rv tank smells
Smells filling is every RVers biggest fear! Today, we help you prevent these unwanted scents from barging into your RV.
Black Tank tips
Keep your black tank valve closed unless you are dumping. If you keep the valve open, liquids will drain out, leaving behind the solids. This will create the much talked about poop pyramid. Once it dries out, it becomes difficult to remove.
Keep several inches of water in your toilet to block smells from sneaking through into the RV. The water acts as a secondary barrier.
Use plenty of water with each flush to ensure the solids stay below the waterline.
Try to keep the temperatures in the tank below 85 degrees. On hot days add more water to help decrease the temperatures. You can also add 10-20 lbs of ice.
Flush your black tank after every trip if you are part time and every 3-5 dumps if you are full time. You can rinse for 20-30 min or completely fill the tank a few times. It will remove the particles on the sides of the tank.
Avoid using heavy chemicals or bleach in the toilet. They will kill the good bacteria in the tank that break down….. well, you know.
Do not dump the black tank until it is about 2/3s full.
Make sure the black tank vent is not clogged with leaves or other debris. If this happens, odors will find alternative areas to vent, including the toilet with each flush.
Use septic safe toilet paper. Regular toilet paper can clog in the pipes preventing solids from entering the black tank.
Clean on the other side of the toilet flapper. Many people forget to scrub this part of the toilet. It can hold debris, causing odors.
If you can smell odors from the black tank, add more water. When solids are below the waterline, it will reduce odor.
Add an organic tank treatment after each flush. Currently, we are using Unique. We have also used Happy Camper and made a treatment with Borax and Dawn Ultra dishwashing liquid. All of these methods work well.
GREY TANK tips
Prevent food particles from going down the sink, especially grease. Not only can grease coat the pipes but food particles will break down in the grey tank, potentially causing worse odors than the black tank.
If you have full hookups leave the grey tank open and use plenty of water when doing dishes. It helps food particles are move through the pipes and out the grey tank.
Using antibacterial chemicals or bleach will kill the good bacteria in the grey tank.
Check the P-trap and hepvo trap. They can clog with food particles creating odors and allowing grey tank odors to seep up from the grey tank.
Add an organic tank treatment after each flush. Drop them in when dry camping or close the grey tank valve for a day or so to let the treatment do its thing!
Tank treatment recipe
Prevent tank stank
We hope these tips help you not just remove but prevent the dreaded tank stick! We would love to know any tips you have to prevent unwanted smells from your black and grey tanks.
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Phil and Stacy
You, Me & the RV
