the system to the toilet, through the water heater, and to every hot and cold faucet at each sink until a mild odor of chlorine is present at every fixture.
9. At the city water inlet, using the eraser end of a pencil, push in on the check valve spring, allowing the solution to pump out through the city water inlet until the chlorine odor is detected in the discharge.
10. Close all the faucets and turn off the water pump.
11. Allow the system to stand for four hours. This will chlorinate and disinfect the system, including the fresh-water tank, the water heater, the faucets, the complete piping system, and all fittings to a residual level of 50 ppm (parts per million).
12. At four hours, drain and flush the system with fresh water once again.
If 100 ppm residual concentration is required or desired, use 1/2-cup of bleach instead of 1/4-cup with each gallon of the solution and let stand for at least one to two hours. To avoid damage to delicate plumbing components found in some water pumps, do not allow the chlorinated solution to sit longer than four hours in the fresh-water system. This is the approved method to be sure bacteria are effectively eliminated. This process should be performed after any period of nonuse or storage, or whenever stale or distasteful water is experienced.
Since you’ve already put household bleach in the system, you may have used too much. Just keep flushing it out. Fill the tank, pump it through, drain, and refill. If the heavy bleach concentration has permeated the plastic piping severely, you may have to keep pumping fresh water throughout the entire system to be sure all the bleach is eliminated. The odor of the bleach eventually will subside. There are aftermarket products that can be added to the fresh-water tank, but those that I’ve tested consist primarily of chlorine elements, and I don’t think you need any more of that. I’ve also heard of adding distilled vinegar to the water system. Add about 1 quart for every 5 gallons of water capacity and pump it through the system as you do with chlorine. Let it stand in the system overnight and, as with chlorine, fully flush the system until you are satisfied with the taste and smell. I’ve not tested this method personally, but if the bleach taste remains, it just may be a viable alternative.
Holey roof
Dear RV Doctor:
The rubber roof on our RV has hundreds of tiny holes in it. They are through the thin white stuff and show black at the bottom of the holes. We have already gotten the roof very clean. Do we need to seal these? We bought this RV used, and I am afraid we got taken.
Lila William, Longview, Washington
Lila, I wouldn’t get too concerned just yet. It’s doubtful those black spots are actually holes in the EPDM rubber material. The rubber roofing membrane consists of a couple plies, or layers. I believe you may be seeing the bottom ply and not all the way through the membrane. Older rubber roofs had a definitive black layer on the bottom, and it’s usually the thickest layer. The fact that the uppermost layer is showing signs of weathering and oxidation is normal. Normal oxidation is a condition due to the disintegration of surface binders and elastomers, usually caused by normal weathering. The result is that surface chalking actually removes a portion of the white rubber. This is a normal occurrence, and you should not be concerned about the direct effect on the rubber itself.
However, if the degree of the wear is severe enough, more drastic measures may need to be taken. For instance, it may be time for a new membrane (most membranes will last 10 to 12 years). Or perhaps a coating of a liquid EPDM material called Liquid Roof, produced by Pro Guard Coatings (www.proguardcoatings.com), can be applied. A lot depends on how old the roof is and to what degree the oxidation has occurred. I would suggest a visit to an established RV service center for a detailed inspection and analysis. Search around for a qualified shop. RV collision repair shops are usually a good bet, or shops that regularly re-roof RVs. It does take a certain expertise.
Air conditioner woes
Dear RV Doctor,
The last time my husband and I went camping, our RV air conditioner did not seem to work. The fan would turn on, but the air being blown out would never get cool. The motorhome is only a few years old, and the air conditioner has not seen a lot of use. My husband checked the connections on the A/C and found everything to be perfectly clean and in almost-new condition. We wanted to test it here at home to find out if maybe the outlet at the RV park was bad, or if there is another problem with the air conditioner. We want to know whether we can test the air conditioner by using the 240-volt outlet that our dryer is connected to. We don’t want to damage anything by trying it without some advice on whether that voltage would be sufficient.
Autumn Rose, Mount Shasta, California
Autumn, do not plug your RV into 240 volts! It’s not wired for that voltage, and damage will occur immediately. You are probably confused because it has four conductors. If your motorhome is wired for 50-amp service, there will be four conductors, true, but it’s actually two opposing legs of 120 volts being supplied, not 240 volts like the house dryer. If the air conditioner is a roof mount, it’s possible to bypass all the coach wiring and isolate the A/C, but the steps would be too detailed to list here without knowing brand names and the type of wiring configuration that currently exists. I’d need a little more info to guide you correctly.
The same symptom might result if the unit were low on refrigerant, which would be my guess given that the fan circuit is operating. But to be sure, more tests would have to be performed. Wish I had better news for you, but certainly do not plug it into 240!
{loadpositionEndBlurbHouseCalls}