Re: Sanitizing
Reply #26 –
If you just want to pump vinegar through the lines and faucet heads you can do that just like you would for winterizing except with vinegar. You need a hose hitting on the end of a 3 ft or so tube. You can get the fitting at the hardware store along with some plastic 1/2 plastic tube. It makes it easier to remove the shelf above the pump. I put mine back in place with velcro instead of screws to make getting it out every year easier.
Close the valve from the tank to the water pump, remove the pipe coming into the pump. You should be able to turn the plastic fitting by hand. It connects to a filter screen. This is a good time to take that apart and clean it. Connect your fitting and tube to the pump. Pour a gallon of vinegar into a clean five gallon bucket of water and add fresh water to fill it up. Put the tube in a gallon jug and turn on the pump. It will suck the mix into the water system lines. Turn on each faucet, cold then hold, one at a time until you smell vinegar. Don't forget the shower and the toilet and there are hot and cold line drain valves near the water pump and over on the driver's side in the battery bay. You may need to add another gallon of water. It takes about 6 gallons to fill all the lines. Remove you short hose and reconnect the water line fron the tank. Let that sit for a hour or more and then hook up fresh water to the hose, turn it on and flush out all the lines until no more vinegar smell.
If you want to get a vinegar solution into the fresh tank you probably have to figure out a way to pump it in to the tank. Pretty hard to get enough in just pouring it into the end of the hose. There are inexpensive drill powered pumps (less the $10) that will work.
I added a direct fill port in my fresh tank. A short hose connected to that with a funnel would work.
Search for Vinegar Flush. Lots of ideas there.
Brett suggests a day. I think that is OK. A stronger bleach water mix in the system, just an hour or so. Bleach can react with some seals and parts. Better to not let it sit too long.
Topic: Sanitizing