A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

Ok..I have been searching and reading how to use the bathroom in the rig.
Here is what I got...1.you need to put a couple gal water in the black tank
to start with....2. use a lot of water when flushing...is my thinking right?
What I think I will do is put some fresh water in soon...start using my gray
and black tanks and then when I get to the GTG I will be able to dump there.
thanks
donna

You are right - lots of water is the key to NOT having stuff get hard and not dump well. Also, use a toilet paper that dissolves quickly and completely. Doesn't have to be "rv" paper. I use Scott one-ply. Also use the rv chemicals to dissolve stuff and keep it smelling good.

One more thing ... do not "overdump" the black tank. It works best if you let it fill and then dump.

Oh, and when hooked up anywhere with sewer, you do NOT leave your black tank open, but you can leave the grey open. Only open the black when it's time to dump it.

Beth is right. I learned my lesson about dumping black water too often the hard way--a toilet clogged with paper late one night. I had been dumping the black water as often as the grey, which resulted in the toilet paper and "solids" not having time to dissolve. I had a pyramid of paper that clogged the toilet and had to poke at it with a stick to break it up and then add plenty of water to dissolve it.

Many of us use very minimal toilet paper, as well. I do put some in the toilet, but I put a lot of it in a little ziplock baggie, which I toss twice a day. This way I can feel comfortable using much more paper. I also never dump unless the black tank is well over half full. No more problems with this new protocol!!

The most important thing I learned is to add at least a gallon of water immediately after I dump the tank. I keep a bleach bottle full of water handy for this. This way the remnants in the tank do not dry out.

One thing I do is when washing dishes, I use a little tub to collect my dishwater. When I'm finished with the dishes I dump that water down the toilet. It provides extra water, and the soap certainly won't hurt anything. Just got back from 5 nights of camping with a friend, and we used the toilet exclusively in the rig (too cold to use the CG facilities!), and even with dumping all of our dishwater into the black tank we were only 2/3 full when we dumped.

Thanks soooo very much girls....I will use you advice
You don't know how much you have helped me....
thanks again donna

I keep my black and grey tanks closed when hooked to sewer so that I can "rinse" with the grey tank water after emptying the black tank.

bbbarker194 wrote:I keep my black and grey tanks closed when hooked to sewer so that I can "rinse" with the grey tank water after emptying the black tank.

For most the gray tank would fill several times before the black, so if hooked to sewer, it gets left open. Then close it the day or two before dumping for that purpose you just stated.

Me too, Beth.

Maybe I overdo it a little bit. I put a few buckets of water in after I drain my tank. In one of those buckets I dissolve some water softener like Calgon or White King D. The water softener makes the tank -- and its contents -- more slippery. The tank drains better.

When I flush my tank, I also use a Flush King. Even though my rig has a "tank washer," I use the Flush King to back-flush the tank to get those bottom-of-the-tank remnants out. Plus, the clear elbow lets me watch and see when the water comes out clear.

The Flush King's secondary valve to close the drain has also been useful for me when I have had a problem with the rig's black tank closure valve.

Just hit the road fulltime in my 04 Road Trek, newbie to RVing and info about bathroom from all of you has been awesome. THX!!!