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draining tanks

Drain and Clean Your Tanks Regularly To Avoid Algae, Bacteria and other Bad Guys

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Drain and Clean Your Tanks Regularly To Avoid Algae, Bacteria and other Bad Guys

Algae, bacteria, and other harmful microorganisms can grow in your trailer’s Fresh and Grey tanks as well as other parts of the water system such as the pipes, hoses and water heater.  It may be possible to see the algae or it might just be that your water has a funny smell.  If you regularly are using a product to clean the Black and Grey tanks (after each trip) then it’s not likely there will be issues in these tanks.

Algae like to grow in a moist warm environment which is often the situation with the trailer’s tanks, water heater tank, and pipes.  Algae and other microorganisms have the potential for not only making the trailer water smell funny and clogging up water lines, but also could be dangerous to one’s health.  Personally, we only drink water that we bring from home that is produced in our reverse osmosis system and stored in 4 gallon BPA free plastic jugs.  But, even showering and washing dishes and hands with contaminated water could be potentially dangerous (e.g. skin, stomach, and lung issues).

Using a water filter before water enters your trailer is a must.  Additionally, the first thing to do when you get home from a trip is to drain all your tanks to eliminate the potential growing environment for the algae (this should include draining your hot water heater tank if the trailer will be stored more than a couple of weeks).  Draining the Fresh, Grey, Black, and Hot Water Heater tanks is easy and should be something you do after each trip so your trailer is ready to go for your next adventure.  When we get home, we usually park our Scamp in front of our house on the street so we can wash it before putting it back in the garage.  We open up the Fresh tank value located under the passenger side dinette seat so that the remaining Fresh water drains out on the road.  Once fully drained, we close the valve.  We also open the Hot Water Heater tank plug on the outside of the Scamp (open metal service access door on driver’s side) and let the tank drain as well (before opening, water should be cold and pressure released by turning on hot water tap at sink with on demand pump off).  On our Scamp’s Suburban hot water heater, a 1 1/16” socket is needed to unscrew the hexagonal bolt which is not only the plug to the hot water heater but also the Anode Rod (see image).  After washing the trailer and bringing it into the garage, we then drain our Black and Grey tanks using the sewer clean out drain in the garage.

It’s a good idea to sanitize your trailer water system once every six months and change your external water filter at the same time (or at least once per season or earlier if you notice decreased water flow).

Supplies:

RV Fresh Water System Sanitizing Instructions (Frequency = every 6 months)

  1. Make sure water heater is off and the circuit breaker to it is off.  Also, make sure the hot water heater switches are all off (electric and gas) and the gas LP valves are also off.
  2. Fill your Scamp Fresh tank so it is ½ full.
  3. Wearing gloves / protective eyewear and using a funnel  and plastic hose tube, pour ¼ cup of household bleach (e.g. Clorox) into your ½ full Fresh tank (or whatever ratio is recommended by your trailer manufacturer) (never pour full strength bleach into an empty tank).
  4. Add fresh water to your Fresh tank until it is full.
  5. Turn on 12V On Demand Water Pump.
  6. Run each tap one by one (sink hot water, sink cold water, shower hot/cold) until you smell the bleach and then let the tap run a few more seconds and then turn off.
  7. Fill Fresh water tank again to 100%.
  8. Turn off 12V On Demand Water Pump.
  9. Let sit overnight.
  10. Drain the Fresh and Hot Water Heater tanks.
    1. On the Scamp 13’, remove the passenger side dinette seat cushion and access the panel underneath. Open the drain valve 180 degrees and the Fresh water will drain on the ground below.
    2. Release water pressure in system by opening kitchen sink hot and cold faucets with demand pump off until water trickles.
    3. On our Scamp 13’, the hot water heater service access panel is at the driver’s side rear of trailer. The plug/anode is at the bottom of the heater.  Use socket wrench (our Suburban hot water heater plug needs a 1- 1/16” or 27mm socket) to unscrew plug (which also has a long metal anode rod).  You may have to pull the plug bolt head with some pressure if the rod gives resistance.  Water will drain out once the plug/rod is removed (so move trailer onto the street or location where water draining isn’t an issue).  This is the time to inspect the Anode rod.  If it looks very eaten up or is 75% consumed replace it when this process is complete.*  See instructions at bottom.
    4. If you have a Hot Water Heater tank rinser, now’s a good time to pressure wash the inside of the Hot Water Heater tank to remove any leftover sediment. We use this one.
    5. Tighten the Dummy Plug (old Anode rod with wire clipped off so just plug remains), Existing Plug, or New Plug onto the Hot Water Tank so it is sealed.
  11. Fill Fresh tank and open hot water tap until water flows (so hot water tank is full).
  12. Run each tap (sink hot, sink cold, shower hot/cold) until there is no bleach / chlorine smell.
  13. If bleach smell persists, drain Fresh tank and water heater again using their drain valves and refill with Fresh water.
  14. Once smell is gone, drain the Fresh tank and Hot Water Tank again and let sit dry until next trip.
  15. Now firmly secure the Anode rod in with Teflon tape and socket wrench.
  16. Turn off 12V On Demand Pump.
  17. Replace external water filter with new one.

*Replacing the Anode rod (Frequency = every 12 months under hard water usage or when 75% consumed):  Take a wire brush to the clean drain port threads to remove sediment and any leftover Teflon tape on the threads.  Next, apply mineral oil on a cloth to the clean threads to prevent corrosion and assist in installing the new Anode rod.  Wrap Teflon seal tape on threads of new Anode rod, leaving the first few threads exposed so you can screw in plug by hand.  Screw in new Anode rod clockwise by hand to make sure it’s threaded correctly and then use socket wrench until it is firmly tight (do not over tighten to avoid stripping the threads).  Note:  the anode rod does not and will not need to go all the way in.  The anode just needs to be tightened enough to be water tight.  Tighten snug and do not crank down beyond this or damage to the threads or tank could occur.  If it leaks, tighten a little bit more if possible.

We order this 3 pack of Anode rods for our Suburban hot water heater, and it comes with Teflon seal tape:

(3 Pack) Suburban RV Anode Rod Replacement Part 232767

Why is the Anode rod so important?  The Anode rod is able to help keep the Hot Water Tank from rusting by promoting a chemical reaction called electrolysis.  The process makes the Anode rod corrode in place of the exposed steel in your water heater which can lead to leaks.

RV Grey & Black Water System Sanitizing Instructions (Frequency =  every or every other trip)

We use Happy Campers Organic RV Holding Tank Treatment for the Grey and Black Water (toilet) tanks.

First, we dump our tanks.  Then, we fill jug with 1 scoop of Happy Camper with 1 gallon of water and mix and pour into the toilet and then flush the toilet immediately (Black tank).  Then, we pour two more gallons of fresh water into the toilet and flush.  We do the same for the sink (Grey tank).  We let the tanks sit for a week, allowing Happy Campers to sanitize the tanks, and then dump the tanks.  Works great!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.