Can I make the MH water more palatable?

[Jeannette van den Oever]

I know there are a few funsters on here that drink water straight from their van taps.
We tried not to be precious about it last week but the taste (when used for teeth cleaning, disguised as tea, squash etc) was awful with a capital A.
We had a 9 page packing list, but stupidly forgot a good sized water container. Managed with 1, then 2 milk containers but it got very boring to keep filling these. Who knew how much each saucepan swallows to boil stuff.
Is it a case of flushing the tank/pipes several times to see an improvement?

 

[jonandshell]

we also filter all out water before drinking brita filter.
Word of warning I put some cleaning powder in our tank and never read the instructions should have mixed with boiling water first had to fit new pump!
Jim

Also, if you read the instructions for your boiler, a few cleaning solutions aren't recommended by the boiler manufacturers due to their corrosive properties.

 

[Theonlysue]

Drink water from tank, but in places like morocco, just added tablet.
Did we not drink water from a storage tank at home years ago???
P's. The manufacturer's expressly do not recommend Milton.

 

[PeteH]

I don't think I've ever not drank the water from the tanks?. (we did at a couple of Spanish Sites use bottled water but that had to do with the Taste) The one in the Winnebago does have a Filter in the kitchen faucet, I've filled up in some strange places in America, and lived to tell the tale!!. I used to "Sterilise the tank and system with "Milton" each year, that`s all?. Same with Aquarolls just clean them out with a Milton solution periodically, and they are fine. If it`s OK for baby bottles?.

Pete

 

[ianhyslop]

Fill tank with alcohol , you will soon forget emmmmmmmmm , look there's a squirrel .

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Puddleduck]

we buy and only use bottled water for drinking, teeth cleaning from tank though without ill effects

bottled water is so cheap it doesn't seem worth the trouble of filters etc. although we do refill the bottles when on sites where we trust the water

That's what we do as well. Usually we take tap water from home in drinking water bottles - that way the water tank only has to be part full.

 

[Minxy]

With the exception of our very first camper where a previous owner had accidentally put petrol into the water tank thus rendering it unusable, we have always drunk water from the tank but usually boiled to make tea/coffee, otherwise it's used to wash and prepare veg, salads etc, cook, wash us - the ONLY reason we do not drink it as plain water is because we don't drink water much normally - I much prefer lemonade and hubby prefers alcohol!

We have a standard garden hose, don't leave water in the tank between trips and ensure that when we fill it up that the water is potable and the tap is clean.

 

[Minxy]

I know there are a few funsters on here that drink water straight from their van taps.
We tried not to be precious about it last week but the taste (when used for teeth cleaning, disguised as tea, squash etc) was awful with a capital A.
We had a 9 page packing list, but stupidly forgot a good sized water container. Managed with 1, then 2 milk containers but it got very boring to keep filling these. Who knew how much each saucepan swallows to boil stuff.
Is it a case of flushing the tank/pipes several times to see an improvement?

Sounds like your new van needs the tank/pipes flushing a few times - this is quite normal in my experience and the taste should soon disappear but it can often taste a bit different to drinking the same water at home as in your home the water will generally be quite a bit cooler than in a MH and this in itself can cause it to be 'different'.

 

[GeoffTitto]

Water varies so much across the country and tastes vary. I live in Manchester and now hate the water from the Midlands where I was brought up. This together, possibly, with a suspicion that tank water may not be hygienic, plus the potential residual solvent may affect your palate. After three weeks of weekends, over the North and Midlands, last fill in Chester, the water tastes fine, and no ill effects. Keep using in and dont leave in tank for too long and all should be fine.

 

[jdk62]

We use tank water for teeth etc, by cheap bottled water for drinking etc, but when on sites if taps are OK then just refill the empty litre sized water bottles.

Dogs gets his from the local taps..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[whoa]

Whilst it may seem a reasonable thing to fit a water purifier for some and not others, does the volume of water make any difference to your choice, our small van will only have 42 litres max, could probably see the reason for doing it over say 75litres and above. It therefore looks like a combination of both, tank water for certain purposes, but tap or bottled for drinking, tea and coffee for us, anyone have any experience having a limited amount of water and how do you cope, or should this have been a separate thread, sorry if it should

 

[jollyrodger]

Tank water for everything ..except drinking use bottled or water from tap if from good source

 

[rosalan]

This thread can run and run... we bought a van with Nature Pure already fitted, I doubt we would have bought it otherwise, however, although the flow leaves something to be desired, the water always tastes good.
Someone mentioned putting Milton into the system! We did that once and the after-taste was vile in tea or coffee but this could be due to me being a very long way from having my bottle sterilised with the stuff.
Alan

 

[Jeannette van den Oever]

I'm sure our issue is just a new van thing. Trust me - when you run any of the taps, the water SMELLS like it tastes, which is fairly horrid and not something boiling removes. I've sucked many sweets that have fallen into mucky puddles to placate my little ones over the years, so I'm not so fussy about content.
Haven't used the van's shower or much kitchen water (girl's use the dish wash facilities), so just hand washing and flush really. Love the tank indicators, as others have said; our supposed empty(ish) tank went on and on.

We'll try flushing the tank a few times to see if it wears off.
Hopefully what you take on board is common sense. Guess I ought to revise the phrase 'drinking water' in a few European languages.

 

[DBK]

I'm sure it will be fine, assuming there isn't a dead mouse in the tank. Fill the tank, drain it, refill and run the taps for a while, then refill and drain again. Just check the water you a filling it with is palatable to begin with.

Like others we have a bottle for drinking water but the water from the taps is fine for things like teeth brushing.

What I would recommend is never leave water in the tank longer than about a week. When you get back home, drain it and refill just before the next trip. Otherwise all tap waters will start to grow bugs if left stagnant long enough.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[vectian]

This thread can run and run...



So will you if your water in the tank goes all sulphury

 

[DomingoDeSantaClara]

I use the tank water for drinking,I'm writing this so that tells me its OK. I spent an entire summer drinking from a storage tank beside a farm building,towards the end of summer I climbed up to inspect the mesh cover and to my utter disgust found a dead possum in the tank,it was only skin and bone and had rotted away in the tank over the previous months. Water tasted great but I never drank from that tank again,I must admit to feeling a bit green around the gills after my discovery!

 

[32143]

We used to drink the water from the tap when first got the van, then after I got a few stomach upsets stopped. I had salmonella food poisoning when I was a student and for some reason anything even slightly off makes me ill. Nige was always fine. Now only use tank water via hot tap after it's been heated for washing up, cleaning teeth, shower etc.
At home we have a tumble dryer and it has a condenser tank. When I empty it inside the tank is black, nothing makes it come clean, my brain then decided if that's the state a tank from the tumble dryer gets in, what state is the water tank on the MH.
Only drink bottled water now

Lin

 

[rosalan]

I recently bought a tap (kitchen) from China. The water tasted awful and did so for a long time. It turned out to be a glob of grease left in the tap during manufacture. We ran a lot of very hot water for some time through the tap and although it took a while, the taste did go away. As an aside, we told the manufacturer in China and they sent most of our money back so it may be a known problem.
My odd question is... does the water smell/taste bad from every tap? If so it leaves the pump and tank to be the problem. The tank can usually be cleaned so it may leave only the pump that is fouling the water. This is a problem as hot water does not go through the pump and may only be resolved by time and a lot of water passing through it.
Good luck!

Alan