mc4042
near Philadelphia
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We are on our first camping trip in our class c since getting it de-winterized. When we use our hot water it smells so bad but not in the shower, only in the kitchen and bathroom sinks. No problem with the cold water. We are hooked up to the campground supply.Any idea why this would be? When we get back we will contact our dealer where we go for service but is there anything we can do in the meantime? We are at our second campground and not due home until Wednesday. Thank you!
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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When was the last time you sanitized your water system? That usually cures the "sulfated water" stink very effectively. Of course you have to be sure the hot water tank is opened and included in the sanitizing process.
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mc4042
near Philadelphia
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What is the process for sanitizing the tank? We've never done this.
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Intheloonybin
Twin Cities, Minnesota
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A little bit of bleach in your FW holding tank (1/4 to 1/2 cup?), then fill the tank with fresh water. Run it through all "water outlets", making sure you get the water heater.
Let sit. Then flush with fresh water.
It should be in your owners manual with exact instructions on bleach amounts, etc...
You are supposed to sanitize your system yearly, but I'll be the first to admit quilt of not always doing it yearly.
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bob213
Fresno, CA
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A magnesium anode rod can cause smelly water. If you can't do a full sanitize, drain your water heater and try and flush as much as you can. Look at your anode rod while its out if you have one. If it's more than 75% gone it's time for a new one. Aluminum rods don't cause the smelly water as much but bottom line is you must do the yearly flush and sanitize to avoid this.
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reinita
Lansing, Michigan
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We just had the same problem. Used the owner's manual instructions to sanitize, being very careful to open the hot water lines until about 6 gallons of the bleach water went through (that's what the manual said) so that we fully emptied whatever was in the hot water heater and replaced with the bleach water. We captured the water in a bucket and dumped that out. It stank!
We let that sit for about 4 hours. Then we drained the fresh water tank.
We repeated the process with fresh water and baking soda. Let that sit for two days before draining. Smell appears to be gone!
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1775
NY
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Flush your hot water tank. When it is cold, first open the pressure valve - step back because water will come shooting out - then remove the drain plug which on Suburban hot water heaters (if you have one of those) is also the anode rod. This is unscrewed with a 1 and 1/16" socket and socket driver. (It is a good idea to have these in your toolkit that you carry with you.) All of the water will come pouring out of the hot water tank. Then take a fresh water hose and run it with a little force into the tank drain opening. (There is a nozzle sold in RV stores specifically to do this that works very well.) Check the anode rod for how corroded it is - its job is to corrode instead of your tank corroding. As was stated, a magnesium rod is known to sometimes cause an odor to the hot water. There are also aluminum rods. When you flush the tank a lot of sediment will come pouring out with the water. Do this until the water is pretty much just water. Once the tank is flushed, put the rod back, with some plumbing teflon tape on the threads. Screw it in tight so that it does not leak. Refill you hot water tank through your fresh water tanks or city water and see if there is still an odor. If you are not having an odor from your cold water then the fresh water tanks should not need to be sanitized. You could do this anyway- but the problem seems to be in your hot water tank. You could sanitize that tank alone by putting a little bleach with a lot of water into the drain hole with a funnel, fill the tank - don't turn on the water heater, let the water run through the hot water pipes by opening the hot water faucets and then let the water run a little and close them - leave the bleach water there for a while and then flush the hot water tank as I just described. All of this would cover all of the reasons your hot water tank would have an odor.
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Salty Dog
Upstate NY
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Hot water tank flush X3
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mc4042
near Philadelphia
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Thank you all so much. My husband flushed the tank real good today and I'm so glad to report that the odor is gone! Now we can enjoy the rest of the trip. We weren't aware of having to do this so we will now add it to our maintenance list. Thank you all again!
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