HELP....

[JoanE]

Did you buy your rig new? If not, there can be a lot of sewage gunk on the walls of your tanks. The GEO method recommends 1 cup of powdered laundry detergent diluted in hot water. Add to toilet. If you are not using the gray tank a lot, add the same amount down your drains (portion it among the drains). Then add 2 cups of Calgon water (not fabric) softener in the toilet and also 2 cups down the drain. Fill both tanks with water. Let sit to loosen the gunk. Drive around for agitation action. Then dump. You may have to repeat several times to get tanks clean. Continue same additions thereafter each time you dump the tanks.

Usually you wait till your tanks are 3/4 full but if you rarely use your tanks, then you need to add a lot of water before you dump.

Not sure why Beth said not to put bleach in your black tank. Bleach kills bacteria and a bleach dilution could help. I just would not leave it sit. Add, drive for sloshing action and dump.

[grammynmaggie]

I was wondering why not to use bleach... The one link that was posted said to use some bleach.. I think I will Do what you said about the softener and sloshing around driving... But they charge $15 to dump in this park.. So I think I will clean it out best I can by flushing... Add the water and the softener before I go 2 Silver Springs State Park... And then dump when I get there.. Does that sound okay to you girls?

[JoanE]

I was wondering why not to use bleach... The one link that was posted said to use some bleach.. I think I will Do what you said about the softener and sloshing around driving... But they charge $15 to dump in this park.. So I think I will clean it out best I can by flushing... Add the water and the softener before I go 2 Silver Springs State Park... And then dump when I get there.. Does that sound okay to you girls?

You can add the detergent and softener now and dump at Silver Springs. If you will not have much water in your tanks, then add a bunch now before your drive.

[MelissaD]

Dilution is the solution. I always put a couple of gallons of water in the black tank after draining and flushing along with the chemicals. The only time I've had an odor problem is when I let the tanks sit for 2 weeks or so. Sometimes adding a 2nd dose of chemicals helps till I get to dump. Since my 2nd black tank has a separate dump connection and I use to have to move hoses, I did not always dump it as often as the front black tank. Now I dump tanks every time I put the camper away. Since I normally have full hook ups I always try to flush with a lot of water.

Do you have black tank flush system? Since your toilet sits on your tank there is a tank wand you hook to a hose, insert through the toilet valve to wash out your black tank with a high pressure spray.

If you leave bleach in the tanks the chlorine in the bleach will damage rubber seals (drain valves, toilet bowl seal, etc) so flush well if you use bleach.

Good luck sounds like you are on the right track.

[judi]

I always add a few gallons of fresh water to both tanks after dumping. I also add a product to the black tank called Happy Camper, that is recommended by Roadtrek. Before I got my new rig I had an older one that I bought used, and the tank sensors didn't work. I devoted three days to "cure the tanks" and all day each day I filled with fresh water and Happy Camper, drove around for a few hours, then dumped. Over and over. After the three days the sensors were working so I guess the tanks were cleaner than before. The brainy people can put men on the moon. Why can't we have tanks without problems?

[snowball]

I'm not sure the reason's that Beth would give for not putting bleach down the black water tank but one that
I can think of is that bleach will kill the enzymes all of them good or bad...you want the good enzymes...a lot of people
would say not to use any of the additives for that reason...but my tank doesn't get dumped as much as when my husband was alive
I don't fill it as fast on my own...and where I am at in the summer I either pay 35.00 to have it dumped or I have to hook up and pull it down
and pay to dump I choose to have it pumped but at that rate it doesn't happen that often...so can and does get pretty rank...
need to find the stuff calgon not the bath stuff and try it going to SLC and perhaps a few times while there and then on my way down perhaps the sensors will get cleaned...
sheila

[Deeann]

Several things come to mind.

1. How are you using the camper and toilet? If you have the camper sitting somewhere and you go to where it is parked, piddle around and use the toilet once or twice; then go home and not come back for another week you are probably going to have problems. The tank deodorant you use will only "hold its own" for a period of time. Then it will break down and not protect you against odors. Especially if you live in a hot area (Fla, Ariz, etc). The obvious solution to this is to dump the tank if you are going to be gone for awhile. If the tank doesn't have much in it, park your foot on the flush valve and get a lot of water in the tank before flushing. This is how I flush the black tank: when the tank is full I go outside and pull the handle. Then I go inside, fill the toilet bowl with water, then quickly step down on the flush valve so that this bowl full of water slams into the holding tank splashing the bottom of it. I do this "slam dunk" procedure about 3 times. It helps dislodge any stuck paper, etc. Then I go outside and close the black water drain valve. Come back inside and put my deodorizer in the toilet and flush it down with a couple of gallons of water. I always keep water in the toilet. If the bowl won't hold water you need to replace the seal or clean it off. Sometimes stuff gets stuck on the underneath of the seal and it can keep the flush valve from sealing. (Put on a rubber glove and use some toilet paper to clean off the bottom of the seal, then drop the paper .)

