Power wash grey & black tanks?

[neilnoff]

I'm thinking of having my grey & black tanks power rinsed by a company that does it as their business. Have any of you all had this done and did you think it was worth doing? Any "Gotcha's" to know about in advance? Any idea as to what this costs? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience--

[shootist]

4 lbs of borax, 1/4 cup of dawn dishsoap, 5 to 7 gallons of water (50 gallon tank) and go for a 20 minute city drive. Lots of turns. Your tanks will be spotless. I used this method before changing my dump valves and the water just sparkled afterwards

[RayandWendy]

Had it done at my site while in Rockport Texas. Cost $75 per tank. Worth every penny. For a year gray tank read 0-18 and 81-100 everything in the middle read 78 or 81. Tried all the different rinses, chemicals, etc. with no luck. Watching the stuff it got off the gray tank walls was amazing. It made the coach stink inside while it was being done, otherwise no issues. Water out of the tank always ran clear when flushing before and after.
Later...
Ray

[2004Horizon]

Over the years, when it comes to both gray and black water smells that "bloom" under a variety of conditions, these are my observations:

* There is both good and bad bacteria in your tanks.

* The gray tank can often be more difficult to cure when it comes to "blooms" vs. the black tank.

* Temps above 80F will be more problematic. And over 90F you have to use some type of odor killing product.

* Chemicals tend to mask the smell more than they actually do your tanks any good. The key is to maintain your tanks by first getting them clean and then using clean water to rinse them thoroughly between each dump.

* Harsh chemicals wipeout the good bacteria in your tank(s).

* I like what Shootist said about using borax first.

* Between dumps, on the road, I also like to fill my gray and black water tanks with pure water about 3/4 full when I head-off, and when I know I'm heading to another camp site so I can dump as soon as I get there; or when I know there is an RV dump on the highway in route I will pull over after a few 100 miles.

* If you have never maintained your tanks for 5+ years, then all the chemicals in the world are not doing the trick with one cleaning. I suspect under these conditions you need to do a several supper cleaning/stripping cycles.

When I supper cleaned about 3 years ago, I bought 3 cheap Awesome brand "Orange Cleaner" at the Dollar Store. Note: I would think the black BBQ cleaner might be better, but the Dollar Store was out of stock. Also, that yellow LA Awesome Concentrate should work well too. ...Then repeat several drive cycles and over several camping trips.

* When you can't stand the smell and you don't have time to DIY "super clean,"
then yes, pay a commercial cleaning company and get the same results done in one visit. (You hope!) ...Becuase there is no way I'm going to camp with a real smelly "bloom" that will not go away! ...But after that, start using clean water and no chemicals between campsite stops and start "maintaing" your tank(s) and let the good bacteria grow to control the odors!

** Don't use Rid-x. You would think a product like this made for home holding tanks is a good idea, but I found it just made my black water smells worse.

** Borax works good, but I also have pored a bottle of Dawn's Newer
"Power Wash" dishwashing soap in too, and this stuff does a great job cutting the grease, and it's water soluble so don't dilute it too much on the first cleaning cycle; and don't drain it until you drive for a while; and then add more water; and then drive a while longer; then drain and repeat 1-2 more times if possible.

[Southboun]

I just used a septic tank cleaner, friendly for all materials that I bought from Walmart. One pack in black and one down bathroom sink to gray. Follow with a few gallons of water. We drove from Tucson to Mesquite and flushed. The gunk that came out of the gray was amazing and the Guage lights are back to zero from 4. Each pack is $7 and worth it for simplicity.

[veraken]

In case you haven't already seen it, here is a video from the RVGeeks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mGY63kgjh8&t=442s

[neilnoff]

Originally Posted by RayandWendy

Had it done at my site while in Rockport Texas. Cost $75 per tank. Worth every penny. For a year gray tank read 0-18 and 81-100 everything in the middle read 78 or 81. Tried all the different rinses, chemicals, etc. with no luck. Watching the stuff it got off the gray tank walls was amazing. It made the coach stink inside while it was being done, otherwise no issues. Water out of the tank always ran clear when flushing before and after.
Later...
Ray

