Weekend camping--tank treatment?

[kedmondson]

Hello all...new RV (TT) owners here. Most of our camping will be weekend trips only, at least this year anyway. I'm curious as to the best practices for treating the blank tank. Seeing that we will only have a couple days of waste, is it even necessary to add a chemical treatment such as Happy Campers to the black tank? Also, do you recommend adding a few toilet-full's of water before using the toilet each trip? Should we keep some water in the tank after dumping and flushing, and if so, should we add a treatment to the tank before returning home? Thanks in advance for your tips!

[traveldawg]

Gosh, folks won't like my answer....

I don't use a black tank additive very often. I think at some point I read that it takes a few days for the chemicals to break down the waste. And I usually don't go longer than 3 or 4 days most times before I dump. And I flush the heck out of the black tank when I do flush.

What I do do (no pun intended) is to add tank probe cleaner and drive to the next location from time-to-time. I use the TST brand probe cleaner. I find it helps the gauges read better. I think on the probe cleaner container it says it is not intended to reduce odor of biodegrade anything and, in fact, will negate the effects of an odor control/digestion chemical.

Here would be my recommendation...
> NEVER leave the drain valves open when camping. Let the tanks fill up before draining; it drains the solids better that way (BOTH the grey and black tanks).
> Don't be afraid to put lots of water in the black tank. When you drain it waste will come out easier with lots of water.
> Flush your black tank while draining. And when it seems to be empty, close the valve, let it fill a bit, and drain again.
BIG NO-NO: DON'T LEAVE THE FLUSH WATER RUNNING AND WALK AWAY!!! You WILL forget and something nasty wiLL OVERFLO - probably inside the camper.

Here are the what-ifs....
> you can put some probe cleaner in every so often and drive home to let it wash out. But then you have to drain it once home - that may be problematic. So maybe reverse that procedure when you want to clean the tank - fill at home and drive to campsite, drain tanks when full or near full and flush before going home.
> leave you tanks empty and without chemicals when at home. If they start to smell then use some chemicals for odor control and keep some water in both tanks.
> if not using the camper for a while but not winterizing keep water in the toilet to keep the seals wet; they will last longer (we flush and fill weekly)

I could go on, but let's have other chime in.....

[boyscout]

Hello all...new RV (TT) owners here. Most of our camping will be weekend trips only, at least this year anyway. I'm curious as to the best practices for treating the blank tank. Seeing that we will only have a couple days of waste, is it even necessary to add a chemical treatment such as Happy Campers to the black tank? Also, do you recommend adding a few toilet-full's of water before using the toilet each trip? Should we keep some water in the tank after dumping and flushing, and if so, should we add a treatment to the tank before returning home? Thanks in advance for your tips!

Maybe, yes, yes, and yes. You're welcome!

Maybe. As @traveldawg has said, some of the additives take time to do their jobs. However there is another inexpensive immediate-working option - Dawn dish soap. Some of that and water softener (to improve the effectiveness of the soap in often-hard park water) reduce the chance of things staying in the black tank when it's dumped and flushed.

Yes, definitely always ensure that there are a few gallons of water in the black tank before it is used. People who don't follow this practice often end up with a very unpleasant task cleaning away a pile of hardened stuff that builds up in the tank under the toilet. Water (and Dawn or treatment product) help prevent that buildup.

Yes, per the previous paragraph always put a few gallons of water in the tank after dumping and flushing. Something may stay in the tank even after diligent flushing; adding water back in while the tank is still wet ensures that any surviving chunks don't dry and become a semi-permanent part of the tank, sometimes impeding free flow in future dumping and flushing.

Yes, since the black tank is often not completely clean it makes sense to add a treatment puck or Dawn to the tank before returning home. Let it do its work in a few gallons of water during the week before returning to camp with a ready-to-use toilet on the weekend.

There are many opinions about managing waste tanks; those are mine. Good luck.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

None of these solutions worked for us after two years of full timing we found the best method is to simply use a lot of water on each flush and one extra bowl full after going #2 .
And to flush the black every dump.


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[Ynot4me2]

This is what we use.
https://kleentank.com/the-geo-method/

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[FT4NOW]

We dont use tank treatment, just lots of extra water. Even when we lived in our Momentum fulltime we never did the tank treatment. Just because a product is sold doesnt make it a necessity...should we talk about the pet rock from years ago?

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[Ynot4me2]

We dont use tank treatment, just lots of extra water. Even when we lived in our Momentum fulltime we never did the tank treatment. Just because a product is sold doesnt make it a necessity...should we talk about the pet rock from years ago?

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Just like RV toilet paper.

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[Mechanic Bob]

None of these solutions worked for us after two years of full timing we found the best method is to simply use a lot of water on each flush and one extra bowl full after going #2 .
And to flush the black every dump.


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I was just wondering about the "Black Tank Additives" and came across this thread. Then I saw this response and who it was from.
THANK YOU, you made my day, AWESOME! Thank you.

[Shaines1959]

Best thing I found in 20 plus years of RVing is, in a gallon jug add 40 ounces of Pinesol and 8 ounces of Calgon Bath Beads and the rest water. Add 8 ounces of this mixture to your black tank after flushing and draining along with 5 gallons of water and allow it to slosh around when driving to your destination. You can also use it in your gray tanks. We have little to no odor from black tank when flushing while camping. Best mixture I have ever found!

[nprario]

This is what we use.
https://kleentank.com/the-geo-method/

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Same thing we use. Works great!