2. Some newer campers have Anti Siphon valves on the grey water drain lines. There may be one on your kitchen sink drain line, bathroom sink drain line, washing machine drain line, etc. They are designed to let air into the drain line when you flush the grey tank while preventing the water from being sucked out of the p-traps They are one way valves. They are not supposed to allow fumes back into the coach but if they get stuck they can do just that. So if you notice that you have a foul odor at a particular place in your coach this is probably the culprit. You can look under the sinks and see this device attached to your drain line. They can be bought at Lowes and other hardware stores. They screw in. Don't put any glue on them if you replace them!

3. Clogged roof vent. The other gals have already covered this topic.

4. The seal around your toilet could be bad or installed incorrectly. You'll have to pull the toilet to check this.

5. You could have a crack in your black water tank. I really don't think this is your problem from what you have stated.

6. Always use appropriate chemicals in your tanks. Don't go with homemade brews to save a few bucks. They can eat the seals up in your sewer lines and flush valves. Buy approved deodorizers.

7. When you drive it can put a negative pressure in the coach and cause fumes to be sucked into the camper. You'll have to check all the seals to see if you have a bad one.

8. You said that you looked into the tank through the toilet. Are you sure you don't have any pyramiding? This will cause foul odors.

Good luck. Let us know what you find.

[Deeann]

Also, look under your sinks where your drain lines go into the wall. There will likely be a gap around the pipe. Use duct tape to seal this off or get some of the spray insulation and fill the gap. Be very careful with this spray insulation. It expands tremendously. Just a little is all that is needed. Or you could use silicon caulking to fill in the gap. Some duct take would be the easiest to try. If that solves your problem you can remove the duct tape and make a more permanent fix.

[Bethers]

http://blog.goodsamcamping.com/2010/11/ ... ater-tank/

and

http://www.sanidumps.com/faq/faq_34.php

[grammynmaggie]

Boy have I learned a lot from this thread...I just wish when I first got my RV I had known all this info...hope some newbe's will read this and learn...so what I am doing right now...still at the campground...will stay here until check out filling and dumping my tanks...did that last evening..right now no smell...the last fill and dump I used the Calgon..even tho not moving and sloshing...I just want to get head start...I read that one goodsam site that Beth post ..I will put in 10 gal water some Calgon and keep that in there until Silver Springs...in the mean time I will try and figure out what enzymes I want to use for the black tank...I think that my tanks will be clean and I could go with ODORLOS if I can find it...probably at Camping World...??
But the real test will be when I start using the tank again...(I am a little scared)..one other thing I found out that my sensor are working...I thought they were ok ...but now I know for sure ...again I hope all the newbe's are reading this thread...I think when it is all said and done I DID NOT use enough water... so the whole "stink'n" thing is my own stupid fault ...so thanks so much girls ..you are the best...thanks donna PS...I will keep you posted...

[chalet05]

A lot of great info!!

I had forgotten that before I sold the 5er, I put Rid-X in the black tank and let it set - did a great job.

[Travelinana]

I lived in my RV last winter and was so glad I had read about using Rid-X as I was using my just installed septic tank...it was good for both..
Note to Beth: You do have a great new profile pic on both FB and WRV...This is my first trip back to WRV in several days, maybe weeks and there might be several new profile pics...I'll try to catch up...

[JudyJB]

Sounds like you have it solved! I was going to tell you to dump when you got to the campground after adding water while you drove, and then again when you left, having added enough water while you camped. I like the idea of dumping a lot of water into the tank at once while you have the black water valve open during dumping. A dishpan of soapy water helps also once in a while.

It took me a while also to keep the odors down. Flushing with enough water did the trick, as did flushing with more water while dumping. I think it really helps to do your dumping when you do not have a line of vehicles behind you so you are not so hurried. For that reason, I like to have a full hookup every once in a while so I can do multiple dumps while parked in my spot.

[BayouLady]

Good post, can't add anything, but lots to learn. I'm sure those people at the oil change place was happy to see you leave, hopefully it's fresh smelling soon.

Okay, I see "calgon" mentioned several times, is this the Calgon take me away bath beads ? or is this something else?

[Bethers]

Okay, I see "calgon" mentioned several times, is this the Calgon take me away bath beads ? or is this something else?

It's the Calgon Water Softener