Rinsing or cleaning of tanks in your RV.....

[araucano]

Hello friends:
Many thanks for your previous replies.
Let's say that you have been in an RV Park for a lengh of time
and you got to emptied the tanks.Is there any order to emptied of the tanks
and do you use any deodorant to keep the black water tank fresh smelling?
Otherwise how often do you clean the tanks?As always,many,many thanks for your help.araucano.

[Pepper2]

Black first then the gray. We have used happy camper in the past. Sensors are not reading accurately at this time, so I will be using a cleaning wand to clean the tanks today for the first time in 7 years..

[Jpiland]

Always dump the black first, then close and dump grey tank. If your staying for a while you can just leave the grey open until a day before you dump the black. Then you’ll have gray water to flush the line. After dumping is complete use a chem of your choice to keep tank smell to a minimum.

[grindstone01]

I don't put any chemicals in our tanks, I just empty them as discussed above. I not sure any amount of chemicals would improve the smell in most tanks and I don't plan on sticking my nose in there anyway.

[Dropthejacks]

Don't think you can use the words "black tank" and "smelling fresh" in the same sentence, lol. I dump like everybody else, black then greys. After flushing the black several times I shut the valve and allow the flush system to run a few gallons of water into the black tank. Then I go inside and dump a capful of detergent in through the toilet. The idea being as we head to our next destination, or home, the soapy water will slosh around a bit and the next time I hook up, I dump the black tank again. Usually can get a bit more "debris" out. I know a lot of folks dump Calgon into the tank to make the sides of the tank slicker, haven't tried that one yet. As long as you keep water in the bowl so that the tank is sealed, you shouldn't be smelling anything anyway.

[keymastr]

I do just as Dropthejacks. I also fill the black tank half full immediately after dumping. Lots of water is all that is needed to keep your tank in good order.

No chemicals are needed. If you can smell the black tank then there is a seal of some kind that has failed.No amount of perfume will make it smell good and it is a holding tank, not a treatment plant so no "digesting" is happening no matter what the package says. Save your money, use enough water and everything dissolves.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Dropthejacks

I know a lot of folks dump Calgon into the tank to make the sides of the tank slicker, haven't tried that one yet.

Note that it's Calgon water softener that people put in their holding tanks, not Calgon bath products.

[Winemaker2]

I'm with the other "just add water" folks.
If you are hooked up adding water immediately after a dump is a good habit to get into.

Adding about a half tank of water (and a little soap / detergent optional) after dumping and before leaving for your next destination is also a great practice to clean the tank & sensors.

OK to be stingy w/ water if you boondock but do a good flush when you get to the next dump.

[NLOVNIT]

Grey then black when dumping. Black tank rinse with the onboard sprayer between. Our only additive is a capfull of Calgon water softener to keep things from sticking to the tank sides. After 12 seasons with this coach, our tank sensors are spot on. I use Dawn dish soap (the original blue) when washing dishes for it's oil breakdown capacity. I feel that helps keep any oils in the grey tank stay dissolved so they'll flush out easily.

Lori-

[Sudsy]

About three campers ago I bought a three year old Rockwood that had been on a site permanently since new. (The owners just bought a bigger one). They had plumbed the trailer with pvc pipe and just left the dump valves open. This causes what I learned to be "pyramiding" in the black tank. This is just a pile of crap stacked up and dried right under the toilet. Pretty nasty and stinky.

I started with a garden hose and nozzle with a good strong stream. I just kept spraying the now hard pile until it started breaking up. Then I put about 5 gallons of water and some dawn dish wash soap in there and went for ride. I did all I could swerving back and forth in a parking lot and then back home to dump. I have a full hookup at the house. Then some more spraying but I had a brainstorm and got a ten pound bag of ice cubes and dumped them down the toilet. Back to the parking lot and some more swerving back and forth. Back home and it seemed to have had a big impact. After this I just did the regular toilet additives that I use in the boat. The tank did finally clean up. In the motor-home we have little packets that look like the laundry packets and are very easy to use.

Sudsy

[bldrbob]

Everyone comments on the black tank odors. The grey tank is not exactly fabrege.Lots of water and dump right after a trip so everything is stirred up.

[NLOVNIT]

Everyone is so concerned with black tank smells, they don't realize the grey tank gets just as "ripe". I would even venture a guess it being more so as most all RV's don't have a grey tank rinse the same way the black tank does. Owners are pretty consistent about rising/dumping/rinsing/dumping the black, but the same procedure isn't done with the grey.

I will say that, for us, any dishes/silverware/glasses/pans are wiped mostly clean with a paper towel before they are washed in my sink. This greatly reduces the amount of food particles sent down to the grey tank to hang out & get stinky.

L-

[Sudsy]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

Everyone is so concerned with black This greatly reduces the amount of food particles sent down to the grey tank to hang out & get stinky.

L-

To add to my previous.

The gray water tanks (it had 2) were pretty foul also. One caught the shower and bathroom sink and the other one collected kitchen water. That kitchen tank was nasty. I made and adapter to connect a hose to the kitchen sink drain and flushed it for a long time. Initially it was showing a lot of what looked like egg shells.

The Gulf Stream coach has a flush system for both tanks.

Sudsy

[vsheetz]

Black, then grey, put a couple gallons of water plus Happy Camper down the toilet.