Water heater algee

[jsnowalaska]

I drained my water heater today as part of winterizing and noticed a good amount of darkgreen, almost black, algee coming out. I haven't rv'ed since June so I guess I should have drained it sooner. My question is what now? do I need to replace the heater or is there something I can flush it out with next spring? Will sitting all winter in below freezing storage effectively kill any algee?

 

[Triple E]

I would use bleach. Fill the tank with at least one cup of bleach, if not two. Let stand over night then drain. Repeat if necessary. I would put the bleach in my water hose, connect the hose and turn the water on. You will have to lift the vent valve to fill the tank. When water start to come out of the vent valve turn the water off.

Also welcome to RVUSA. :applause: Don't hesitate too ask for more help or just to let us know how it went.

 

[vanole]

Not to step on Steves toes never thought of using bleach but I've used vinegar before only because in my Atwood manual they mentioned that. If you have a Harbor Freight around I picked up a wand ($1.19) that attached to a garden hose and it fits inside the drain and you are able to direct the water in and around the inside of the H/W heater.

Jeff

 

[jsnowalaska]

That sounds good. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[H2H1]

Hi Jeff , Steve and jsnowalaska, I use bleach to sanitize all my water lines and fresh and gray holding tanks in the spring of each year. I do this as I really don't know if all the water is out of the lines. I also use calgon in my Black tanks to break up what is left. So for no problems

 

[Guest]

i would do as vanole said ,, and get the wand thingy ,, Camping world sell them ,, they are cheap ,, but u need to rinse it out atleast twice a yr ,, i recomend draining the water heater tank after every trip ,, i know some will dissagree ,, but if u don;t use it ,, why let that water sit ,, and btw ,, the water heater water is not really that important as far as being sanitized ,, unless u drink the hot water ,, when u winterize it ,, it is bypassed anyways ,, so no big deal ,, hope this helps out ,,

 

[Triple E]

Not to step on Steves toes never thought of using bleach but I've used vinegar before only because in my Atwood manual they mentioned that. If you have a Harbor Freight around I picked up a wand ($1.19) that attached to a garden hose and it fits inside the drain and you are able to direct the water in and around the inside of the H/W heater.

Jeff

Jeff, with all of the help you have given me, you can step on my toes any time you want. No problem.

 

[krsmitty]

Hi Jeff , Steve and jsnowalaska, I use bleach to sanitize all my water lines and fresh and gray holding tanks in the spring of each year. I do this as I really don't know if all the water is out of the lines. I also use calgon in my Black tanks to break up what is left. So for no problems

Hollis, How much bleach do you use?
Has anyone used hydrogen peroxide? On one of the rv forums someone recommended using a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water to make a spray disinfectant. I use it to spray on/around my fresh water hose connections. I was thinking it may work as a sanitizer for the fresh water tank etc.?

 

[Cruzincat]

Just as a warning, if someone out there can't make up their mind whether to use bleach or vinegar, do not use both! The combination can make a deadly gas.

 

[H2H1]

Ken I am attempting to add the attachment I have on sanitizing tanks. Well I could not get it to work, but here is what I use.
50 gal.=1cup
100 gal=2cups
I run it thru all water lines till he smell it then I shut it off and go to the next one. I do this till all water lines have the bleach in them. Then I let it sit 12 to 24 hours and .. Then I rinse everything several times to remove the bleach.

 

[Triple E]

Hollis, How much bleach do you use?
Has anyone used hydrogen peroxide? On one of the rv forums someone recommended using a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water to make a spray disinfectant. I use it to spray on/around my fresh water hose connections. I was thinking it may work as a sanitizer for the fresh water tank etc.?

Ken I hope you know that Hydrogen Peroxide can be very explosive. Also at work one day I had a drop of peroxide drip onto my leather boot. Burnt a hole through my boot and I darn near did not get it off fast enough before burning my foot. Sooo,,,,,if you use that stuff please be very, very, very careful. Yes it was a stronger then a 50/50 but still please be careful.

 

[krsmitty]

I am talking about the stuff you buy at the store, everyday use for putting on cuts/scrapes/gargling. Not the stuff for rocket fuel....