I sanitize my tank when I dewinterize it. Then after it is drained and refilled, I add some Camco Taste-Pure Drinking Water Freshener, which is essentially a dilute bleach. I have no qualms about using water from my tank for any purpose I need to because I am sure it is safe.

We went 5 years without sanitizing our FW tank, yes, we use it for drinking and never got sick.  Then again we live in Michigan and when we camped then it was in the off season when temps were cooler. 

I don't recommend this, the only reason we went 5 years is because we weren't aware of having to sanitize the tank.  Now we do sanitize, 4oz. bleach in 10 gallons of water, let sit for 4 hours and run through the lines and drain the rest out.  Next step is to use white vinegar and lemon juice concentrate in 5 gallons in FW tank, let sit for a few hours and run all the mixture through the lines as the bleach leaves a nasty taste that I cannot handle.  We use it for drinking and being used to well water we aren't used to bleach taste or smell - if we had city or muni water we would probably be used to that taste/smell.

Jato,

What mixture of white vinegar+lemon juice+water did you use? I sanitize with bleach every year (minimal bleach per R-Pod manual) but it takes all summer for bleach taste to go away. Yuck!

Jack

you can get a replacement valve cover for the gray tank that has a connection for a standard garden hose

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Durable-Connection-Connection-39463/dp/B000BQKBP2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=4%22+rv+drain+cover+with+hose+attachment&qid=1630376645&sr=8-1

use bleach, drain to the gray tank, hook up a hose and drain the water farther away from you drive.  the low amount of bleach will not hurt grass, shrubs, etc.

leave the water heater valves in the bypass position so as not to fill the water heater with 6 gals of bleach water and have to rinse that as well.

We use bleach, then drain and rinse with a similar recipe noted above-we add lemon juice and baking soda to the rinse water to eliminate chlorine taste

Vann

1 quart white vinegar and 1 pint of lemon juice concentrate in 10 gallons water.  As soon as the mix is made I run through lines right away for about 30 seconds so the mix can sit in the water lines overnight.

Next day I run all the cold and hot lines until the mixture is used up.  Depending on you sensitivity to the bleach taste, if you still taste or smell it run it through the process a second time.  I did the first year when I ran RV antifreeze through the lines for winterization. (since then we have only used compressed air to blow out water lines with no issues).  Ugh, that RV antifreeze left a nasty taste in the water lines which to me was unacceptable.  Took two times to rid the tank of that taste.  Yes, we use the FW tank for drinking and are still alive.

On a sidenote I have never sanitized HW tank.  This is after nearly 11 years of ownership, then again I don't drink the hot water and we live in northern MI.

I forgot to mention that we also add some baking soda to the above mix of white vinegar and lemon juice.  Have never measured the baking soda.  Probably use a handful or so.  I take a 2 liter pop bottle and have a funnel, dump a handful or so of baking soda in, add the white vinegar and lemon juice to it.  Shake, shake, shake, and dump in the FW tank.  Then add the water.

I do NOT recommend this as depending on laws in your area, you may be in violation. In NC, if it goes into a tank, it is not legal to dump it. Grey water can be used under certain circumstances, but once it goes into a holding tank, it must be treated the same as waste water from your black tank.