Safe water hose use and storage

[ducksface]

We use one of the "special" RV water hoses made to be drinking water safe.

We have a well and our outdoor hydrants are all straight untreated well water for the yard and garden...so it is considered non-potable. We use our indoor good water for the RV and use 5 gallon buckets to fill it.

Since we fill our water tank using a drill operated water pump, it is easy to run a little bleach/water at the beginning of the season. We then rise by running 5 gallons through the hose before travel and seasonal storage.

Perfectly logical and easy.

I am not opposed, I'm just not FANATICAL .

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

A note about "drinking water safe" hoses and other meandering thoughts...

Everyone has heard (unless you're living under a rock) of the persistence of plastics and plastic byproducts in the environment... especially in water. Leaching of chemical byproducts from plastics into food and water is proven fact, not just theory.

Thus the introduction of water hoses certified as "drinking water safe" by the NSF and FDA.

The problem is that as water sits (non moving) in typical PVC hoses, certain chemicals will leach into the water in unsafe quantities for drinking. This is especially true of a hose left out in sunlight. Proven facts.

However, the simple act of adequately flushing the hose - even a PVC hose NOT certified - and storing in a dark area significantly reduces the leached chemicals.

As I stated in post #2 about people's tolerance, it's a personal decision about what is thought to be safe. It's a proven fact that BPA plastic leaches chemicals into bottled water, yet it's consumed by millions of people every day. So in essence it's a personal decision made that it's safe.

The health effects of consuming these chemicals aren't completely known, but links are slowly being made.

Is this fear mongering? Absolutely not... knowledge of proven fact is powerful, and allows one to make educated personal decisions.

We camp in some pretty remote areas with suspect water sources. Certain Colorado streams have long been shown to contain heavy metal byproducts from mining activities.

It's this knowledge that helped me to make a personal decision about our RV water and how to filter it. It's hard to argue against the fact that reverse osmosis is pretty good at removing nearly everything from water. Our system also uses UV light as a biological decontamination process.

I encourage folks to educate themselves about their drinking water... don't just listen to hype from product advertising. Then make your own decisions about your personal safety.

 

[ducksface]

"After a (many)years-long study, the FDA concluded that the BPA levels you get in your diet pose no health risk. But some watchdog groups and scientists argue..."

Karens, and scientists who's career choices hang on their OPINION, argue.

Please ask yourself how the protesters feel about charred steak, msg, and if this week wine is good or is bad.

Life can be very simple.
Show enough real life, not supposition proofs on bpa, typhoid mrsa...

All I ask is reasonable proofs that are worthy enough to cause reasonable concern.

I encourage folks to educate themselves by reading information COUNTER to their beliefs as often as they read supporting information.
Otherwise it isn't an education.

Folks, it's just a hose.

 

[ghnl]

Karens, and scientists who's career choices hang on their OPINION, argue.

And nobody has even mentioned the dangers of DiHydrogen Monoxide. That stuff is everywhere and it can kill you. Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info

 

[ducksface]

Strong reasons for banning.
If only we had a bandwagon and a baton...

 

[16ACE27]

Strong reasons for banning.
If only we had a bandwagon and a baton...

With the state of intelligence of today's college attendees, it would probably be very easy to organize a paid political protest against the stuff. Just don't ask the protesters any questions

 

[dkoldman]

Our solution and possibly your salvation. One case may last us 2 trips. So if you need 10 cases per year we only talking about $30 and none of worry or work.

I have one 50' fresh water hose that I bought from Lowes primarily because it is kink free for real. I don't close the ends together when storing, and never thought to sanitize the hose, I keep in a bay that I rarely ever use. When at home I have 100ft hose that is always at home on a reel cart. It is where I get 99.9% of all my freshwater. I do sanitize the fresh water tank once a year in the spring. My RV has a built in filter and I replace the cartridge after a tank sanitizing.

We do brush our teeth, wash hands & shower with water from the freshwater tank and it is always fresh and clean. But when I make ice for drinks, I will pour water from a water bottle into ice maker.

 

[Hehebee]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

We do take bottled water with us for drinking and only use the freshwater tank for brushing teeth, washing dishes, and for the toilet. We hook up to water supply, when available but still use bottled water for drinking.

It’s so helpful to have people with years, or even decades, of history share their experiences.

 

[GrandRover]

I have three "clean" water hoses for city water and / or filling our fresh water tank. Two are blue and one is white. I have one long hose for use with Santi-flush. It is black. The black hose is kept below the other three hoses and separated with a heavy black trash bag. These are all stored in a plastic bin. We drink only bottled water.

Mike

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

We do take bottled water with us for drinking and only use the freshwater tank for brushing teeth, washing dishes, and for the toilet. We hook up to water supply, when available but still use bottled water for drinking.

It’s so helpful to have people with years, or even decades, of history share their experiences.

You better hurry... considering what we're all drinking!

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

The following is why I use reverse osmosis to filter my drinking water. I grew up in Parkersburg. My brother lived within one mile of a documented dump site for two years in his early 20's... Washington WV, a few miles south of Parkersburg.

He drank that tap water. Thyroid cancer in his mid 50's... renal cancer in early 60's. He died from metastatic renal cancer at age 65. The documented renal cancer cases downstream are off the charts. Hyperbole?

