Service pitch water pipe

[Beehpee]

Hi all, almost every time I go away I try to book into a camp with serviced pitches, more expensive but worth the extra I think, anyway I’ve been trying to think of a way to sterilise or at the very least clean the inside of the hose that goes from the mains tap to my aqua roll, I intended to thread some insulated wire through the length of the pipe then tie a piece of cloth soaked in a Milton type liquid and pull it through, if i left the cable twice the length of the pipe I could tie the cloth at the halfway then pull it back and forth until it was suitably sterile, problem is getting the cable through, I’ve tried single core and twin core and both go so far then I can’t push it any further, best I’ve managed is I little less than halfway, anyone got any sensible suggestions on any other way to sterilise the pipe.

BP

 

[Craigyoung]

If you've had it for a long time and are struggling why not just buy a new bit of pipe ?

 

[Beehpee]

It’s not an age thing especially, I actually only bought my current setup last year when I left the one I had at home, but when you think about it, most if not all of us at least once a year change the water filter if fitted, sterilise the caravan water pipe work, and sterilise the aqua roll and water pump, then connect a hose that’s not been sterilised from the pitch tap to the aqua roll, even if I buy a new length of pipe each year that pipe may have been sitting on a dealers shelf for who knows how long so a way of sterilising it would be quite useful.

BP

 

[paws]

Hi BP,
How about plugging one end of the pipe, filling it with your favourite sterilising agent, (jug and funnel) plug the other end, give it a good shake, leave it and put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and by the time your tea has been enjoyed your pipe should be clean again and free from "nasties"
Finally run a little fresh water through to flush it through.
Regards,
and as always Happy caravanning
paws

 

[Beehpee]

I did think of that and it’s about the only thing I’ve got so far, the problem is getting the solution in with the other end blocked is gonna be real difficult because the air can’t escape, I’m not a fussy person re the water system on caravan, and we use the caravan water for drinking in tea/coffee/squash etc all with no ill effects so far touch wood but I just thought it would be nice to give the hose a clean through.

BP

 

[paws]

Yep, if you can get someone to hold the " other end" up at waist height, whilst you pour the sterilising fluid in at the other end, also at waist height or therabouts, you can then bang in the plugs at your leisure
All best regards
paws

 

[otherclive]

Seems a bit over the top to me. If the hose has been kept in a clean(ish) condition just connect to the tap and flush through. Precisely what type of bacteria are of concern here? Can’t recall ever doing such things in my camping days and after five trips to India, one to Bhutan and several to eastern Turkey without problems ( no caravan) I do think at times there’s an over enthusiasm for debugging every out door activity.

 

[Beehpee]

I think OtherClive is one of the people who because he hasn’t a solution to a problem rather than say nothing prefers to tell all on here how well travelled he is which is of no relevance to the question and who obviously doesn’t run sterilising solution through the caravans water system annually, strange considering how often people on here mention how mouldy and contaminated the pipework of a caravan is because of low pressure water going through the pipes, not to worry about cleaning though because OtherClive vast knowledge of travelling the world makes him expert.

BP

 

[Hutch]

With a bit of 22 gauge wire bend the end that goes first over so that you have a smooth without catching. it should push through. OR get a drain cleaning pipe rod flat and doesnt bend over, (no puns please). Remember to steralis your water pump if it the "into the Aqua roll type",

I am with OC, though wifey and myself have very strong water tolerances,, on sites with high Chlorine I take Bottled tap water for the dogs from home. I suppose how often you go away in your caravan, I took out our Filter from the Truma system yeas ago, a place for bacteria to grow when static, we drink from the caravan water system as the normal. And the first time we flash up the heating system every time out , its supposed to be high enough temp to sterilize the water heater.

 

[Beehpee]

I’m with you you hutch in that I drink straight from the caravan taps and regardless of how often I go away I sterilise the system once a year and I’ve never had a filter in my water system and I’ve never had any ill effects at all, I’d just like to give the pipe a clean annually for peace of mind, I do think the method of holding one end up while filling from the other will be easily satisfactory as I’m not anal about it, off for a week soon so just giving the caravan a spring clean and thought about the pipe when I was emptying things.

BP

 

[otherclive]

Yes gunge does build up in a caravans system but what is the perceived risk from using a length of water quality hose that pipes chlorinated mains water to your aqua roll or directly into the caravan. It’s not legionella. The biggest risk is probably faecal contamination but it’s hard to see how this would affect a water pipe other than the owners lack of hygiene or by contamination on site from an animal source.

All this effort to decide how to sterilise a length of hose fails to recognise where risk actually lies. For example you will doubtless have read or viewed reports that clearly show a kitchen sink, drainer and food preparation area contains orders of magnitude more harmful bacteria than does the toilet seat. But how many prep their food in the toilet? Do you use a fresh dish cloth laundered at 70+ dec C each day? Washing up sponges are rarely washed and not exchanged frequently until the abrasive surface is worn. These are times worse than the dish cloth. Studies show that household antibacterial sprays are only effective for a short time before colonies reappear. They encourage bacterial resistance too. Yet folks blithely ignore where real hygiene risks actually reside.

