Yes, using vinegar to clean the water tank in your motorhome is safe and effective. But there's a catch – the vinegar needs to be heated to at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit to kill all bacteria.
Fill the holding tank and water heater with regular water and drain, 3 times. Then 1 cup of vinegar per 5 gallons of water in both the holding tank and water heater; run it out to the facets. Drive it around for a bit to agitate the water then let it sit for 24 hours. Drain and flush 3 times.
Using the RVs or trailers winterizing kit, put in 3 to 5 gallons, depending on water heater capacity, of white vinegar. Fill the rest of the water heater with water. Turn on the water heater electric element to heat the mixture and leave for a minimum of 8 hours.
It turns out that hot white vinegar, in addition to sanitizing your freshwater system, is also perfect for removing the mineral deposits that build up in your hot water tank and on its anode rod. As an example of this, let's take a look at your coffee pot.
All-purpose cleaner: Mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of essential oil for a pleasant scent. This solution works well for various surfaces and is safe for greywater systems.
Toxic discharges such as rinse water from paint, chlorine bleach, or hair dye should never be released into the greywater system. Instead, they should be routed to the municipal sewer. All greywater systems should have a three-way valve installed to easily switch the discharge water flow to the sewer or yard.
Baking soda and vinegar are safe and effective cleaners for your household drains and, best yet, they are 100% safe for your septic tank and drain field. Bleach and ammonia-based cleaners (i.e. most of the cleaning aisle at the big-box stores) can be harmful to the good bacteria in your septic tank.
Disconnect the cold-water inlet, hot water outlet, T & P valve, or element holes and, using a funnel, pour one (1) gallon of regular household cider vinegar into the water heater. (Do not dilute with water) ** NOTE: For Electric Heaters, it is recommended you remove the elements from the heater and lay them in a pan.
Sanitizing Procedure. In a clean quart container about half full of water, put 1 to 1 1/2 fluid ounces (2-3 tablespoons) of a standard unscented, non-detergent household chlorine bleach (5.25% concentration) for every 500 gallons of water to be treated. Pour the bleach solution directly into the storage tank.
While some sources claim that vinegar can damage your hot water heater, this is not entirely true. The acidity in vinegar is not strong enough to damage the stainless steel or glass-lined materials used in most hot water heaters. However, it's essential to use caution when using vinegar to clean your hot water heater.
You can also put the vinegar solution in a plastic bottle and then spray the toilet. Add baking soda to the toilet brush and scrub. Here are a few cleaning solutions made particularly for RVs: Thetford Aqua-Foam Toilet Cleaner.
There are a several ways to get the vinegar inside the tank: Add a vinegar water mixture to the RV's fresh water tank then pump it in. (Some RVs don't have a gravity fill port, though) Remove the pressure relief valve at the top of the water heater and pour the vinegar mix using a funnel.
As your last line of defense for really smelly tanks, you can pour one cup of Simple Green and one gallon of hot water down your toilet, then slowly fill the tank with water. Let the solution sit in the tank for 24 hours. Drain it, and do the smell test again.
Tips for Cleaning the Inside of the Toilet Tank
Vinegar is a great toilet cleaning solution. Not only is it free of chemicals and naturally antibacterial, it's also an acid, so it will remove minor lime and calcium deposits.
If you are not comfortable using bleach, you can use vinegar or hydrogen peroxide when cleaning the water tank in your RV. However, unless each is heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, they will not be as effective as bleach at killing bacteria in a contaminated RV fresh water tank.
People should put 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar in a gallon of water, mix, and pour it into a spray bottle. They can lighting spray the mist onto the dirty surface and wipe clean with a microfiber cloth or clean sponge.
Never add bleach directly to your drains or tank. Concentrated bleach can damage your holding tank and your RV plumbing. Be sure to dilute the bleach in at least a gallon of water using your pitcher or bucket. Then add the diluted bleach/water mixture to your tank.
CleanOxide, which is Chlorine Dioxide, is the most effective product on the market to clean water tanks and ensure the water is safe for consumption. Read the Caravan and RV guide here.
Cleaning vinegar
It inhibits the growth of bacteria and algae. You follow the same procedure as bleach. For a tank of 100 litres of water, you'll need one litre of cleaning vinegar. Let everything soak in for 24 hours, and then rinse the tank and pipes well with clean water.
It is advisable to not leave water sitting in your tank for more than three days.
While harmless for most metal and PVC pipes, prolonged exposure to the acidic nature of vinegar might corrode certain metals, like copper. PVC pipes, on the other hand, can withstand these substances without damage.
Yes, Dawn dish soap is generally safe for septic systems. It's got quite a reputation for being septic-friendly, and for good reason. As long as you're not going overboard with it, Dawn isn't likely to mess with the bacteria in your septic tank.
Vinegar is safe and milder than caustic cleaners designed for the toilet, and those commercial cleaning agents can eat away the good bacteria in your septic system. To safely and inexpensively clean your toilet bowls, pour a generous glug of vinegar, followed by a heavy sprinkling of baking soda, into the bowl.