Ray - Thanks for the info and all sounds good. I'm going to schedule a cleaning when we get to Spearfish. Thanks also for the other responses, and maybe I should have had more detail in my initial post/question. We don't have any odor coming from our tanks and haven't since new. Each time I dump, I rinse twice with fresh water and it runs clear. We use either Happy Camper or Micro-Blaze as our additives of choice and they have worked well for us. We also do the Calgon/Dawn/Fresh water mixture after a dump and we're ready to roll, then drive for the day, then dump. My question was if anyone thought it was a reasonable idea to do a power wash just to keep tanks pristine. I think I'll plan to have this done every other year as a part of my regular preventive maintenance schedule. Thanks again & safe travels all--

[RayandWendy]

We owned the RV for 2 years when the gray tank level went crazy. I have no idea of how the previous 2 owners took care of the tanks but I know it took 4 black tank flushes to get it clean when we first got it. I wish the gray tank had a flushing system like the black.

Later...
Ray

[2004Horizon]

I think once you sanitize your tanks and are sure got all the build-up out, then you really want to let the good bacteria flourish inside. And it is my opinion, subject to change, that the best way to do this is to minimize the amount of deodorizers and additives you put in your tanks -- by making a habit of rinsing-out your tanks as often as you can with only fresh water.

I do this most often after running the washing machine... then fill the gray water tank with water full... and let it sit overnight. Then the next morning I flush.

I do the same for the black water tank, but only 1/2 as often.

In 80F weather I can get away with this method and use NO additives what's so ever. But above 80F I can't.

Still, this saves me a lot on chemical use.

Everyone's tanks will "bloom" differently. But, I think the more you rinse your tanks, and waste fresh water when you do have hooks-ups, the less chemicals you need when you hit the road and you don't have access to unlimited fresh water hook-ups.

And yes, I too wish the gray tanks has a cleanout water port like the black tank. You RV owners without a black water cleanout port have it rough! Too bad the coach manufacture cheeped-out in these areas!

[RayandWendy]

Agreed. The only time I've used chemicals was to try and get the gray tank reading correctly.
Later...
Ray

[LETMGROW]

I don't feel my manufacturer cheaped out when they were building my coach. If anyone maintains their tanks they can prevent those nasty build ups easily. All it requires is water. Lots of water.
When I drain my tanks I never drain them unless I have completely filled them first with clean water. I never let my tanks get over 1/2 way full before I top them off with clean water then drain them. The additional head pressure loosens anything in the tank and whooshes it down the drain hose.
After I have drained the tanks I add a minimum of 5 gallons of water to each tank to help dilute anything going into them. I add a small amount of dish washing or laundry detergent to each tank as I'm adding the water. We do ask folks to limit the use of toilet paper but don't stoop to using that useless, overpriced single ply RV toilet paper.
This isn't rocket science. It simply needs some attention to keep your tanks clean and keep the sensors reading correctly.
Having a clear see through fitting installed in your drain hose can tell you a lot. If the water coming from your tanks is flowing clear you needn't do anymore.

[veraken]

Originally Posted by RayandWendy

I wish the gray tank had a flushing system like the black

Ray

I added this to my gray tank.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-40126-T...894885142&th=1

[MKwilli]

I had my tanks cleaned at a rally a few years ago. The black tank was high-pressure cleaned, and the gray tank was hosed flushed. The cost was around $250. It was interesting to see the process once, but I won't spend that kind of money again. Soon after, I found the RV Unique Method, and that cleaning regime has worked very well for me. It took a while, but now my tanks are at zero after dumping.

[bneumann]

As previous comment, there are services available to clean your tanks that come to your campground location where sewer hook up is available. Cost is around $250 for black & grey tanks. Some campgrounds may even have a franchise member for KleenTank, etc.

Thought about it, but for around $100, bought a small backspray pressure nozzle (one front , 3 back outlets, to suit my residential pressure washer), had a quick connect installed to a 10' small diameter water hose & then used my pressure washer to do exactly what they show in you tube. Can also have other uses around home. I did have to buy a clear sewer hose adapt connecter piece, drilled a 1" hole to be able to sleeve the pressure nozzle & hose thru into either black or grey tank.

It's a little bit of work (connecting, sleeving in & out in tank, but satisfied in seeing the dirty stuff flow out. Only do it once a year; do have to have septic tank access nearby when home; ours is nearby, with good slope down beside where RV is stored. But it did the job; then filled both tanks with about 1/3 full fresh water to let sit / slosh around & empty during next trip.