How often do you clean your freshwater tank?

Well I'm sure that others will do it differently from me, but I clean it out with Milton at the end of each year and after going abroad or to East Anglia  where I find the lime build up quite noticeable. 

We never use the water for drinking except if boiled. The water pump gets a terrible build up of algea inside the tubes so change that regularly.

Always use bottled for drinking.

We have been using the same routine for over 25 years so can't see us changing.

Hope you get as much enjoyment out of our hobby as we do.

Well I'm sure that others will do it differently from me, but I clean it out with Milton at the end of each year and after going abroad or to East Anglia  where I find the lime build up quite noticeable. 

We never use the water for drinking except if boiled. The water pump gets a terrible build up of algea inside the tubes so change that regularly.

Always use bottled for drinking.

We have been using the same routine for over 25 years so can't see us changing.

Hope you get as much enjoyment out of our hobby as we do.

Write your comments here...Ditto

ours gets a clean out with (Tesco's) Milton at the beginning of the year. We drink our caravan's water though, which like ADP's comes via its onboard tank, never had a problem. Bottled water in the UK is one of the best bits of marketing ever .... no requirement for it at all in Blighty 

Sorry keithnallen, I think I may be about to contradict the information already gleaned. I have no idea why you should not use Milton. I have in the past - usually in tablet form. It can leave a taste but that disappears after a few rinses through. And you must not get neat Milton on stainless steel such as your sink or in your hot water tank.

For the last couple of years we've used Puriclean in either tablet or powder simply because it is easier for us to get from Go Camping and it doesn't damage stainless steel.

We clean the tank out around Easter time. Fill it full of water, put in the powder and then drain it thorugh after its been stood awhile. Make sure you run some of the water through the taps in kitchen and bathroom and also flush some through the toilet. Your manual may tell you how to clean your tank.

We've been drinking water direct from the fresh water tank for 20 years without any problems. However, we have always been in robust health, we never leave the water in the tank more than 4 days [less if very hot], and we keep any eye on the tank. We definitely empty the water almost immediately we arrive home from a trip.

We fill the tank using either a 25l food grade container or food grade hose - both cleaned every year. 

Follow good food hygiene and adapt what you do to suit your particular circumstances. I don't think there is a right generic apporach, its what suits you. Use bottled water if you want.

We also clean our waste tank every year at the same time. For ease, we use a proprietary tank cleaner such as Fenwicks or Thetfords. There will be other makes. And ditto for the toilet cassette.

Clean as often as you want!

My service engineer advised not to allow Miton into the hot water heating tank as it can adversly affect the heating element. If your M/H  will allow you to flush the fresh water tank without involving the heating tank then fine. With your van being brand new I would certainly consider a very good flush through for the first time. If your M/H has been laid up for a long time over winter then perhaps another flush through would be a good idea.

Not a Motorhomer but a caravan owner and a caravan with a internal tank.   In 5 years of ownership we never cleaned the tank out not once occasionally I would fully drain it but that was to get rid of sediment.  We boil the water if we want a cup of tea or coffee.  If I want a glass of water or a child a glass of squash the water comes straight out of the tap.  In 15 years I or as far as I know anyone else has had a problem.  Thats what I do others do differently and that up to them.  

Now miltons.  Miltons is nothing more than a solution  of  Sodium hypochlorite known to you and I as bleach.   Be warned Bleach whether it is called domestos or Miltons will attack stainless steel unless the stainless steel is very special and very expensive.   Bleach used appropriately is an excellent sanitising agent, but it should be treated with care if you are using it anywhere near particularly stainless steel and as it becomes more reactive the hotter it is.  A boiler is especially vulnerable. 

For those who religiously clean out their tank, I will leave you with this thought.

How often do you clean out your household loft water tank?

peedee

Like WhereNext, we're caravanners, but clean our system regularly with Puriclens or other recommended sterilising solutions, but still found foul algae in the blue pipes and the water pump, so we never drink water from the caravan water system (Aquaroll).

I have posted several times on here, including my picture of the algae, outlining our experiences, removing the faulty pump, and my OH discovering the horrible mess the inside of the pipes - which completely put us off drinking the water.

Peedee, combi boilers do away with the need for a loft tank.

ValDa, don't blame you if you had algae in the pipes. With motorhomes, you draw the fresh water from the tank through the system until it pours out of the open drain taps and kitchen/bathroom taps. Then you close all the taps, top up the water system if you want, and the water system is full of your cleaning solution. The downside is that motorhomers use a lot more water to cleanse the system. Might go back to Milton though if Puriclean leaves the algae alone - unless its a summer heat thing [we don't visit hot European countries].