Stinky water - Montana Owners Club

debnmike · 07-27-2010, 03:41 AM

We have owned our camper for three years now and have never had this problem. The water from the bathroom and kitchen sink smells horrible until we run it for a LONG time. We have a filter. Can anyone give me some suggestions. We want to put clorox into the lines but are unsure as to the dilution factor. The holding tank is 62 gallons. Thanks to all

8.1al · 07-27-2010, 03:56 AM

Is it just the hot water that smells?

boylanag · 07-27-2010, 03:59 AM

We just took care of that problem with ours a few weeks ago. We put a half cup of Chlorox in our fresh water tank and ran it through the lines using tghe pump until we smelled Chlorox in each faucet (don't forget the outside shower) Then we let it sit a while and flushed with city water and all is now well. We put some water into the tank first, then added the Chlorox and then more water so that it was mixed well. - Jim

**Rondo** · 07-27-2010, 04:09 AM

Deb-- Three questions: 1. Do you keep water in your holding tank while the unit is not in use? If so, it should be drained if you are not going to be using it for any amount of time! There are other posts on this subject and I think they are under "sanitizing" under the Search engine here at the top of the page. 2. Do you have a washer/dryer prep in your unit? If so, you may have to find where it is hooked up at for the water lines, drain and then cap off thoses lines if they are not in use(if you don't have a w/d in the unit). 3. Have you ever drained your water lines from the "low point drains"? I finally was shown where mine were two weeks ago and we drained ours and it was rather stinky.
The search under the "Sanitizing" should tell you how much clorox to use but I dilute about a cup of clorox in a gallon jug and then pour it into the holding tank fill. I then fill the tank about 3/4 to full and then using the onboard pump pull that water through the lines to each faucet both hot and cold. If you have a water heater bypass valve, shut it off so the water does not go into the w/h. Note: You can fill the w/h with the solution also but it is not necessary. Just rinse it out good before refilling. I let the clorox solution stand in the pipes for several hours to a day. I then drain the holding tank and refill it with fresh water. I again use the pump to draw that water through the lines. I will do this several times till I don't smell the clorox anymore. Turn the w/h valve back to the fill position and you are done and the lines should be sanitized and ready to go.
Good luck and keep us informed on how things turn out!

Mrs. CountryGuy · 07-27-2010, 06:23 AM

Rhondo has good advice,

that stinky thing in our experience has been the washer hook up thingy, get some water through there, drain, etc. smell goes way.

good luck

Art-n-Marge · 07-27-2010, 06:40 AM

It sounds like you are having a sulfur water problem. Believe it or not, it is not bad for you (not dangerous), it just stinks. It is caused by certain bacteria in the water (especially in the hot water heater).

I have had this twice. Search the internet for "sulfur water" and you'll be able to read all about it.

Prevention includes: draining the fresh water tank when in storage, drain the hot water tank, drain the water lines as best you can but it doesn't have to be completely, increase the interval of replacing the filter. I used once a year and now have changed to every 6 months. Then after hooking up with a filter allow plenty of time for the hot water tank to refill. Leave the hot water faucet open until you see water, then open the others until you see hot and cold water, then close the faucets and start up the water heater - starting the hot water without water will cause problems.

The first time I got this I used the diluted bleach solution for a day, then rinsed out real well and all was good. Less than a year later it occurred again (I hadn't drained the tanks) and I just ran the water (especially the hot) on all the faucets for a long time until I couldn't smell anything, then replaced the filter, drained all the tanks and resumed our trip. When we returned home and now when the rig sits, I drain everything again.

I also use the filters when filling up the fresh water tank and drain it when in storage. It's been almost two years and no more problems.

priceml · 07-27-2010, 05:45 PM

When is the last time you changed your filter.

TLightning · 07-28-2010, 10:47 AM

Sulpher smell is usually the hot water heater. There are many areas that can give you the percentage of chlorine, vinegar, etc to fix the problem, including the owner's manual.

old turbo · 08-02-2010, 01:40 AM

I am not clear on your water usage. Is the water you use in your holding tank or were you hooked up to campground water?

Johnnyg · 08-02-2010, 05:35 AM

If I'm not mistaken the manual calls for 1/4 cup of Clorox (1/8 if concentrated) per fifteen gallons holding capacity. Its best if all parts of the tank come in contact with the solution so moving the trailer if possible to agitate is suggested. Run the solution from the tank thru ALL faucets until Clorox can be smelled then drain the tank and start the rinsing process which is fresh water thru all faucets again until the odor is gone.

jimcol · 08-02-2010, 08:17 AM

Rather then moving the trailer to agitate I just fill the tank full with the proper amount of water and bleach solution. Jim

Clyde n Deb · 08-24-2010, 06:11 AM

The clorox treatment works the best too BTW. I used some of that commercial tank cleaner from CW on the old motorhome. Took the rest of that summer to stop the foaming at the faucets from the cleaner, even after several refills.

Stubbytails · 09-18-2010, 05:54 PM

This may be old news, but we have used this recipe for many years in other RV's we have had and many tell us our coach smells fresh and clean even when it's been closed up for the winter.
1 Cup CALGON water softner (powder)
1 Cup laundry detergent (powder)
Mix them together, dissolve in 1 gallon HOT Water and add to each black water tank.
Once in a while you can add 1/2 gallon bleach to sanitize the tank.
We usually make mix the powders together and put in an air tight container and keep it with our sewer hoses.
Hopes this helps.

rames14 · 09-19-2010, 02:15 PM

If you have the washer/dryer prep and you have not flushed it, you will "temporarily" fix it with the bleach and other solutions. As Carol mentioned, if it is a nasty (non-sulphur)smell and you've had your trailer for a few years and it just started, take a hose and drain the faucets for the washer dryer prep. The water gets trapped in there and stagnates. We did the bleach treatment and it worked, then the smell came back. Many on the forum (including me) have been stumped by this and the MOC members came to the rescue.

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