Why Filter Your RV's Water
Campground water varies significantly in quality. City campgrounds typically provide municipal water that's safe but may taste heavily of chlorine. Rural campgrounds using well water can have mineral content, sediment, or in some cases bacteria or other contaminants. Your RV's plumbing also accumulates biofilm in the hoses and tank if water sits unused for extended periods.
Filtration serves two purposes: protecting your health and protecting your RV's plumbing. Sediment and hard water minerals accumulate in water heaters, faucet aerators, shower heads, and the toilet valve — gradually reducing flow and causing failures. Good filtration extends the life of these components.
The Basic Setup: Inline Filter at the Hose Bib
The simplest and most cost-effective filtration approach is a single-stage inline filter connected between the campground water pedestal and your RV's city water inlet.
Camco TastePURE Water Filter (and similar): A $15–$25 inline filter that removes sediment, chlorine taste/odor, and some contaminants. Effective for most campground water situations. Replace after the indicated number of gallons (typically 10,000–20,000 gallons) or at the start of each camping season. This is the baseline that every RVer should have.
Limitations: Basic carbon block filters don't remove bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, or many dissolved contaminants. They improve taste and protect plumbing — they're not a substitute for appropriate water treatment if you're drawing from an unverified source.
Two-Stage Filtration
A two-stage setup adds a sediment pre-filter before the carbon filter:
- Stage 1: 5-micron sediment filter captures particulates (rust, sand, dirt) that would clog and shorten the life of the carbon filter
- Stage 2: Activated carbon block filter removes chlorine, taste, odor, and some chemical contaminants
This combination is recommended if you camp regularly at rural locations with well water or older infrastructure. The sediment filter is cheap to replace and extends the carbon filter's effective life significantly. Full setups run $60–$120.
Fresh Tank Sanitation
The fresh water tank and water lines accumulate biofilm when water sits unused. Sanitizing the system at the start of each camping season is important:
- Fill the fresh tank with a diluted bleach solution (1/4 cup of household bleach per 15 gallons of water)
- Run water from every faucet until you smell bleach at each outlet
- Let sit for 4–12 hours
- Drain completely and flush with multiple tanks of fresh water until the bleach smell is gone
This kills accumulated bacteria and biofilm and should be done once per season (spring startup) and after any period of non-use exceeding 30 days.
Drinking Water vs. Whole-Rig Filtration
For drinking water specifically, a portable countertop filter (Brita-style) or a water pitcher filter is often the simplest approach when the inline filter doesn't fully address taste. If you drink a lot of bottled water while camping, an inline filter often reduces that need significantly.
Some RVers also carry a separate filtered water container (Sawyer, Berkey) for drinking/cooking water when boondocking in locations where water quality is uncertain.
Related: Water conservation boondocking · RV winterization guide · RV maintenance checklist
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