PLASTIC WATER TANKS - BAD TASTING WATER

[Drover]

Hey All,

Recently installed a Black Widow water tank, works well - looks good - water tastes like rubbish.

Any ideas on how to get the new/plastic taste out of it quickly ?

SWMBO suggested bi-carb soda, But I am not sure !

[KarlB]

A tablespoon of white vinegar into three quarters full tank. Let it slosh around for about a week and then drain and refill a couple of times. I have heard Milton also works but the vinegar has worked for me in the past, and you proably have some in the kitchen cupboard right now. Milton is certainly good to sterilise the tank if it has not been used for a while.

[richard4u2]

i'm a little sus here as stuff that i have bought that is made out of food grade materal has never had a taste to it , i see on thier site they say it is made out of food grade materal :confused:

[Drover]

Richard4U2,

I was surprised that it carried a taste to it.

The tank was brand new and first time out, probably wasn't rinsed by the fitter before the install. What ever, the water was drinkable but it had a taste, even in the coffee.

I will definitely try Karl’s idea and rinse it a couple of times, should be okay. Black Widow have an excellent rep, so I think it should be okay.

Cheers

[dullbird]

yes ours had a really bad taste too......

I can drink the water from it now..and I haven't done anything to it..its just a a number of tanks of water through it.

[101RRS]

You didn't fill it with a garden hose did you? If so that is where the taste may have come from.

Garry

[bblaze]

You didn't fill it with a garden hose did you? If so that is where the taste may have come from.

Garry
Filled all my water containers for 40 years with a garden hose and never had bad tasting water, a lot depends on quality to start with
cheers
blaze

[101RRS]

Filled all my water containers for 40 years with a garden hose and never had bad tasting water, a lot depends on quality to start with
cheers
blaze

Well you have obviously never used my hose - makes the water taste like crap - even when it has been boiled for coffee.

Garry

[billnjim]

get a food grade type hose and always fill with that (translucent? type hose), you'll find them at caravan shops or I think we got ours from bunnings for a heap cheaper, rinse your tanks throughly a few times and don't be shy using the miltons or white vinger & rinse throughly. Our water tanks on the jayco are plastic @ 90ltrs each and required a few rinses & have tasted good ever since.

[ADMIRAL]

A tablespoon of white vinegar into three quarters full tank. Let it slosh around for about a week and then drain and refill a couple of times. I have heard Milton also works but the vinegar has worked for me in the past, and you proably have some in the kitchen cupboard right now. Milton is certainly good to sterilise the tank if it has not been used for a while.
Milton baby bottle wash/cleaner seems to do the trick, but check the water quality and that fill hose.

[Fifth Columnist]

Bicarbonate of soda will permanently remove 'plastic' tastes.
Use about 1 heaped tablespoon per gallon/5 litres in container/pipes full of water.
Leave over night and flush thoroughly.

[zulu Delta 534]

In some cases the source of foul tasting water is not from the tank but rather from hose fittings, both in and out of the tank.
Often when a tank is fitted to a moving vehicle, somewhere in its life, someone runs the wrong type of hose to the tap.
Don't use clear see through pipe, nor should you use common garden hose, as Bacteria can grow in these type of hose and can cause the taste.
Check that your situation involves "food grade" hosing both on the filler side and the exit side.
Wasps are also a problem but not necessarily with taste, usually just blocking pipes as they love building nests up moist tubes such as breather pipes and tap outlets.
Regards
Glen

[x-box]

There are superb stuff at Whitworths (boating/yachting) shop for decontaminating/freshening/maintaining water tanks. I recently installed a water tank in the fender, half filled with water, teaspoon of stuff in and drive around for a bit to properly slosh around - no taste or bugs/germs left.
Just looked for the stuff but have misplaced it... cost about $15 and will last a couple of lifetimes.
I'm sure some of the aforementioned remedies will work as well.

ps. i fill out of a garden hose and have no taste in the water - depends on the hose i suppose as i have tasted really bad ones before

[Bushie]

ps. i fill out of a garden hose and have no taste in the water - depends on the hose i suppose as i have tasted really bad ones before


Probably more important to let the hose run for a while so you don;t end up with stale water that may have been sitting in the hose for a while (maybe even with a dead lizard as well :eek:)


Martyn

[midal]

There are superb stuff at Whitworths (boating/yachting) shop for decontaminating/freshening/maintaining water tanks. I recently installed a water tank in the fender, half filled with water, teaspoon of stuff in and drive around for a bit to properly slosh around - no taste or bugs/germs left.
Just looked for the stuff but have misplaced it... cost about $15 and will last a couple of lifetimes.
I'm sure some of the aforementioned remedies will work as well.

ps. i fill out of a garden hose and have no taste in the water - depends on the hose i suppose as i have tasted really bad ones before

One such product available commonly was Pura-Tabs....simply drop a tablet in the water tank/container to freshen things up and assist with getting rid of the micro bugs.

[wardy1]

I bought some Tank Cleaner from Ray's some time ago, probably similar the the stuff someone mentioned from a yachting place. It works a treat, I use it just b4 summer and the water is great.

[RobHay]

Well you have obviously never used my hose - makes the water taste like crap - even when it has been boiled for coffee.

Garry


Garry, I am fairly certain that I have your hose's twin brother, definate plastic taste to the water, but not when you take directly from the tap it connects to.....so yes there must be a bloodline there somewhere.:D;)

[bee utey]

Garry, I am fairly certain that I have your hose's twin brother, definate plastic taste to the water, but not when you take directly from the tap it connects to.....so yes there must be a bloodline there somewhere.:D;)
Buy a black poly hose for tank filling only, keep it separate.

[austastar]

Hi,
we had an old cheap garden hose that tainted residual water to the point that you could smell the first water coming out from the nozzle.
Big mistake to fill the tank with out flushing the hose for a few minutes.
Our newer hose does not smell at all, but it still gets a first flush.
We did replace the original clear plastic pipe that was built in to the van, it was growing algae and the water was fouled with the taste.
Poly garden pipe was used to replace it, about 1" dia for the filler pipe, and 1/2" for the pipe to the hand pump, push together elbows and joints helped keep the pipes neat and out of the way.
So much better than the original.
The tank does get an occasional 'service', take it out, fill with water and a cup of bleach, slosh it about, and rinse till no longer smelling of bleach and all the bits of gravel have departed. (I must put a filter in the filling line to stop the gravel)
cheers

[Chenz]

Have a 75 litre water bladder and always flush with bicarb before use. Also agree with the food grade hose - no smell or taste when I use this but if you use the green garden hose you can taste it for sure