 

[otherclive]

With a bit of 22 gauge wire bend the end that goes first over so that you have a smooth without catching. it should push through. OR get a drain cleaning pipe rod flat and doesnt bend over, (no puns please). Remember to steralis your water pump if it the "into the Aqua roll type",

I am with OC, though wifey and myself have very strong water tolerances,, on sites with high Chlorine I take Bottled tap water for the dogs from home. I suppose how often you go away in your caravan, I took out our Filter from the Truma system yeas ago, a place for bacteria to grow when static, we drink from the caravan water system as the normal. And the first time we flash up the heating system every time out , its supposed to be high enough temp to sterilize the water heater.

I agree your comments about the water filter. Leaving that in for 12 months isn’t good practice especially if your not using the van a lot. But in that situation you are advised to change the filter for a new one. I first had a van installed with one in 2005/ and out it came post acceptance. Had one at home as part of a water softener installation that I fitted. But the repeat exchange prices soon led to its removal from the nice stainless steel housing.

 

[Firkle]

BeehPee
My water hose is in 2 lengths each 8 metres long and a Draper Cable access kit 10x1M will do the trick for me.
You can find them at the following link. ( Other outlets are available )
https://www.toolstation.com/draper-cable-access-kit/p75799

 

[Beehpee]

Thanks for that info firkle, at £21 it’s not expensive and will last forever, with my caravan, my daughters and my sisters it will come in handy not to mention other uses I may have for it when I find out how flexible and how strong it is.

BP

 

[Anseo]

OP, why not just submerge the entire hose in sterilisng solution.

 

[Beehpee]

Because it won’t fill with the solution, I know because I’ve tried, I know this all sounds OTT but as I said previously we all sterilise our water system so why not the hose? I remember when I first started caravanning I had an aqua roll and a length of clear hose with a threaded tap connector on one end, I’d take this with me and attach it to the tap fill the aqua roll and take said hose off and wheel the aqua roll back to caravan, not being a winter vanner everything was packed away and left in van for the following spring, I remember well come the spring how black mould had affected the inner of the clear hose I had been using, replacing 2-3 feet of hose no problem, buying a new 8 metre length every spring instead of finding a way of cleaning and sterilising it seems a waste of money.

BP

 

[Anseo]

Beehpee,

Not getting at you fella, but the hose will fill with liquid solution (it's what hoses do).

Drop one opened end of the hose into a container and with the other end outside the container feed the hose in whilst keeping the initially submerged end submerged, use a weight if you have to.

Even if the hose is 'lay-flat' type you can pinch the 'lay-flat' as you feed the remainder of the the hose into the container, thus allowing air to release from the hose.

Finally, lower the non submerged end into the container, the hose will now be coated in the sterilising solution.

If that don't work, burn the damn hose in a fire pit.

 

[otherclive]

Fit one end with Hozelock auto shut connector and a garden sprayer. Set sprayer to minimum opening. . Drop it out of top floor window so assembly drops to ground. Take funnel and bottle of sterilise solution and pour into top of hose. It will fill if you pour it in faster than it dribbles out of the bottom end. Ask wife or other to close off sprayer when hose is full. Insert cork from wine bottle in top end. Take full bottle into garden and let wife watch you drink it.

 

[ProfJohnL]

There are plenty of ways you could fill your hose with sterilising solution, several have already been suggested. Here's two more.

For both, you need to make up your solution in a water container, an caravan water barrel would be fine if you have one, and it has the advance of cleaning the barrel at the same time.

Method one, raise the barrel up on something like a chair or higher. Put the hose on the floor, dip one end into the barrel and make sure it's near the bottom of the barrel. Suck on the other end of the pipe to draw enough fluid into the pipe to allow you start a Syphon action.

Method two.
Presumably you will have a water pump, so you might also carry a spare. Connect the spare pump to the hose and use it to fill the pipe. One advantage would be the fact that the exit end of the pipe could also be put into the barrel so the fluid could be circulated improving the cleaning action.

 

[Dustydog]

I have used this method for years with no ill effects.
1. With an onboard pump, remove filter from aquaroll pipe and fit an old one.
2. Fill whole aquaroll with either puri clean or Milton solution in the prescribed dose.
3. Allow twenty minutes in the aquaroll then start pumping slowly through all hot taps.
4. Now pump slowly through the cold taps. The exiting solution will also clean all your wasteipes.
5. Do not keep the cleaning solutions longer than 10 minutes in the hot tank. This avoids corrosion of the stainless steel surface.
6. Thoroughly rinse everything with two aquaroll fulls of fresh tap water.

Fit a new filter and enjoy .