Do you not put toilet paper in the black tank?

[Reprobate]

Originally Posted by Surf Fisher

I have to chuckle every time someone states NOT to flush flushable wipes through the toilet.



How I manage MY sanitary habits are of my choosing. When I was growing up back in the 50's, I was taught to flush TP DOWN the toilet, not into a bag or can sitting next to the toilet. Then they came out with sanitary wipes of all kinds, some good and some not so good. Why would I flush TP down but not the good flushable wipes? Isn't going to happen!



If the local sanitary sewer authority that manages the waste coming from millions of homes is able to handle the good flushable wipes that DO break down easily, I am sure they can handle the few wipes that are used in my RV also.



Residential septic systems are different than commercial septic systems. Homeowners with septic systems manage their waste appropriately otherwise they will be pumping their tanks out quite often. I have owned septic systems in the past so I know how to manage one correctly.



I would bet that most of the current commercial septic systems have huge macerators in use prior to their HUGE septic systems.



End of rant!

So you actually think TP and flushable wipes are comparable as far as break down? Then you are pretty much alone on that.
Every municipality I am familiar with advises against flushing the so called flushable wipes as it costs them time and money to deal with them. Not long ago there was a news story showing what the sewage plant workers had to go through to remove flushable wipes from their system. Even the commercial grinders could not deal with it.
But, it looks like your mind is made up to go against all the warnings. Hopefully you continue to flush those wipes without anything backing up on you. Good luck?!

[Alpine36]

TP…yes. “Flushable Wipes”…no way.
Used TP in a wastebasket…absolutely not.
RVs are for camping with dignity. Not much dignity in handling used TP lol.

[darrellr]

Originally Posted by Surf Fisher

If the local sanitary sewer authority that manages the waste coming from millions of homes is able to handle the good flushable wipes that DO break down easily, I am sure they can handle the few wipes that are used in my RV also.
End of rant!

They don't handle them well and they don't break down well. There are tons of examples if you just google it. Waste treatment plant operations will tell you the same. No one is saying not to use wipes - just don't put them into the sewer system assuming it will be fine.


Links for reference - just the top few from google:
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business...e-not-to-flush
https://www.khou.com/article/news/in...6-b6dae87886bf
https://franklinmiller.com/white-pap...ter-treatment/
https://www.globalwatergroup.com.au/...eatment-plants

[vtwinwilly]

Funny . . . I have no problem sticking my hand in a plastic bag and picking up my dog’s poop, but I find the idea of wiping my bum, then sticking it in a plastic bag absolutely repugnant!!!

[LivingToCamp]

Originally Posted by Mark_K5LXP

...... For me it's almost like being a pit crew at an Indy race, how fast can I get the hose out, dump the tanks, rinse and put everything up. Watching others at the dump station some folks treat it like a hazardous chemical spill superfund site.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Guess you would be pissed waiting behind me at the dump station. I glove up and take my time. I used to dump my tanks quickly but I screwed up once....and learned my lesson. I glove up for health reasons.

[Rev. Roy]

We've been camping for over 50 years, most of that time in a RV. I use to buy RV toilet paper but wised up and use the same septic safe TP in the RV as at the home base. One of the things I started to do was to save the dish water and dump it in the toilet, especially when Boondocking. Many of those I have talked to that had blockage boondock a lot and are concentrating on water conservation and the blockage was from not using enough water.

[Alpine36]

Originally Posted by Rev. Roy

We've been camping for over 50 years, most of that time in a RV. I use to buy RV toilet paper but wised up and use the same septic safe TP in the RV as at the home base. One of the things I started to do was to save the dish water and dump it in the toilet, especially when Boondocking. Many of those I have talked to that had blockage boondock a lot and are concentrating on water conservation and the blockage was from not using enough water.

That’s a big 10-4 Rev. Roy.
The key to healthy tanks, gallons and gallons of Dihydrogen Monoxide. All the other stuff is just money down the drain…

[Isaac-1]

My take on it is some toilet / black tank setups are better / less clog prone than others. I put toilet paper in mine, and have never had a problem, though I do have a gravity toilet that drops straight into the black tank, and the black tank itself is about as tall as it is wide, with the discharge pipe plumbed downward out of the center of the black tank, and not out the side like some are. This means it is a near straight only slightly offset drop from the toilet to the discharge pipe.