And we wonder why the U.S. has a DECLINING life expectancy. Do you feel lucky?

 

[ducksface]

If it's in everything shouldn't a hose not be anything?
Compared to everything a hose is practically nothing.

How little consequence does something need to be before it's of no consequence?

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Colloquialisms and parables are common in today's English language.

 

[Jimbo57]

So is the bottom line don’t intake anything bad for you so you live 5 years longer in diapers at a retirement home eating jello

 

[dkoldman]

Colloquialisms and parables are common in today's English language.

If I had half of the concern you state, I would only drink bottled water. I don't have that concern, and I drink bottled water anyway. Further, the reason why I get 99.9% of the water for freshwater tank from home, is because I get a monthly analysis of what is in the water from the city. The more I read, you gonna make me toss my water filter, I am sure I don't need. I just put in new one because it is there. By contrast, I do not replace the water filter in my refrigerators because it is sinfully overpriced and I can't taste or tell the difference. I admit all water is not the same. I have lived in Indiana where water was very hard and required softeners and had awful smell as for as I was concerned. I prefer or have the option to NOT USE versus TREAT.

With that said, if there are Wal Marts in your area, you may wish to cases of your choice of the below. Note: Beer is another option, it is fresh and naturally brewed with natural barley.

 

[Scubawise]

"Grossness" takes time to grow in the proper environment... warm & wet with ample time is a perfect place. That's probably what happened to your winter stored hose.

I'm currently using a 50' Flexzilla hose... it claims "drinking water safe", BUT it's not NSF certified. To me, it's immaterial because of my filter process mentioned previously. I supplement that with an additional 25' blue hose, which I rarely need except for my filter hookup. The Flexzilla is easy to wind, is lightweight and doesn't kink.
I recommend using lengths of 25' hose screwed together... it's much easier to wrangle than long lengths of typical hose.

Here's a thesis on my sanitation process, and my recommendations...

Drain your hoses as best you can. Screw the ends together. Then store in a dark storage away from sunlight and heat.
If you use your hoses regularly... like at least once a week, just flush a few gallons of tap water through before you hook it up to your filter.
Same goes for your filter. If you use the blue Camco filters, shake the water out when you disconnect, then PUT THE CAPS BACK ON. Again... make sure you flush water through the filter if it's sat any length of time... a couple weeks in heat and IMO you're pushing it... especially if you drink that water... which I DON'T recommend.

Here's how I sanitize everything once a month (or so). First drain the freshwater tank. I put one end of the hose into the gravity fill on the freshwater tank. If you have multiple hoses, connect them all together. Then, before connecting the other end to the tap, I CAREFULLY pour about 3/4 cup of bleach directly into the hose... then connect it to the tap. Quick and easy.

Turn on the water... which flushes the bleach through all the hoses and into the tank. I completely fill the tank... turn on the water pump and run each faucet until I smell bleach. Turn off the pump and let it sit overnight. Then drain... flush the tank, drain. After the second fill of the tank, I turn on the pump and flush the plumbing.

At this point everything is sanitized and ready to use for showers and general use. For drinking it depends on the water source.

To repeat... from this point gravity draining your hoses and storing with ends together in a dark storage compartment should keep them okay for at least a week.

Something you might try for longer term storage is flushing a slightly stronger bleach solution through your hoses. I do this before winter storage... I drain the hoses VERY well at this point... then screw the ends together. Then they're stored in a shed outside in Ohio winter temperatures... anywhere from well below freezing to rarely over 50°F. In spring they're ready for the regular sanitation process... I've NEVER had any mold growth or nasty stuff.

Great simple idea. I will do today. I have a trip to Cloudcroft nm next week.
Thanks

 

[GeorgePal]

I also fill my water tank with my garden hose.

Me too. I run the water for a minute. Fil the tank about 25%, Add 4 teaspoons of bleach mixed in a gallon jug. Put that in the tank, then fill it top. Drink bottled water (bottled from my kitchen sink, we have a good house filter) Every month I sanitize the tank with a 1/4 cup of bleach introduced the same way, make sure it gets through all RV pipes and water heater. Wait 8 hours and flush it all out again.

 

[dkoldman]

Great simple idea. I will do today. I have a trip to Cloudcroft nm next week.
Thanks

Welcome back Scubzce, I was starting to worry about you, but you can't be telling the Chateau guy his ideas are great when it is too much work I got tired from reading his instructions, no way I can do all that in real life. If you got a trip next week, you better get started now if you want freshwater per those instructions in your tank before leaving. I got a trip this weekend. I had 1/3rd tank freshwater left from my Memorial day trip. I just added 2/3rd more water and I was done. I did drain both tanks so they are empty. Funny thing is I may spend more freshwater flushing my black tank than I do putting in the freshwater tank.

 

[DavisK]

I do one thing that I did not see mentioned above. After I winterize my camper and blow out the water lines with an air compressor, I blow out my water hose too. That way it won't freeze and also keeps it clean and dry during the off season.

 

[macdaddy1111]

I also fill my water tank with my garden hose.

Funny thing is most of us grew up drinking water out of a garden hose that laid out in the yard in the summer heat!!

We use gallon jugs of spring water, works great for our rig!