Community Forums

monacoman51 · 06-09-2016, 08:36 AM

Hello Fellow Campers,

I have a issue with my toilet, it won't hold water 90% of the time. That allows the odor from the black tank to seep up and also makes for a "messy" toilet at times.

We're on a road trip with two grandchildren and it's an aggravating issue.

Thank you for any advice,

Steve

vsheetz · 06-09-2016, 08:42 AM

Its either the seal itself or the mechanism not holding the stopper closed. It you google the make and model of the toilet to find an exploded parts diagram you will see how it works and comes apart to fix.

pcurt23 · 06-09-2016, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monacoman51

Hello Fellow Campers,

I have a issue with my toilet, it won't hold water 90% of the time. That allows the odor from the black tank to seep up and also makes for a "messy" toilet at times.

We're on a road trip with two grandchildren and it's an aggravating issue.

Thank you for any advice,

Steve

There is probably some tp stuck some where around the ball seal. If you are using a tank deodorizer (happy camper) and the valve is closed then you should not be getting odors. Turn off the fan while operating the toilet.

I recently installed a Aria toilet. Almost like home and the granddaughter can operate it.

dennis45 · 06-09-2016, 09:51 AM

May not be your favourite thing to do but here's the fix,

You have TP or whatever logged in the lip of the seal.
Don your Latex gloves, depress the pedal to open the ball, and with the water running, run your finger around the lip of the seal to clean it.
Now, shut the water off, take a dab of O Ring Lubricant (Vaseline will work but O Ring Lube from a plumbing shop,is better) and smear the lube throughly around the seal.
Do this once per year and your problem is solved.

becks · 06-09-2016, 10:38 AM

+ 1 what Dennis states. I do exactly this on my toilet as needed, works every time.

DMTTRANSPORT · 06-09-2016, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

May not be your favourite thing to do but here's the fix,

You have TP or whatever logged in the lip of the seal.
Don your Latex gloves, depress the pedal to open the ball, and with the water running, run your finger around the lip of the seal to clean it.
Now, shut the water off, take a dab of O Ring Lubricant (Vaseline will work but O Ring Lube from a plumbing shop,is better) and smear the lube throughly around the seal.
Do this once per year and your problem is solved.

Ummm....how about a toilet brush, works great! a little bit of olive oil works great too, dump it in the water, touch free!

powderman · 06-09-2016, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennis45

May not be your favourite thing to do but here's the fix,

You have TP or whatever logged in the lip of the seal.
Don your Latex gloves, depress the pedal to open the ball, and with the water running, run your finger around the lip of the seal to clean it.
Now, shut the water off, take a dab of O Ring Lubricant (Vaseline will work but O Ring Lube from a plumbing shop,is better) and smear the lube throughly around the seal.
Do this once per year and your problem is solved.

A toothbrush works well for cleaning the slot. I make sure to use my wife's. 😁😁

twogypsies · 06-09-2016, 11:32 AM

If using a brush that could fall into the tank, and if there's a hole in the brush for hanging, it would be wise to tie a string in a loop so you can loop it around your wrist when using the brush...just in case. Something like that obstructing the outlet of the tank could cause big problems if it drops in the tank.

doc · 06-09-2016, 02:29 PM

I found a round toilet brush with a slightly larger diameter than the size of the drain. With water flowing, flush valve open, I slide about half of the brush bristles into the drain and then twist it for a few seconds. The flowing water will wash out any TP that is hung in the groove seal.
I blame it on that thin, "RV" paper that has a tendency to stick to the bowl and slowly wash down. If one is not careful the ball will close before the TP completes the trip down

dennis45 · 06-09-2016, 02:38 PM

Doc,
There is a solution for that also. Use run of the mill, common, garden variety TP and Happy Campers powder. Not a lot of people use the high priced RV grade.

koda59 · 06-09-2016, 09:08 PM

I too had the toilet not holding water. As mention above I bought a round toilet brush and kept the slide open and kept going round and round to clean the seal. I had to do this a few times and have not had the problem since.

Smitty77 · 06-10-2016, 07:15 AM

One other tip, is the breaking up of hard water deposits. This is appropriate for both ball valve, and what I call the flapper seals. The flapper seals are the ones with the slot that slides into the groove to make the water tight fit. They seal of this groove can go bad after many years, and as mentioned exploded view of your specific toilet will find you a replacement part. Not a difficult swap out.

For cleaning the groove and or ball, a little CLR will work wonders. On our grooved unit, I use a magic eraser with CLR soaked into it, and clean the groove with this. That is after using the tooth brush cleaning to get any clogging debris out of the groove. And then I too follow up with the plumbers grease.

Best of luck to you,
Smitty