How to Clean an RV Water Tank

Here’s the situation. You get to your destination in your RV. You’ve got your jacks set up correctly, slides are out, and you are ready to start the campfire soon.

You look for a glass of water to quench your thirst, so you get some water from the tap.

There’s only one problem.

Your fresh water in the glass looks cloudy and undrinkable! This is a significant sign that you need to clean your freshwater tank. This problem commonly happens if your water tanks have been sitting all winter or haven’t been cleaned in a long time.

If you’re looking to clean your freshwater tanks properly you’ve come to the right place. This article gives you a quick guide on how to clean an RV water tank.

Drain Your Fresh Water Tank

The first step is to drain your freshwater tank. Your low-point drain should be located somewhere under your RV, most likely in your wet bay. Find the level and slowly open the low-point drain tap.

Next, locate your water heater and release the water heater drain. It is crucial to turn off the water heater and wait for at least one to two hours to let the water cool down. Once it’s been a couple of hours, it’s also essential to find your water heater’s pressure release valve and activate it.

Not doing this can result in injury from scalding hot water or getting popped in the face by the hot water drain plug.

Create a Fresh Water Cleaning Solution

Next, you’ll want to close your low point drain plug, install the water heater plug and leave the valve open that dumps fresh water into your hot water heater. You’ll want to create a solution that will sanitize your RV water tank.

You can choose between a 1/4 cup of bleach or vinegar for every 16 gallons in your freshwater tank. If you’d like to go completely organic, a mix of 1/4 cup of vinegar and a 1/4 cup of lemon juice works well.

Add the Solution With Potable Water

When you’re ready, add the solution and potable water into your tank until it’s complete. You’ll want to alternate the solution with your water every few minutes. Until there is no solution left.

This allows the solution to spread evenly. Be sure to check out Rvwholesalers.com to check the specs on your system.

Let It Sit and Flush the System

Make sure to open all taps for a few minutes to work the solution into your freshwater pipes. Next, You’ll want to let it sit for at least 12 hours. The 12 hours is done, open the drain plugs again and flush the system.

Open up all the taps to make sure you get all of the air out of the lines. Once it is drained, you can choose to repeat the process or call it a day.