Bobbyg2013 wrote:
The RV Park I am returning to soon for four months, has very bad tasting water. Is there anything I can put on my RV that will make the water less harsh tasting?
Since you are parked for 4 months you have some options, first it helps to know what the water issue is. Bad taste means different things to different folks. And what the use needs are, just drinking water or the whole camper?
They do sell portable water softeners that do the whole camper. I have a full timer friend who winters in AZ and she complains about the hard water. She has had the smallest of the "On The Go" portable units. She has used it for the last 6 years now, I just changed the resin in it for her.
https://www.portablewatersoftener.com/shop/water-softenersShe is by herself so the water use is lower. It may take a few months before a regen. They make larger units which go more gallons and longer between regenerations. The On the Go uses common table salt for regenning. The size of the unit helps guide how many gallons you go between regens. A small family uses less then a larger family etc.
The water softener removes the scale that can build up big time in your water heater from hard water and it filters out other contamination but it has a limit pending what you want to filter out. Hard water from a well does have a different taste then municipal water.
The water softener does the entire camper water system so you get the benefit of showering with the soft water, the black tank, washing dishes etc. You will use a fraction of the soap with soft water, so heads up when you switch to start real slow with the soap. You may find you might still need a point of use (at the faucet) for drinking water.
From my water background in industry and camping, any water that goes in my fresh tank other then from home, I filter it before putting it in the camper. Pending the water quality, I can use a 100 micron carbon filter (throw away canister) in series with a 3 micron ceramic carbon cleanable filter before it goes in the tank. Here in OH, iron in the water is big, and it creates a taste. I have to use the 2 stage filtration at certain camps as the iron will plug the 3 micron in less then a tank full. Each area has its issues, we have limestone in the ground, other areas are on shale and sulfur water is more common there then iron.
We do go out for 1 to 2 months at a time, camp hopping. I am looking into the portable water softener. I still will pre-filter before the softener with the 100 micron unit to keep the big chunks out pf the softener. Campgrounds with old pipes and spring time creates a lot of stuff coming down the pipe. The filters will take out taste and particles of stuff, but you are still dealing with the scale in the water heater and all over the faucets.
RO filtering was mentioned, it will take out the scale and most anything else. It too has such a pure taste you have to get use to it, we have it on the sink at home and we love it, after we got use to it. RO works well as a point of use filter, like drinking water at the sink, or filling a water jug outside. I have not yet found a large enough, practical RO unit for a camper to do the entire camper or that would not eat up (corrode) the water heater from the high purity water. RO filtration is so fine and pure, you have to store it in a tank at the slow constant filtration rate to get a usable quantity of water flow of water from it. And there is a reject water stream that comes from the system. The RO splits the pure water from the rest and the rest goes to drain, in industry we call it reject water or 2nd stage. So you do not get all the water, just the first stage really pure good water. At the sink may be made to work, taking a shower with it, gets real complicated fast. Filling water jugs outside from a portable RO unit could work.
Hope this helps
John
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.
