hi guy and gals
can any one help with information on how best to clean a water tank in caravan that has been standing for some time . have just bought van and have no idea how long since it has been cleaned or what has been in it.
regards
al

well best way that I can think of is to take it out and give it a good rinse with water, then get some pool chlorine and chuck a handfull of that in ( does it still come as a granule? if not chuck half a bottle in there)  full of water and swish that around, leave stand for an hour or three then give it a good rinse with clean water and reinstall the thing, should be like a bought one

the chlorine will kill all bugs and leave it sparkling clean

-- Edited by dave06 at 16:08, 2009-03-02

yes, there probably is something on the market that would do the job, but not going in to caravan places very often leaves me a bit behind a feller and his wife came in to me last night with a bit of a problem with their camper tank, they pushed the hose in to refill the thing and unknown to them it disconnected itself from inside, ten minutes of full force water later, and the flooding of the camper they realised what had happened, soggy wet carpets and water everywhere bit of a tip, make sure to check all connections every now and then!!

I cleaned both tanks on my van with carb soda. I used a small packet to a bucket of water for each tank. Mix it and pour it in, then drain it out after a few hours, even overnight, and pour in fresh water and drain again. Any sludge will flush out, especially if you keep the water running through the tank. You can put some vinegar through the last rinse to ensure any mildew or mould sludge is killed. Nothing toxic there. Cheers Granny

yes toxicity and after taste would be a concern for me as well, that is why I suggested the chlorine, it dissipates after a short while leaving basically nothing, is that right Basil!! or any other chemist out there, please correct me if I'm wrong

Yeah I like Grannies reply -all natural /non toxic !

further to the chlorine treatment, I have done a bit of research and found out that the chlorine is available in a tablet form if you chucked one of these in your tank (maybe broken in half to fit down the hole), filled the tank with water and left stand for a day or two then rinsed I should think the tank would be fine even if there is a bit of tablet left over it will not hurt you, but the longer that you could leave it the better it would be chlorine, once dissapated is of course non toxic, or so the government keep assuring us anyway

Down at Aussie Disposals today and came across a product called RV Tank Clean sounds like what your after, does both alloy and plastic tanks so the instructions say . Some other info for the useless info file, never store your drinking water hose near the spare wheel as it will take up the rubber taint. Some RV 'ers wrap the hose over the spare to save boot space and wonder why the water from later refills smell like sewage Also only ever use drinking quality hose for your potable water supply , standard garden hoses impart a rubber taint

I've had a slab of weld mesh welded onto the A frame boxed off at the back to stop the hoses from slipping out to store my hoses. The water hose and the drainage hose. No mess inside, and they don't go anywhere. I secure them together with an occy strap. Pinched the idea from a fellow nomad. Cheers Granny

Chlorine is available as a swimming pool cleaner in powder or tablets.
Personally I'd go for Dioxine, we were told it was safe and if you are 50 now you won't get cancer from it till you turn 100 so it should be safe for GN's to use.

Seriously if you visit Bunnings and go to the "ornamental pool" dept there is some great natural products to kill algea and clean ponds that are safe for fish and humans.
It's the alge that is the problem, while it's growing and healthy it's not a problem but when the water gets too hot and it dies then it gets nasty. ALWAYS STORE YOUR VAN WITH FULL WATER TANKS as this leaves little space for oxygen, which helps things oxidise, drain and refill prior to departure....
Mud and sediment are another problem, only way to deal with those is to disconnect the big hose at the bottom stick in a hose on full pressure and let it blast the mud/sediment out......Or you can take it out and clean it, I guess.

yep fully agree with all that Basil!! I prefer to take it out buuuuut as I'm getting older...................................................................................................................

Clean the tanks in my truck with soda carbohydrates. I used a small package with a bucket of water for each tank. Some other data to the file of useless information, never store drinking water hose near the spare wheel, as they deal with the slick rubber. res Some RV "wrap the hose over the spare tire to save space in the trunk and wonder why the water in most parts sewage smell