[Banjoman47]

Originally Posted by Winemaker2

I know several Vac-U- Flush users that will not put TP in their tank. VF are fussy and prone to vac leaks from duck bills. IMO it's an unnecessary over engineering when simple drop toilets work flawlessly.
I guess some just like to hear the familiar whoosh that's familiar from home?

Do you think that it could be the particular plumbing design and tank location that might result in a Vacuflush system? I'm curious. I was in the marine business for over 20 years and, of course, 90% of the toilets are vacuflush for obvious reasons. There's no room between the toilet and tank for a gravity drop. But on motor homes, I would imagine the addition of a vacuflush system would had a couple thousand more on the prices. If there's no reason for it, why would the manufacturer install it? Crazy.

[MSHappyCampers]

Yup, always put toilet paper in the toilet. Charmin Ultra Soft, never a clogging problem! I use Happy Camper tank treatment.

[Surf Fisher]

Vacu-Flush and macerator toilets are absolutely necessary when you have that additional toilet in the floorplan at the rear of the coach just to get the crap from one location to the other into the tank. The main bathroom/toilet is most always a drop toilet directly into the tank.

Never needed or wanted a floorplan with an extra bathroom so I never have to worry about one not working.

if the wife is using the toilet I will go outside and use mother nature or the nearby restroom.

Remind me "what do bears do"? LOL

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by hikerjohn66

I am as careful with my gray tank as I am with my black tank. When we cook and have grease or sauce or food scrap buildup in pans, I always take them outside and rinse them out with the hose before bringing them to the sink for washing. Decaying food can smell and clog things up as bad as poop.

Honestly? You can't be serious. You'd rinse out grease, sauce and food scraps onto the ground for others to walk in and attract hungry animals? When those animals eat they poop.
Please put your name on the front of your camper so I won't have to park anywhere near you.

[LETMGROW]

We are quite particular about what we dump into our grey tank. My wife saves containers with lids like the ones whipped butter comes in and containers which peanuts come in. These containers get washed, rinsed and dried through out the winter months and are stored in a plastic tub. We carry a couple three along each trip out. Cooking grease is one thing I don't want in my grey tank. Especially the liquid grease from frying bacon. I like my bacon. We fry the bacon outside in a frying pan on our portable grill then when it starts to cool the liquid gets poured into a container, the frying pan gets wiped out with a paper towel and the lid goes on the container and gets stored away in the fridge for the next use. Once the container is filled it goes into a garbage bag and eventually gets thrown into a dumpster.
We also have plastic dish pans which get placed in the sink bowls while doing the pots, pans and dishes. Once the dishes are done the wash water gets carried into the bathroom and gets dumped into the toilet. If the rinse water is clean which it generally is it gets dumped into the sink drain. Often times if the weather is nice the dish water gets carried out and gets dumped directly into the sewer opening. I should also add all the dishes get scraped with a rubber scraper and wiped with a paper towel before they go into the dish water the same as they do at home. We live in the country with our own septic system so this is all routine for us.
I started building our house in the spring of 1973 and we moved in in January of 1974. I have had our septic tank pumped out only twice in all this time just because I thought it should be. Neither time did the tank really need to be emptied. We must be doing something right. We brought up our three children in this house over these years too.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by hikerjohn66

I am as careful with my gray tank as I am with my black tank. When we cook and have grease or sauce or food scrap buildup in pans, I always take them outside and rinse them out with the hose before bringing them to the sink for washing. Decaying food can smell and clog things up as bad as poop.

We volunteered at national parks. One of our gigs was to dig out around the camper faucets that were along the camp road at various intervals.... the purpose of the faucets was to fill a jug with water and take it back to your campsite.

People had different ideas of what the faucets were for.... They used the area for washing dishes and brushing teeth. They even did quick 'baths' and washed their hair under the faucets.

So.... the rangers noticed there was always standing water around the faucet area. We dug down about a foot at each faucet and removed old rock and added new rock so water could drain better.

You would not believe the smell and looks of the rock we removed.... full of food scraps and toothpaste, soap scrum and hair. Awful!!!

Please don't scrape your dishes outside on the ground! It also draw bugs and rodents. Yes, as you stated, "Decaying food can smell and clog things up as bad as poop."