Do you really need to clean your water tank?

[2into1]

I'm not vouching for the science but this was quite an amusing watch anyway.
I must say I rarely clean my (now non Cali) tanks but tend to drink tea and coffee, only using the unboiled water for cleaning my teeth.

 

[pchmlk]

I can't watch more than 10 seconds of that gurning idiot!

 

[sidepod]

I can't watch more than 10 seconds of that gurning idiot!

I started to type similar earlier but thought I’d give him the benefit etc…..

 

[The Tall Luthier]

The enemy of clean water is daylight.

That’s why water in the Cali, water in your loft tank, water cylinders everywhere are opaque.

Sunlight brings energy which lets water play host to life forms. No sunlight, no energy, no life forms, no problem.

It’s good to drink as is.

 

[acer]

I used to clean the tank once a year with puriclean in our old 5.1. But we had a problem with the water pump of our new 6.1 after just a few months as we drove through Belgium. The Belgian VW engineer told us it was clogged up with ‘stuff’. The language barrier prevented us from pinning down the problem to the puriclean, but I hadn’t long cleaned the tank and we have a habit of running it through the taps for a minute before emptying. There does always seem to be some white sediment in the bottom of the mixture that I add to the tank. I wonder if anyone else has similar concerns?

So, I’m now a bit nervous about cleaning the tank. I’d love a consensus of ‘no need to clean’ to emerge.

 

[KevH]

I used to clean the tank once a year with puriclean in our old 5.1. But we had a problem with the water pump of our new 6.1 after just a few months as we drove through Belgium. The Belgian VW engineer told us it was clogged up with ‘stuff’. The language barrier prevented us from pinning down the problem to the puriclean, but I hadn’t long cleaned the tank and we have a habit of running it through the taps for a minute before emptying. There does always seem to be some white sediment in the bottom of the mixture that I add to the tank. I wonder if anyone else has similar concerns?

So, I’m now a bit nervous about cleaning the tank. I’d love a consensus of ‘no need to clean’ to emerge.

Likewise I use Puriclean between trips though I must admit that I always suspect that this is overkill.
No clogging issues to my knowledge though I apply a weakened amount (because I am tight).
Watching this thread with interest.

 

[sticky1]

This can of worms!!

I use one of these Teslong boroscope I like the idea of knowing what I’m drinking. You can also double check the valves are working.

 

[sidepod]

Is it anything to do with using the garden hosepipe to fill it? Just saying……..

 

[Hawthorn37]

To clean the tank, twice a year, I use Milton. Either the liquid form, or tablets that are fully dissolved in a jug of water first.

 

[ourcaliforniakid]

Did ours last weekend - should have done the jug trick but pushed them in through the hole and filled the tank up! Then went for a nice drive out before emptying!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

I use Puriclean once or maybe twice a year after a long absence of use

Have been using it in caravans (same pumps) for decades without any problems.

 

[acer]

To clean the tank, twice a year, I use Milton. Either the liquid form, or tablets that are fully dissolved in a jug of water first.

To my mind the liquid Milton can’t leave a sediment to potentially clog up the pump like the puriclean powder can. Therefore, I’ve just bought a bottle.

It’s worth noting that the full instructions (behind the peel off label) say that it can corrode metals, so if we’re running it through the taps to do a nice thorough job, it might be best to not leave it in there for very long!

 

[pluc99]

The enemy of clean water is daylight.

That’s why water in the Cali, water in your loft tank, water cylinders everywhere are opaque.

Sunlight brings energy which lets water play host to life forms. No sunlight, no energy, no life forms, no problem.

It’s good to drink as is.

Not sure that holds water. AFAIK iffy water in transparent pet bottles will, when left in direct sunlight for several hours, get rid of microbes and make it safe to drink.

 

[acer]

Trump said something similar about Covid didn’t he?

Not sure that holds water. AFAIK iffy water in transparent pet bottles will, when left in direct sunlight for several hours, get rid of microbes and make it safe to drink.

 

[pluc99]

Trump said something similar about Covid didn’t he?

I wouldn't know. Apparently he has opinions about everything but I make a point of skipping any mention of American politics.

 

[SanderR72]

Well let’s say if you get sick of iffy water, your immune system will very slowly but gradually build up, at least against the microbes that were in that particular water.

If you die because of it, at least you don’t have any worry about cleaning the tank anymore

I would prefer safe over sorry.

 

[IanE]

We bought our Cali new 15 years ago. We’ve never cleaned the tank and drink directly from it regularly. No problems so far. Just our experience and I’m not suggesting ours is an example to follow so please don’t shout at me We do use the van year round.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

I use one of these per 5 litres:

Amazon.co.uk

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Not sure that holds water. AFAIK iffy water in transparent pet bottles will, when left in direct sunlight for several hours, get rid of microbes and make it safe to drink.

I store tap water like this is 5 litres transparent bottles for my workshop activities, wet sanding.
Every month I have to swap it out as it turns green!!!
All living organisms need energy, sunlight is energy.

 

[Herman]

This topic has been done to death over the years but it is worth repeating:
Tap water in UK is potable, that is, it does not contain nasties unless you fill with a hosepipe or container that is contaminated
Once the water is in the Cali tank it will not miraculously become contaminated unless someone has previously put dirty water in it
If you have had your Cali from new and have only filled it with clean tap water there is no need to ‘disinfect’ the tank.
If the tank is contaminated, Milton or other similar chemicals are unlikely to sterilise it so using them is pointless.
It is sensible to drain the tank from time to time and refill it.
It is worth checking campsite taps as slugs love to crawl into them because they are damp and dark!
Sunlight will NOT make iffy water safe to drink.

 

[Hawthorn37]

I agree, the topic has been covered again and again. And everyone is welcome to their own opinion. I have 2 reasons why we periodically sanitise our water tank (sanitise not sterilise). 1) I worked in the hygienic food and pharma industry for 35 years, and the ubiquitous policy of sanitising potable water systems still lives with me. And 2) if we didn’t do it my wife would refuse to drink the water. You choose the more compelling reason.

 

[pluc99]

I store tap water like this is 5 litres transparent bottles for my workshop activities, wet sanding.
Every month I have to swap it out as it turns green!!!
All living organisms need energy, sunlight is energy.

I'm not surprised it will turn green in the light of your workshop. It's not the same as direct sunlight with several hours of UV rays hitting the water through a transparent PET bottle.

 

[sticky1]

I agree, the topic has been covered again and again. And everyone is welcome to their own opinion. I have 2 reasons why we periodically sanitise our water tank (sanitise not sterilise). 1) I worked in the hygienic food and pharma industry for 35 years, and the ubiquitous policy of sanitising potable water systems still lives with me. And 2) if we didn’t do it my wife would refuse to drink the water. You choose the more compelling reason.

Very similar reasons for me, wife is a bio-chemist and hates me using single use plastic bottled water (although I admit I often do in the fridge) however it is entirely possible to meet the conditions that will allow water to ‘spoil’ in the water tank, so I sanitise the tank and pipes and then pop in a boroscope to see my good work

 

[Cali Phillip]

We bought our Cali new 15 years ago. We’ve never cleaned the tank and drink directly from it regularly. No problems so far. Just our experience and I’m not suggesting ours is an example to follow so please don’t shout at me We do use the van year round.

5 year for me, left full and used every week. No issues.