Is it ok to leave disinfecting solution in the system for a couple of weeks?

[TheLexx]

I'm using Purogene, which is 2% chlorine dioxide. It's way easier than dump a ton of bleach into the system. You only need 20 fl oz of the Purogene for 60 gal. It's activated by citric acid - lemon juice.

http://www.3rodorcon.com/Purogene.pdf

I forgot to empty and winterize the system after our trip last summer. So I need to really disinfect the entire system. The instructions say to let the solution sit for about one hour and then dump it and flush.

Is there any harm in letting it stay longer, say for a week or more? We're leaving for our summer trip on June 6 and I'd rather let this solution kill as much bacteria as possible and dissolve the biofilm.

[sande005]

You probably should call the manufacturer. That might be bad....

Here's a very geeky link for scientific abstracts discussing it's use for sanitizing. Interesting that it is not allowed in Europe, due to the potential for forming more toxic by-products. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics...lorine-dioxide

A ton of bleach???? For a 60 gallon tank, you only need about a cup, max. That works out to about 30 cents. For the Purogene, you need 20 oz, which is $23.42 (plus the lemon juice). And you still have to dump and flush both after letting it do it's thing.

For either, if there is any "biofilm" only the very top layer gets killed. Neither will dissolve anything. Unless you filled the tank with very nutrient rich water (from a swamp, or whatever), very unlikely you have any biofilm to worry about. Worst case, use a dilution of vinegar (with NO other additive), that will do some "dissolving" of any build up. Then flush thoroughly, and sanitize.

[TheLexx]

Thanks for the link. The article does state that chlorine dioxide is at least at good a bactericide as bleach, and far superior a virucide. Since we're not using it for drinking water but merely flushing out the system, I feel it should be safe for our intended use. This is the solution that was recommended to us by RV Water Filter Store.

You're right about the quantity of bleach. It's 1/4 cup per 15 gal. I don't know why I read otherwise when I did a search.

I'm also going to change out the charcoal and particulate filters in our filter system.

You probably should call the manufacturer. That might be bad....

Here's a very geeky link for scientific abstracts discussing it's use for sanitizing. Interesting that it is not allowed in Europe, due to the potential for forming more toxic by-products. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics...lorine-dioxide

A ton of bleach???? For a 60 gallon tank, you only need about a cup, max. That works out to about 30 cents. For the Purogene, you need 20 oz, which is $23.42 (plus the lemon juice). And you still have to dump and flush both after letting it do it's thing.

For either, if there is any "biofilm" only the very top layer gets killed. Neither will dissolve anything. Unless you filled the tank with very nutrient rich water (from a swamp, or whatever), very unlikely you have any biofilm to worry about. Worst case, use a dilution of vinegar (with NO other additive), that will do some "dissolving" of any build up. Then flush thoroughly, and sanitize.