The Good, The Bad…the Ugly!  It may not be the most glamorous topic for discussion, but keeping you and your family healthy has a direct correlation to continued enjoyment of the RV travel hobby.

The UGLY! Cross contamination of the fresh water spigot tap can cause serious illness—and contamination of your entire fresh water system!  It can happen very easily, without your knowledge or even innocently on your part and it DOES happen!

Here are just a few possible CAUSES OF CONTAMINATION to your fresh water tank:

HOW DOES CONTAMINATION OF FRESH WATER HAPPEN?

Campground issues…..these are out of your control!

• Campgrounds are not regularly testing their potable water supply (yes, it happens*)
• Local municipal contamination, causing an emergency “boil water” advisory- especially prevalent after major storms.
• Fresh water pipes could be broken underground before they get to spigot.
• Improper placement of fresh water spigots by campground ownership

AND THE BIGGEST/MOST COMMON REASON??  Fresh water spigot tap contamination from a previous camper!

What YOU and OTHER CAMPERS do DOES makes a difference!

1. Lack of proper procedures during their black water tank flush process
2. Improper series/order of steps when hooking up or breaking down camp- we have seen people cleaning/rinsing their septic hose by turning on the fresh water spigot and rinsing under the water flow.  Do you have any idea how much bacteria is splashing back up on to that faucet outlet??
3. Improper storage of your fresh water and sewer hoses
4. Broken, cracked, frayed hoses or couplers on hoses

There are countless conversations on facebook, YouTube and other blogs about first hand witnessing of unsanitary (for you and them) practices or lack thereof.  This is serious business, ecoli infections can kill someone!

TIPS TO BE MORE SAFE WHEN USING CAMPGROUND DUMP STATIONS AND FULL HOOK UP SITES:

1. Always wear clean disposable gloves when doing your sewer dumping and DO NOT leave those gloves anywhere but in your own trash bag!
2. Put a small spray bottle of H2O with a mild bleach solution in your outside fresh water compartment. I bought a 4 inch travel size one with spritzer nozzle at Wally World for a couple of $.
3. Spray your bleach water solution EACH and every time you hook up and break down!  Spray it on…both ends of your fresh water hose, the spigot at the campground pedestal/faucet before you hook up your hose.  Spray the ends of your fresh water filter(s) too.  When spraying spray around the outside and into the openings of hoses, filters, and spigot.
4. NEVER set the open ends of  your fresh water hoses or filter ends on the ground!! NEVER NEVER! Have a helper hold them.   If you must set stuff down because you are alone, then take a clean new plastic kitchen garbage bag and put that on the ground near the water spigot and lay your items on it like a carpet.  Throw bag away after use.
5. DO NOT store your water filters  in your basement storage areas. (may be ok for modern campers with large storage areas where you can have lidded plastic totes)  Way too much dirt, germs and debris can find their way into them.  We store ours in a clean dish pan in our shower floor or kitchen sink.
6. If the weather has been wet, use a paper towel or sponge to slide down the length of the fresh water hose before storing to take off mud, dirt, bugs, etc.  Be sure you get all or 99% of the water out of your hoses before storing.
7. Always screw the two ends of  your fresh water hose together so nothing can get in there while not in use.  Would not hurt to again spray with the water/bleach solution before storing.
8. Using your water/bleach spritzer spray off your dump valves regularly.  Keep them properly greased/lubed up as directed by manufacturers recommendations.  Keep your storage bays as clean as possible.  
9. Store your “stinky slinky”, septic hose in a separate area from your fresh water hose and equipment.
10. Have a box of gloves, a bucket of clorox wipes and paper towels always handy in that basement bay or next one over.
11. Consider always carrying a gerry jug (we have two 6 gals) with you filled with fresh water you know you can trust.  Just in case the water from your campsite smells a little off, has high iron or sulfur content even though it may be potable.  Your AM coffee will thank you!
12. Install an under counter fresh water filter below your faucet.  There are many types from electronic to flow through traditional. We have one on our dedicated drinking water faucet.  It is so good it even removed the pink dye color from the winter antifreeze!
13. Consider buying a Berkey Water Filtration system that sits on your counter.  Found on Amazon or their dedicated Berkey site.  Not cheap but great peace of mind.

and remember…..

Dump the black water tank first….then the grey water!

Put at least 4-6  or so gallons of water (depends on size of your tank or how long you will be not camping)  back into your toilet and add your black tank digester.  We prefer Happy Camper or Unique brands.

You do not need to use RV toilet paper….any Septic Safe labeled T-paper is fine as long as you use sufficient water each time you flush.  What I tell my grandsons is if you do #2…then hold the pedal down for as long as it takes you to slowly count to at least 6.

*I recall reading numerous reviews about a campground in south western Arizona that had multiple complaints and even was shut down by their local health department due to fouled fresh water being run through pipes to their campsites. It pays to read campground reviews before you park! (NOTE: we always have at least 4-6 filled milk jugs of our own home water with us on any given trip. If anything, we use them to “flush” when boondocking or using our toilet at a rest area.

Here’s to happy and SAFE camping!