Natural ways to clean sterilise water tank

chrissmit · Jul 5, 2015

Hi all,

Does anyone have experience with cleaning and sterilising their water tank naturally?
I mean without stuff like Milton etc.

I know bleech is not natural, but how has that worked?

And finally, how much liter does the water tank hold (2006 T5, water tank in the back, with integrated gas tank).

Thanks!

jeff · Jul 5, 2015

Water tank holds 30litres .

motacyclist · Jul 5, 2015

Can't think of anyway of doing it naturally. Once it smells or tastes odd

you would have to use chemicals I think.

We've never had a problem with our Cali tank, we just empty it after a trip, then put a gallon or so in to swish around on day trips, then empty this, quick rinse and refill at the start of the next camp.

We have had problems with other motorhomes and had to use Milton or similar to cure it.

daz60 · Jul 11, 2015

I use a couple of tsp of bleach fill tank up, leave for a hour or two, drain and flush a couple of times. No smells or tastes of bleach, germs dead.

Nick CB · Jul 11, 2015

I don't know what Milton contains, but if it's good enough for cleansing baby's bottles it's good enough for me

I do believe that the only "natural " way to clean would be to open the tank up and wipe it all out with an organic kitchen roll. Not a good idea methinks.

daz60 · Jul 11, 2015

pleasure crafts, boats with long range water tanks use this way of cleaning tanks out, you need to kill bacteria

roball · Jul 11, 2015

Milton Fluid is basically a mild bleach that's specifically designed for disinfecting/sterilising babies' bottles, water tanks, food prep surfaces, brewing equipment, etc. It is designed to be stable (i.e. not break down into more toxic chemicals while left in its container), and to be relatively easy to rinse off after use. It is both milder and more 'pure' (e.g. contains no additional surfactants, fragrances, thickeners etc) vs household bleach.

You'd want to make sure you rinse/flush the surface/tank/pipes a couple of times after cleaning with Milton Fluid to avoid an unpleasant taste, but it's not as potentially harmful as some household bleach, and in my opinion no 'natural' solution (I'm thinking combinations of vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda etc) can do as good a job of eliminating the buildup of bacteria (which is an 'unnatural' process to begin with!).

There seems to be a fair bit of talk on 'green living' websites about hydrogen peroxide solutions as a more 'natural' alternative to Milton/bleach solutions, but it seems you need a pretty high concentration of hydrogen peroxide for it to be effective. It's also much more unstable and liable to break down and become ineffective as a cleaning solution. It also doesn't seem any more 'natural' to me than Milton!

Some more info from the Milton FAQs page:
What is Milton Fluid made of?
Milton Fluid is 2% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and 16.5% sodium chloride (common salt), dissolved in water.
Will Milton have the same effect as bleach on a work surface?
No. Bleaches are usually concentrated to between 5 and 10% and can contain thick detergents to withstand rinsing and flushing. They are dangerous to handle at this concentration. They will leave chemicals behind on the surface which will chemically contaminate and taint food. The bleach may also harm the work surface. Although Milton is less concentrated, it will still have the same germ killing effect as bleach.

-Rob

daz60 · Jul 11, 2015

I was talking about a couple of tsp in a 30l tank. I didn't expect the Spanish inquisition. LOL.

roball · Jul 11, 2015

daz60 said:
I was talking about a couple of tsp in a 30l tank. I didn't expect the Spanish inquisition. LOL.

No inquisition Daz! My response was meant entirely for chrissmit.
Your method of diluting basic household bleach sounds pretty much the same as using Milton, but probably better value :thumb

I should say that the combination of my: a) having just retired, b) still awaiting delivery of my first Cali, and c) being a massive nerd, led to my researching Chris's question of Milton vs 'natural' alternatives perhaps a bit too thoroughly

Still, I enjoyed it and hope the info proves useful to somebody!

-Rob

chrissmit · Jul 11, 2015

Thanks for the help.

I'm using 3.4% bleech solution. Seems to work, or at least the water coming out smells like chloride.

I've filled up the tank, and mine (only) holds 20 liters. It's a T5 2006.