Cloudy, brownish water after initial fresh water system flush

[karynp]

Hi there!

We have a brand new 2022 Transcend Xplor 240ML. We flushed and sanitized the fresh water system today per the manual and the water is cloudy and brownish with reddish brown particles coming out of the faucets. We’ve been flushing it for hours with really clean water and still getting cloudy water out. It’s better, but there is still something in the water. We’ve tried it through both city water supply and freshwater holding tank. Both before and after the sanitizing process, the water comes out cloudy with the same reddish brown tint and particles.

Does anyone know what this is and how to address it?

Thank you!

[MoonShadow_1911]

Hi there!

We have a brand new 2022 Transcend Xplor 240ML. We flushed and sanitized the fresh water system today per the manual and the water is cloudy and brownish with reddish brown particles coming out of the faucets. We’ve been flushing it for hours with really clean water and still getting cloudy water out. It’s better, but there is still something in the water. We’ve tried it through both city water supply and freshwater holding tank. Both before and after the sanitizing process, the water comes out cloudy with the same reddish brown tint and particles.

Does anyone know what this is and how to address it?

Thank you!

Are you filling it completely, then draining it via the drain at the bottom of the trailer? (I think the Xplor has one.)

[sande005]

Geez that is a tough one.

I'd try to isolate things, and check/clear each part of the system in a progressive manner.

1. Fill a 5 gal pail with water from the hose you use for city water. Do not use a filter. Just the hose running from the spigot. Verify that what comes out of the hose is perfect. (This is how I found my Zero-G collapsible hose was growing a ton of mold inside!). If the water looks bad, try it straight from the spigot, without the hose. Fill the pail a few times, just to make sure. If it doesn't pass either of these checks, you found your problem.

2. If all good, hook the hose up to the city connection. Nothing in the fresh tank, and don't run the pump. Read up in your manual about how, and bypass the hot water heater, so nothing that might be in it can get into the rest of the system. Flush everything - the pipes, in total, hold no more than 1 1/2 gallons, so it shouldn't take long to run clear. You may find one faucet gets better, but not perfect. Go around and flush everything, including outside spray ports, shower, toilet, low point drains. May have to repeat, but again if what goes in is good, it shouldn't take long. Forgetting one part of the piping (like an outside spray port) may provide a reservoir for the stuff, that can get back into the rest of the system. If nothing clears after several attempts, there is something seriously gunking up the pipes themselves, and with this being very new, a chat with the dealer to review and fix would be in order. They may have a hard time believing you did things right, or for as long as you did. Be persistent. Video may help. This would be HIGHLY unlikely.

3. If the above runs clear, pull the plastic drain plug on the hot water heater, and open the one bypass valve that lets cold water into it. This will flush out the heater (to the outside of the unit). You may want to fill and drain it a couple of times (turn off main water, put the plug in, open the lever pressure relief on the heater to let air out, turn on the water until it comes out of the relief, turn off the water, pull the plug again to have it drain). Ditto on the dealer note if several flushes don't clear it up. If it does clear up, do a final fill, close the pressure relief, and set the other two bypass valves to normal operation. Probably a good time to take off any faucet aerators and make sure the screens don't have any captured stuff in them.

4. Fill and drain your fresh tank (use the drain valve under the trailer). This may take a several times, if a lot of stuff got into the tank. Draining into your 5 gal pail can help you verify when it is clear.

5. If you've gotten to this point, and all has been clear (or made clear) then you may have a little still in the pump lines. Luckily it doesn't hold much. With the city disconnected, and clean water in the tank, run the pump and open the closest faucet. Run until it gets clear too.

Whew!

My money is on the water from the spigot, or the hose.......with a chance the heater or the main tank got filled with that bad water....

BTW - If there is bleach, or gunk, in the heater, in normal operation mode it can take a really, really long time and lots of water to get everything out via a faucet, as the water in there slowly gets diluted with the fresh incoming. Hence why I had you flush it separately using the drain plug. MUCH quicker!

[WhittleBurner]

Are you or have you used hard water in the trailer?

[karynp]

Belated thank you for your response. The issue turned out to be something else, but we appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[karynp]

A big belated thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed response. The problem turned out to be that we thought we were using treated city water, but it was actually from a raw well water supply. Mystery solved. Thanks for making our first experience with this forum a good one! Safe and happy travels!

[karynp]

Yes! That turned out to be the cause of the issue. Thank you!

[karynp]

Are you filling it completely, then draining it via the drain at the bottom of the trailer? (I think the Xplor has one.)

Belated thank you for your response. The issue turned out to be something else, but we appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[karynp]

Geez that is a tough one.

I'd try to isolate things, and check/clear each part of the system in a progressive manner.

1. Fill a 5 gal pail with water from the hose you use for city water. Do not use a filter. Just the hose running from the spigot. Verify that what comes out of the hose is perfect. (This is how I found my Zero-G collapsible hose was growing a ton of mold inside!). If the water looks bad, try it straight from the spigot, without the hose. Fill the pail a few times, just to make sure. If it doesn't pass either of these checks, you found your problem.

2. If all good, hook the hose up to the city connection. Nothing in the fresh tank, and don't run the pump. Read up in your manual about how, and bypass the hot water heater, so nothing that might be in it can get into the rest of the system. Flush everything - the pipes, in total, hold no more than 1 1/2 gallons, so it shouldn't take long to run clear. You may find one faucet gets better, but not perfect. Go around and flush everything, including outside spray ports, shower, toilet, low point drains. May have to repeat, but again if what goes in is good, it shouldn't take long. Forgetting one part of the piping (like an outside spray port) may provide a reservoir for the stuff, that can get back into the rest of the system. If nothing clears after several attempts, there is something seriously gunking up the pipes themselves, and with this being very new, a chat with the dealer to review and fix would be in order. They may have a hard time believing you did things right, or for as long as you did. Be persistent. Video may help. This would be HIGHLY unlikely.

3. If the above runs clear, pull the plastic drain plug on the hot water heater, and open the one bypass valve that lets cold water into it. This will flush out the heater (to the outside of the unit). You may want to fill and drain it a couple of times (turn off main water, put the plug in, open the lever pressure relief on the heater to let air out, turn on the water until it comes out of the relief, turn off the water, pull the plug again to have it drain). Ditto on the dealer note if several flushes don't clear it up. If it does clear up, do a final fill, close the pressure relief, and set the other two bypass valves to normal operation. Probably a good time to take off any faucet aerators and make sure the screens don't have any captured stuff in them.

4. Fill and drain your fresh tank (use the drain valve under the trailer). This may take a several times, if a lot of stuff got into the tank. Draining into your 5 gal pail can help you verify when it is clear.

5. If you've gotten to this point, and all has been clear (or made clear) then you may have a little still in the pump lines. Luckily it doesn't hold much. With the city disconnected, and clean water in the tank, run the pump and open the closest faucet. Run until it gets clear too.

Whew!

My money is on the water from the spigot, or the hose.......with a chance the heater or the main tank got filled with that bad water....

BTW - If there is bleach, or gunk, in the heater, in normal operation mode it can take a really, really long time and lots of water to get everything out via a faucet, as the water in there slowly gets diluted with the fresh incoming. Hence why I had you flush it separately using the drain plug. MUCH quicker!

A big belated thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed response. The problem turned out to be that we thought we were using treated city water, but it was actually from a raw well water supply. Mystery solved. Thanks for making our first experience with this forum a good one! Safe and happy travels!

[karynp]

Are you or have you used hard water in the trailer?

Yes! That turned out to be the cause of the issue. Thank you!