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How to Clean RV Water Lines
Out
by Kevin Masterson |
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If it
will be awhile until you use your
Weekend Warrior Toy Hauler
again, or your water is starting to
taste musty, it is time to drain the
water lines, and possibly sterilize
the system. Draining the water is a
simple job. Here's how to go about
it:
The first step is to drain the water
heater. Go to the outside
compartment where the water heater
is located. Make sure all power to
the water heater is OFF! The drain
plug, or petcock, is normally
located in the bottom left hand
corner. Remove the plug, then open
the pressure relief valve on top of
the water heater to assist draining.
Depending on the size of the water
heater this can take a few minutes,
so you can have a drink, or do some
other tasks while the water runs
out.
Once the water heater is completely
drained, locate the low point water
line drains. This is usually the
hardest job because manufacturers
often put these in the oddest
places. There will be two, one each
for the hot and cold waters lines
and are always located at the lowest
point in the water system. With
luck, the manufacturer's
preventative maintenance book has a
good illustration showing where they
are. Alas, this isn't often the
case, so be prepared to do some
hunting the first time. Once found,
open these and let the water drain
out. It is usually a good idea to
open the taps at the sink to allow
the water to thoroughly drain.
Finally, open the drain for the
fresh water holding tank and drain
all of the water from it. Run the
water pump on for a moment to force
any remaining water out. Do not let
the pump continue to run dry once
the water stops draining or you can
burn out the motor. Draining is
done! You can close all the drains.
If it has been a long time since you
used the RV again, it is a good idea
to sanitize the system. This is also
something you can do if the water
has been tasting or smelling bad.
Make sure all the water is out of
the system, then close all the
valves, then make a mixture of a cup
of bleach for each 15 gallons of
water of the capacity of your
holding tank (ie a 30-gallon tank
will need 2 cups of bleach), Pour
the solution into the fresh water
tank. Then fill the fresh water tank
completely full of water. Turn the
water pump on, open all hot and cold
faucets and run the water until you
smell the bleach at each faucet.
Then close the faucets and turn off
the water pump. Let the system sit
for at least twelve hours but no
more than eighteen.
Drain the entire system and re-fill
the fresh water tank with clean
water. Open all of the faucets and
run the water until you no longer
smell any bleach. Once this is done
it is safe to use your RV's water
system.
In all, it takes around 45 minutes
of real work spread out over about
24 hours. An easy job for a weekend
warrior toy hauler!
Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
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