# Stinky Water!



## kchiebert (Apr 23, 2006)

Morning all. Took our Outback out of storage, ran all the antifreeze out of the pipes, put some fresh water in the tank and went camping. But the water that came out of the tap had a HORRIBLE skunk+rotten egg smell.

Would love to hear both your thoughts on what is causing the problem and the cure.

THanks!


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

You need to sanitize the tank. 1 cup plain Clorox in the fresh tank, and fill it with water. Run it through every spigot, hot and cold with the pump, and then let it stand at least 4 hours, we usually do overnight, and then drain it. Next drain the clorox solution, and the hot water tank, and then do a new solution of 1 cup baking soda, and a full tank of water. Run all that through the fauches, and let it stand. Drain and then it should be much better. Also, the clorox solution kills all those nasty germs that have been fermenting all winter.


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## wicandthing (Jul 11, 2005)

After de-winterizing, you should add 1/4 cup of clorox to the fresh water tank and fill it up with water. Let it sit for a while (I also drive around to make it slosh) and run it through all of the faucets. Empty the tank, refill with fresh water and repeat. Some people then run a tank of water with baking soda in it to neutralize the chlorine odor/taste.

That should fix your problem.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

X2.

I perform this annual spring ritual each year. Can't hurt anything, and I've never experienced the "stinky water," except once, when I left my water heater full of water for about 5-6 weeks between camping trips. I don't do that any more!

Mike


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

Lady Di said:


> You need to sanitize the tank. 1 cup plain Clorox in the fresh tank, and fill it with water. Run it through every spigot, hot and cold with the pump, and then let it stand at least 4 hours, we usually do overnight, and then drain it. Next drain the clorox solution, and the hot water tank, and then do a new solution of 1 cup baking soda, and a full tank of water. Run all that through the fauches, and let it stand. Drain and then it should be much better. Also, the clorox solution kills all those nasty germs that have been fermenting all winter.


what she said!

One tip I have found that makes this easier. . .when you are trying to figure out how to safely put the Clorox into the tank, I have found it is easy to add the Clorox into the water hose before hooking it up to the rig. (use a small funnel) this also gives a quick cleaning to you water hose!

I also have taken the rig out for a 30 minute drive to help "slosh" the mixure around in the tank. Not sure if this is necessary or not, but I do it


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## kchiebert (Apr 23, 2006)

Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions. I'm off to the store to buy a new bottle of bleach....seems bleach has a shelf life of ~ 2 years....and since I had to dig it out of the back of a cabinet, I'm fairly sure it's past it's shelf life and it also doesn't hardly smells when I open the bottle. I like the "cleaning the hose" idea Doug!


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## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

Why does one poster say to add 1 cup of (Clorox brand) bleach while another advises to add a 1/4 cup of (Clorox brad) bleach to your fresh water tank?

Can someone please verify the correct bleach amount to use for the 50gln water tanks found on a 21RS?

Also, how does one drain the 21RS water heater of its water contents? I read over and over about this "drain cap" but I wonder if that is equal to the red plastic cap that is difficult to get off of my water heater.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Mgonzo2u said:


> Why does one poster say to add 1 cup of (Clorox brand) bleach while another advises to add a 1/4 cup of (Clorox brad) bleach to your fresh water tank?
> 
> Can someone please verify the correct bleach amount to use for the 50gln water tanks found on a 21RS?
> 
> ...


I only use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup bleach. 1 cup seems like a lot, but I don't think it can hurt anything, since it's diluted with 50 gallons of water. But the more bleach you use, the harder it is to get rid of that odor, as well.

And the red cap that's difficult to remove is your water heater drain plug. I use a socket, extension, and ratchet to remove it and it is much easier. Also, if you open the temperature/pressure relief valve while draining, it goes a lot faster. Let it snap back in place so it seats fully. I think it is recommended that you exercise the valve every now and then anyway, so that it doesn't freeze up and can work properly if it is needed.

My $.02

Mike


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## Papatractor (Jul 14, 2004)

We also had that problem after leaving water in the hot water heater. Gosh, what an awful smell. Did the bleach thing and all was okay. We NEVER leave water in the hot water tank now.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Since you have gotten to the rotten egg smell you definately need to NUKE that tank. Do use 1 full cup of clorox then fill the tank and run it through all the lines as noted. Don't forget to run the hot water seperate from the cold to push it through the water heater and all hot lines too.

After you're done draining and refilling/flushing with fresh water you can dissolve one full box of baking soda in warm water, pour it into the tank, refill the tank, and push it through all the lines too. Let it sit for 24 hours to remove the chlorine smell to the water.

You'll be right as rain


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## Swanie (Oct 25, 2004)

Ok, just saw this thread tonight and what do you think my DH and I were doing last night? Figuring out why our hot water stank to high heaven. Since it was only the hot, we traced it right to the hot water heater and filled our water tank with bleach/water solution last night. Tonight we drained it out.

And now, I see this thread.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Mgonzo2u said:


> Why does one poster say to add 1 cup of (Clorox brand) bleach while another advises to add a 1/4 cup of (Clorox brad) bleach to your fresh water tank?
> 
> Can someone please verify the correct bleach amount to use for the 50gln water tanks found on a 21RS?
> 
> ...


1/4 cup Clorox (which is 5.25% sodium hypochlorite) per fifteen gallons tank capacity is enough. You just want to kill the little bitty bugs, not preserve them for eternity!

IOW, for your fifty gallon tank, .83333333333333333 cups bleach. Oh, what the heck - use a cup - then IMMEDIATELY dilute with water until the tank is filled. If you'd rather not be such a wastrel, use half the amount of bleach and half the water, then drive around to slosh it all real good. Either way, run both hot and cold to each outlet - sink, lav, toilet, shower, outside shower - until the smell of bleach makes you jerk your nose back. Let sit for a couple hours, drain it all, refill with fresh, do it all over again. If it makes you feel better, about the third fill can have a cup of vinegar in it to help get rid of the chlorine smell.

Ahhh - no mo stanky water!

Sluggo, genyoowine certified CL IV water treatment plant operator, same-o on lab tech stuff.


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## wicandthing (Jul 11, 2005)

Just a note from my past experience.... I used too much bleach on our Starcraft popup once and it basically ate all of the rubber gaskets in the water system. I got "black" water everytime I used it from that point on. And yes, I did flush it multiple times. Anyway, since that experience, I don't use more than a 1/4 cup on the Outback.


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## ProEdge (Mar 8, 2007)

The more Bleach used, the more times you will need rinse your tank and lines too..
If you use a cup of Bleach or more, as I do, it will take around 4 complete flushes to get the bleach smell and taste out..


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