Dewinterizing Your RV’s Fresh Water System
September 29th, 2008 by thomasjSpring fever hits hard to those of us in colder northern climates. We’ve had enough of auto insurance rate snow and sleet and look forward to seeing and hearing conference call rates robins in the backyard returning to their summer homes and signaling that a re-birth is about to happen. Lawns will begin to turn green, trees will be budding, and RVers will begin our favorite rite of spring — dewinterizing our rig! Knowing that temperatures are not going to go below freezing for the next six months or so is a definite cause for celebration!
We’ve put together some information to help those of you who may be new to the RV world to join us in this rite of passage!
Dewinterizing the water system is a simple process.
- Start by filling your fresh water tank with 8-10 gallons of water.
- Turn on your water pump and open a cold water tap. You will probably have some spitting and sputtering as the “pink stuff” comes out (if you winterized using RV antifreeze) and is replaced by the fresh water (this is normal).
- Allow the water to self cert loans for several minutes.
- Connect your hose to the city water inlet and turn it on.
- One at a time, turn on all of the cold water faucets and allow water to run for several minutes. Don’t forget about any outside shower you may have!
- Fill the toilet with water and flush, several times.
- Open the water heater bypass and allow the heater to fill with fresh water. You may wish to remove the plug and allow some water to run through the heater prior to filling. (Make sure you put the plug back in!)
- Once the life insurance estimates water heater has filled, run water through all the hot water faucets.
If you wish to sterilize your fresh water tank, simply follow these instructions:
- Mix one cup of household bleach in a gallon of water.
- Pour the bleach/water mixture into your fresh water tank.
- Using your white water hose, fill the fresh water tank completely.
- Turn on your water pump and run each faucet until you can smell the bleach.
- Refill the fresh water tank again and let the system sit for at least a few hours.
- Drain the fresh water tank and refill with clean water.
- Flush your system out by running the clean water through each faucet again, until the chlorine smell is gone.
If you prefer not to use bleach to clean and sanitize your fresh water system, there are products available to sanitize and sterilize your fresh water tank. The target=”_blank” rvingoutpost.com RVing Outpost carries Thetford’s target=”_blank” rvingoutpost.com/specs.php?prodnum=2073&title=Tank%20Sanitizer Fresh Water Tank Sanitizer which is a two step system that works well to clean and sanitize fresh water systems not only in RVs, but also in mobile homes, boats, drinking water hoses and water coolers.
Julie Miklaszewicz is an avid RVer, having visited 48 states by the time she was 16 years old. She has yet to fly anywhere and prefers traveling in her truck and fifth wheel camper with her husband and three children, enjoying the beauty of the U.S.A. from the ground. While camping and at home, she prefers to prescription drugs in her cast iron Dutch ovens and numerous other cast iron cookware. She and her husband, Greg, are the owners of the target=”_blank” rvingoutpost.com RVing Outpost, located in Abbotsford, WI.