Breaking down soap scum in gray tank/plumbing?

[FLJOE]

Originally Posted by NealC

How do you get a pod into the gray tank?

I was just laying one or two in the kitchen sink and spraying them for a minute or so, they are the dissolving type. Now I cut them open and dump the soap material in the drain and rinse it down.

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by FLJOE

I was just laying one or two in the kitchen sink and spraying them for a minute or so, they are the dissolving type. Now I cut them open and dump the soap material in the drain and rinse it down.

I keep a plastic container with a lid on it just for things like this. I break open the 'pod', add hot water and shake the container to mix the contents up. Then I pour a 1/3 down the kitchen sink drain, 1/3 down the bathroom sink drain and the rest in the shower drain and just let them sit until we use them.
I also use the container to mix up the 'Happy Camper'
Someone gave me the pods. When they are gone I'll go back to using just the 'Happy Camper' for both the gray and black tanks.
Lynn

[NealC]

I honestly don't know what's in HC and I do use it in the black tank. But I do trust dish soap and dishwasher detergent as being formulated against food stuff, grease, etc. I'm not sure about soap scum. I'm sure many of us are throwing so much stuff in our tanks out of paranoia. I've done HC, dish soap, water softener, those black tank pods that smell good (blue die), and who knows what else, oh, and ice cubes. Wait, missed one, Pinesol.

[Winepress]

Originally Posted by NealC

I honestly don't know what's in HC and I do use it in the black tank. But I do trust dish soap and dishwasher detergent as being formulated against food stuff, grease, etc. I'm not sure about soap scum. I'm sure many of us are throwing so much stuff in our tanks out of paranoia. I've done HC, dish soap, water softener, those black tank pods that smell good (blue die), and who knows what else, oh, and ice cubes. Wait, missed one, Pinesol.

Here is what Happy Camper says on their website:

There are nine trace elements and two heavy elements that make up a highly concentrated blend of minerals and micronutrients. In layman terms, it is the good bacteria doing away with bad bacteria to eliminate odor and accelerate the natural decomposition of the waste. It has the ability to work longer and stay odor free in over 100° temperatures. All of this and it is still friendly to all holding tank systems and the environment!

NOTE: Never use antibacterial soap or disinfectant cleaners in your tanks because they will stop the action needed to keep your tanks clean and fresh smelling. Also some large dosages of medications can kill the bacteria after they pass though your body.

https://www.happycampersworld.com/tips-tanks/

[NealC]

Originally Posted by Winepress

Here is what Happy Camper says on their website:

There are nine trace elements and two heavy elements that make up a highly concentrated blend of minerals and micronutrients. In layman terms, it is the good bacteria doing away with bad bacteria to eliminate odor and accelerate the natural decomposition of the waste. It has the ability to work longer and stay odor free in over 100° temperatures. All of this and it is still friendly to all holding tank systems and the environment!

NOTE: Never use antibacterial soap or disinfectant cleaners in your tanks because they will stop the action needed to keep your tanks clean and fresh smelling. Also some large dosages of medications can kill the bacteria after they pass though your body.

https://www.happycampersworld.com/tips-tanks/

Thanks, and from that article it states to use Dawn. HC itself will not handle what this thread is about.

GRAY TANKS

1. You do not need to treat this tank every time you dump, but if your gray tank gets an odor the bad stuff usually grows from the top of the tank down. If this happens, you need to treat it with happy Campers (two or three scoops should do it) . Easiest way to treat the odor is to sprinkle and stir 2 or 3 scoops into a large bucket until well dissolved and pour down kitchen sink. Then finish filling tank and let sit over night. If you are moving right away you can do the same, even better by filling the tank to approximately 2/3 full for agitation while traveling and rinsing it when arriving at your next destination.

2. We recommend you treat the gray tank every third time you dump. For normal treatment, fill sink with approximately one gallon of water. Sprinkle & stir ONE scoop of Happy Campers and immediately drain sink.

3. Grease: If you have a build up of grease in the tank, put 2 to 3oz. of Original Blue Dawn (dish soap) in the tank to solve this problem.

4. NOTE: Never use antibacterial soap or disinfectant cleaners in your tanks because they will stop the action needed to keep your tanks clean and fresh smelling. Also some large dosages of medications can kill the bacteria after they pass though your body.

