Black Tank Odor

Research the geo cleaning method. I use this method about every four or five dumps and I have had no odor problems. You may have a build up from the previous owner and it may take several cleanings or use a commercial tank cleaning service.

i used rid for septic tanks in my r.v. had no issues at all. had the r.v. for over 10 years about half of that i was full timing.

GordonThree wrote:
You'll deffinately want to make sure the vent pipe doesn't have a nest or something in it, blocking air flow. Also make sure it doesn't have any broken connections, sometimes builders forget to glue pipe connections together.

It's impossible to eliminate smell completely, and the human nose is very very very sensitive to the smell of fecal matter.

Avoid having any vent fans on when you flush, they will draw air down the vent pipe, through the black tank and out the toilet. When the wind is just right, even having the skylight open in my bathroom is enough to draw air from the toilet.

X-2, on the vent pipe.

TNGW1500SE wrote:

The Works wrote:
....I'm thinking about getting a shop vac on the roof and try and blow air down the vent pipe.....

Make sure you are hooked to a sewer and the valve is open!

Make sure the shop vac hose is on exhaust and not vacuum..!..:E:E:E....Dennis

The Works wrote:
....I'm thinking about getting a shop vac on the roof and try and blow air down the vent pipe.....

Make sure you are hooked to a sewer and the valve is open!


If you have access to a larger than RV water heater. Add 30 gallons of hot water and a gallon of bleach. Drive to slosh and dump it. Hot water works best. Some people say ice works but i don't see it happening.

To take care of the immediate problem you will want to locate a product called Happy Camper. This WILL kill the odors in your black tank like no other product I have ever found.
That's just a band-aide for the actual problem. If you are running an exhaust fan when flushing and you notice the smell coming in then your vent is clogged. If you don't have windows open and the exhaust fan is not running and you still have the smell coming up through the toilet dump hole (yes, you need to sniff around) then you have a serious problem which, again, might be related to the vent.
A normal black tank without any chemicals at all should not allow noticeable smells back into the RV. Not knowing what has been in the tank in the past also leaves areas where some additional steps might be required. If you can find a service called All Pro Water Flow http://www.allprowaterflow.com/ have them return your tanks to factory clean and go from there.

Sounds like lots of work. Just get a Glade plugin for the bathroom and practice exhaling while you flush.

I would look at the vent tube as others have said. I don't bother putting any chemicals in our black tank anymore, and we dont have any odor at all. About the only additive I might add is a digest-ant if there is debris that is not dumping, and occasionally ice.

TechWriter wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Drain your black tank completely, then add a gallon of bleach and about 10 gallons of water and go for a nice bumpy curvy ride for about 20 minutes. Return and dump the tank. Now, flush the tank to get rid of the bleach. Your odors will be gone.

x2

And add a couple bags of ice to help know down any solids that have pertified inside.

DutchmenSport wrote:
Drain your black tank completely, then add a gallon of bleach and about 10 gallons of water and go for a nice bumpy curvy ride for about 20 minutes. Return and dump the tank. Now, flush the tank to get rid of the bleach. Your odors will be gone.

x2