Sewer and Illnesses

[Keith55]

I admit it. I am a germaphobe around the black tanks and dumping areas.

All those people dumping their feces makes me think it is an e-coli disco party within 100 feet.

I usually have my DW ready with a Clorox wipe for my hands and have been known to Clorox wipe the bottoms of my shoes, especially when it looks like people have been sloppy around the dump.

But it got me thinking - Has anyone ever gotten sick from the dump area or known someone who has?

Admittedly, you couldn't be certain where you got the illness from but has anyone had a strong suspicion this has been the outbreak (diagnosed with e-coli etc after RVing). Maybe all us germaphobes have it wrong?

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Keith55

I admit it. I am a germaphobe around the black tanks and dumping areas.

All those people dumping their feces makes me think it is an e-coli disco party within 100 feet.

I usually have my DW ready with a Clorox wipe for my hands and have been known to Clorox wipe the bottoms of my shoes, especially when it looks like people have been sloppy around the dump.

But it got me thinking - Has anyone ever gotten sick from the dump area or known someone who has?

Admittedly, you couldn't be certain where you got the illness from but has anyone had a strong suspicion this has been the outbreak (diagnosed with e-coli etc after RVing). Maybe all us germaphobes have it wrong?

Once you get past the smell, you've got it licked.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I know people who are convinced they have gotten sick from all manner of common things, typically water supplies, sewage, food wastes, and various aromas in the air. No evidence pro or con, but they believe it fervently. As you probably do.


I'm not a germaphobe. There are zillions of germs all around us, everywhere we go. No escaping, not even in a spotless kitchen. My body copes with the germs everyday and I rarely ever notice as it does it.

[Tombsy]

I think I’m more concerned about contaminated food or water or someone not washing after going to the bathroom or changing a dirty diaper than my rv dump.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I know people who are convinced they have gotten sick from all manner of common things, typically water supplies, sewage, food wastes, and various aromas in the air. No evidence pro or con, but they believe it fervently. As you probably do.


I'm not a germaphobe. There are zillions of germs all around us, everywhere we go. No escaping, not even in a spotless kitchen. My body copes with the germs everyday and I rarely ever notice as it does it.

One can request a referral from the doctor for a hepatitis vaccine. Once given, you need to have a titer to see if you've got enough immunity. At least that's how it worked when I was still at work at the co-gen some 20 years ago.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Tombsy

I think I’m more concerned about contaminated food or water or someone not washing after going to the bathroom or changing a dirty diaper than my rv dump.

Worst place you can be is in a washroom where someone just tripped the hot air hand drier. Fact!!!

[FloridaSon]

I thought about the ground immediately around the pipe and under the wet bay area. Gotta be some drips. Then walk into your ‘home’. I’m just gonna treat it like a hazmat scene. Gloves wipes rubber garden shoes kept in outside compartment.

Now who sprays bleach on the city water spigot before hook up? Hehe

[MO Fred]

Nope…. I can’t ever remember getting sick after dumping my tanks.

[astrnmrtom]

Not sure anyone would know unless they were tested for e coli exposure. Most stomach "flu" is food poisoning.

I spent may years cleaning up lots of gross body fluid related messes, and working on stuff that transported it, and never got sick outside of normal colds and flu - that I'm aware of. You'd be shocked at what some people do with what comes out of their bodies. I figure my immune system is one seriously strong fighting force.

I take precautions when dumping, and use situational awareness. Was the previous dumper careful, or did they let it fly all over? I wear gloves and watch where I step. I assume the worst and am careful. I've hosed down the area before starting thanks to carelessness, and even passed on the dump only to do it later. Yeah, it was that bad.

Life is full of risks, just be careful.

Oh, if your REALLY want to worry about germs and critters, read the book: "Never Home Alone" by Rob Dunn. You'll never look at taking a shower the same again. It'll also explain why our obsessiveness with keeping surfaces germ free is not good. After reading the book, any time I see a commercial that advertises any product that "Kills 99.9% of all germs on surfaces" I add:
..."and leaves the most virulent ones behind!" Same goes for hand sanitizers (doesn't apply to Covid) Soap and water is the best, because you don't want to kill the good bacteria along with the bad. A healthy skin biome is the best. Why handwashing after exposure is the best, is because it washes away contaminants before they establish themselves and breed. All the bugs that naturally inhabit our skin won't be removed or killed by washing. Using sanitizer is a scorched Earth policy, destroying the good with the bad.

[BeaverDen]

My advise; Just stay away from the NEWS! especially the major networks.
Watching any of that is TOXIC

[twogypsies]

Could probably get more sick from using a swimming pool!

[Dakotah]

I have a degree in Public Health Microbiology. Spent a little time as a health inspector. I’m more concerned about eating in restaurants than using the dump station. I try to avoid drinking out of plastic drink ware in restaurants. You’d cringe if you knew what’s on that rim. Commercial dishwashers do not sanitize plastic unless they are low temp machines with proper chemicals and operating correctly.

[2cyber71]

Nope

[2cyber71]

Originally Posted by Dakotah

I have a degree in Public Health Microbiology. Spent a little time as a health inspector. I’m more concerned about eating in restaurants than using the dump station. I try to avoid drinking out of plastic drink ware in restaurants. You’d cringe if you knew what’s on that rim. Commercial dishwashers do not sanitize plastic unless they are low temp machines with proper chemicals and operating correctly.

That’s why my 92 yr old great grandmother would never eat in a restaurant. Never