5. You can leave your gray tank valve open if you wish. Just realize that most RV parks are now designed to vent up and though your roof vent. It is best to close the gray valve in enough time before you plan to dump so you can use the gray water to flush out your drain hose.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by lostinfla

If you use a snake on the shower drain you will damage the mechanical trap.

Would you please explain that further? Our shower has a note stuck to the side of it about removing a "waterless filter" (I think that's the wording) before snaking to avoid damage but zero instructions on what that is, where it is or how to remove it. Ultra/Glas of Lakeville, IN in a Forest River Class A.

Thanks,

Ray

[PandS]

Originally Posted by danhannah

Do you have a source for the hose fitting and nozzle? Is it flexible enough to make a 90 degree turn?

THANKS

Yes, it is very flexible. You will want to have a couple coils in one hand so that you can rotate it as you work thru the gate valve, piping and the entry to the tank. The nozzle blasts backward at a slight angle to help it move along. Once in the tank (you will hear the sound change) continue to rotate the hose to direct the spray throughout. You won't believe what comes out!

Also recommend filling the tanks and letting them soak overnight and then draining just before you do this to soften everything up.

The equipment is available on Amazon.

You will need the Valterra flush king 45 degree reverse flush valve attachment. Just remove the flapper on the garden hose fitting and route the high pressure hose thru there.

https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-Degr...gateway&sr=8-1


I used the Sewer Jetter Kit 1/8" NPT x 50' Hose & 4.0 Orifice Button Nose Nozzle 4000 PSI quick release pressure washer sewer jetter hose kit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Total cost is about $80. Our pressure washer is a compact electric unit-1600PSI @ 1.4 GAL/MIN.

Hope this helps! Worked for us!-Paul

[KiteSquid]

Originally Posted by PandS

I do it myself - it's not that hard, if you have a pressure washer already. The hose, fitting and nozzle cost about $100 total. -Paul

Do they make a fitting and nozzle for an AR blue clean electric pressure washer?

I think that 4.0 nozzled is a little too big for my little teeny pressure washer.

I need to go out and look at my pressure washer to see what it's PSI and gallons per minute rating is. I think it's pretty low as I bought the physically smallest pressure washer I could find.

[arcaguy]

An observation that I've made over the years cleaning S&B drains (I own some apartments) is that the scum seems to be conditioner for hair, not soap. Almost any kind of soap/detergent dissolves in water fairly well while conditioner is designed to be left on the hair after the hair is rinsed. Where does the rest of it go? You guessed it, into your gray tank.


Just some food for thought.

[tnedator]

Might be a waste of money, but this is what I've been using. If not every time we dump, probably every other time or so.

[NealC]

It’s probably like HC where it’s targeting bacteria. The objective of the topic here is more about controlling solids than odors.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by NealC

It’s probably like HC where it’s targeting bacteria. The objective of the topic here is more about controlling solids than odors.

They claim it breaks down grease and has far more ingredients than HC.

One of the many problems with HC in the grey is that they even warn you about using anti-bacterial soap, as it will stop the good bacteria. I get that approach in the black, but lots of people use antibacterial soap.

With the camco product, if you look at the ingredients, it has multiple ingredients often used in commercial detergents such as:

Sodium Carbonate, Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate, Sodium Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Isopropyl Alcohol

Now, maybe you can get the same effect, more cost effectively, by putting some commercial detergents, or even gobs of dawn, but the TST product claims to do more than just cover up odor and based on the ingredient list, it's clearly aimed at cleaning, not covering up scent.

[FLJOE]

I honestly think about any additive will help keep the solids out of either of your holding tanks. Probably the biggest factor is you have to move once and awhile with "something" in those tanks sloshing around to keep the odors down.

[FatChance]

Originally Posted by NXR

Would you please explain that further? Our shower has a note stuck to the side of it about removing a "waterless filter" (I think that's the wording) before snaking to avoid damage but zero instructions on what that is, where it is or how to remove it. Ultra/Glas of Lakeville, IN in a Forest River Class A.



Thanks,



Ray

Some RVs have a HEPVO trap in the shower drain. Think of it as a rubber duckbill valve in a tube that lets water pass through in one direction and not allow sewer gas/water to come back through in the other direction. Running a snake through this kind of valve can damage it and they can be difficult to replace under your shower.

Not all RVs have this kind of valve. Our RV's shower has a traditional P-trap instead. You can clean a P-trap with a snake.

It is very important for any RV owner to know what type of shower drain he/she has in their RV shower.