I recently turned on a water spigot at a fair ground RV site and a hand-full of sand came out with the first few spurts of water. This kind of sediment will quickly plug up your shower head and faucets. It’s always a good idea to run some water out of the spigot at a new campsite prior to actually hooking up to it.
I’ve used many kinds of water filter systems for RVing and have settled on a personal preference of using a sediment filter in conjunction with the Brita counter top charcoal filter for drinking water. We find this arrangement works well for us. The big issue for me is that whole house inline filters drastically reduce water flow, and I personally like to have some water pressure when I take a shower. I use a light weight sediment filter and change it every few months. You may have to change your filters more frequently depending on how dirty the water is where you’re camping.
Be aware that if you are using a charcoal filter and your water begins to have a foul smell, then your filter is past due for a change. If you are not sure about the quality of the water at your new campsite, don’t drink it. It’s always best to purify it first through a charcoal filtration system of some kind. If you do this you won’t run the risk of getting sick and spoiling your outing.
Keeping you informed - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing, Dr. of RVology and ROAD Scholar
10 comments:
Hi Doc,
We use one of these filtersa, and also filter our drinking water with a Brita pitcher. We've been fulltiming since June 3 now...do you think we should replace our filter? Our water doesn't smell funny, and water pressure still seems to be good. I heard that you can tell if they're too old if you lose water pressure, but this hasn't happened. Any thoughts? Thanks for the great post!
There is no set time period for the life of any water filter in the RV environment. The reason is because the quality of water changes everywhere you go. So, yes if you begin to experience a change in water pressure and the water pressure at the source has not changed, then I would first check the water filter. I would also check the inline screen/washer that is sometimes on your intake connector. These can become clogged and restrict your water flow as well. Thanks for your readership. Jim Twamley
That really helps! Thank you. Your blog is wonderful.
-Rene
First off these water filters are just that, filters (not purifiers) that ONLY remove taste and sediment unless you purchase one of the very expensive ones that can remove some pathogens like Giardia - but these have a very low flow rate and are still very limited in filtration and plug up easily.
You seldom need to filter water for showers and never for the toilet so what you need is a point-of-use on the counter top. If all you care about is removing a bit of chlorine and taste the OEM filters will work for a short time (Very hard water can render them uselessly plugged in a couple of days) - if you want to protect your health and remove all bad tastes and pathogens the an RO system is the only option. We have had on board RO systems in our RV's for over 20 years - would NEVER travel without them - especially in national parks and any place not on a city water system.
Rik
Rik--can you recommend any forums, etc., for info on a RO on board system? I'm just beginning to look into that (instead of having to buy and store bottled water), seeing things like need to use fresh water holding tank and would need to upgrade to more powerful water pump.
BTW, thanks Jim for lots of useful info!
MzRogers
One thing you should know with an RO system is the large amount of water it wastes. According to Wikipedia for every 5 gal of treated water you get the system wastes 40 to 90 gals of water that goes into your waste water tank. However, there are zero waste systems that would overcome this problem.
We installed an RO system in our 5th wheel this winter while in Yuma. We purchased it on line for $ 137 including shipping. We installed it while we were boondocking in Yuma. It filled the holding tank up in a matter of hours.
To get around this my husband added a valve and hose to recycle the waste water back into our fresh water tank.
We have the option of running the system either way.
This has worked great for us.
Kathi
We have been RV'ing for 7 years. I am a retired Microbiologist (Teaching and Research). We use the water the way it comes out of the Campground supply for everything EXCEPT drinking (water alone, coffee, tea, mixed/powdered drinks, etc.) and cooking. For those we have a 3 gallon, water safe, plastic re-fillable container/jug, which we re-fill at any of the purified water (usually Reverse Osmosis, RO) outlets at Grocery, Gas Station, Wal-Mart or free-standing kiosks you find in any good-sized town or city. We find that for the 2 of us, 3 gals. is sufficient for 3-4 days for our uses. We also use this to re-fill our drinking water bottles which we take with us while out and away for the day from the RV.
It is just to expensive and cumbersome to expect to purify the water you take into your body in an RV on the road, or even in a campground, to a good enough degree to avoid any chance of contacing some 'bug'. You cannot eliminate, or maybe even reduce the level of bacteria and, especially viruses, to a good enough degree with a simple system of filters. Only the larger, expensive systems using RO that you find in these commercial water outlets can suffice.
Hope this helps. Sincerely, Lawrence
Don't waste time, money, or water, on filter/filter systems. The ONLY time you need good clean water is for cooking/drinking. Just buy a gallon of good spring water for about 80 cents. Keep it in the sink when you are moving. It's really a 'no brainer'..
My wife and I have camped for over 30 years. The last few years we have used a portable water distiller. Used for drinking and cooking. Will distill a gal in 4.5 hrs. Automatic, shuts itself off.
costs about 90.00. No need to buy or carry drinking water. Always safe. works on 110 volt.
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