can i dump a half gallon of vinegar in black tank and let it sit overnite when i return home for a deodorant, then dump, or do yall have a better way to freshen tank. Also what do you clean the toilet bowl and also the cavity under the toilet before it goes in the tank. thanks

All we use is water. Plenty of water is a black tanks friend and yours as well to prevent odors and ensure solid materials, you know what I mean, are flushed when you dump. If you don't have black tank flush for your tank or don't have acess to a water tap as at most dump stations, but do have a nonpotable source as at most dump stations and are not holding up others, I will fill a couple 5 gal buckets to dump through the toilet to flush any remaining solid deposits. I then close the valve, fill another 5 gal bucket and dump that down the comode to prime the black tank. No sanitizers or chemicals are needed.Lets face it you don't pour chemicals down your home toliet unless you have a septic system and then maybe a emzyme digester, though even those are not needed.As for cleaning the toilet bowl, which is not an area of my expertise, DW uses the same as in the home toilet.

I drop the Walex blue tabs in mine after every dump, along with a couple toilet flushes of water. No smell, and no build up in the tank (I can see the bottom of it through the toilet). I was a bit alarmed this past weekend when I went to dump and I got a rush of junk out the hose, a brief pause, and then (thankfully) another rush and a complete dump. Not sure what was hung up, but I'm glad I didn't have to manually remove it. I did let some presumably liquid waste sit in there for a couple of months between dumps but someone may have sneaked in a dookie without me knowing. The kids use it as a clubhouse when it's docked at the house but I tell them to come inside for #2.

We had a toilet brush right next to the toilet. Our toilet was plastic so the brush got used a lot. We had a bowl cleaner that was used once in a while. Not really needed often. The black tank is never going to be fresh. All we ever used for 11 years was water and whatever toilet paper my wife liked. Not septic safe, not RV, just whatever.

Deodorizing your black tank (and expecting it to stay deodorized and fresh) is a path to madness. Keeping the odors out of your RV is rather more practical, and basically means making sure your plumbing system (and its seals) is working properly.I use an ordinary toilet brush to clean the bowl of the toilet, and if needed wipe it down with a rag, just as in cleaning any other toilet. I have a spray wand that I use to rinse out the riser part of the toilet and the black tank from time to time. I do not skimp on water when flushing, and limit what goes down the toilet to the usual "P" things (paper, poo, and pee). Beyond that, I don't really worry about the black tank much at all, and it seems to do just fine.

Vinegar sure cleans the water ports in the home toilets. I'd inject vinegar with the water pump in the RV if I thought it needed it.

cleaning out black tank and toilet bowl | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

Earl_E
Explorer
Oct 14, 2016
Finally, a poop thread where most of the posters make sense. LOL So many people seem to think they need to keep the black tank looking like the fresh water tank. And all it is is a tank to hold the poop until you can drain it. Dump it, use plenty of fresh water in it and you will be fine. You may need the GEO method or some chemical every two or three years to really clean it out, otherwise just dump it, put a couple gallons of fresh water back in it and you will be ready to go.
Taknlife_easy
Explorer
Oct 14, 2016
We use Pure Power and calgon liquid.
johnwalkerpa1
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
Chaz59 wrote:
can i dump a half gallon of vinegar in black tank and let it sit overnite when i return home for a deodorant, then dump, or do yall have a better way to freshen tank. Also what do you clean the toilet bowl and also the cavity under the toilet before it goes in the tank. thanks

AS for the cleaning, we use the same cleaners as at home. The only thing to avoid is any harsh abrasives (esp powders) as that messes up the seals.

After dumping we will use our blank tank flush to get any extras out, although I probably only do this every 3rd time or so.

Then, every time, once empty, I'll have someone hold the toilet flush open and count to 45. Count time may vary but in our unit that will put about 3-4 gallons in the tank to prime things!

Finally, we do use the drop in deodorizer packets but to be honest, its really just to make our ladies happy ;) I don't think it really makes any difference if things are working correctly.

As long as someone doesn't flush while the fan is on, we don't get any odor.
myredracer
Explorer II
Oct 13, 2016
Some are adamant about the need for chemicals and some are adamant about not needing them. I don't believe in them unless your tank is in need of a deep cleaning.

You shouldn't normally smell odors from the black tank or if you do should be very faint. The tank is only open to the bathroom for the brief duration you press the pedal. As mentioned, use lot's of water and start by adding 3-5 gallons before using it. Don't scrimp on water each time you flush as it will make things worse. If you have the bath. fan running, it can draw odors into the bathroom. A faulty air admittance valve under the sink will let grey tank odors into the the bathroom and can smell as bad as the black tank.

We have a porcelain bowl and even then it needs a brushing from time to time to remove skid marks.

I added a water line shutoff valve behind the toilet so I can see the water level in the tank before dumping and also how clean the tank bottom is. Am never ever bothered by odors when peering into the tank. But then I spent every summer as a kid at my parent's cabin which had an outhouse and an RV toilet is no comparison, not even close.
joanne0012
Explorer
Oct 13, 2016
The "Geo method" worked great for keeping the sensors functioning on my 15-year-old black tank.

But even that doesn't "freshen" and "deodorize" as the OP requested. I have to agree with the other posters who say that those are not reasonable goals.
jplante4
Explorer II
Oct 12, 2016
Murphsmom wrote:
Two words: GEO method.

Go to the top of this page and paste this into the Search box. Discussed several times a year, most recently within the last 2 months.
Murphsmom
Explorer
Oct 12, 2016
Two words: GEO method.
tenbear
Explorer
Oct 11, 2016
Like others, I use only water to keep the black tank clean.

After I dump, I fill the toilet 3 times (3 gallons) and that goes into the tank. When flushing #2 I use a little more water, but not much more.

I have a Tornado tank flusher and use it every couple of weeks.

I stopped using chemicals years ago when I realized why the salesmen recommend them.

I have done this for years with a minor problem only once when I didn't use the Tornado long enough.
Dr_Quick
Explorer II
Oct 11, 2016
Never use anything in the black tank. My procedure is this, every time tank is empty I fill toilet bowel almost rim, then dump it into tank. I do this 4 times. That way I feel tank sloshing as you travel will help to clean and brake up and left over items in tank. If solids are going in to toilet, I fill bowel so about 1/2 of the area is covered with water. Every few days I take dish water in a dish pan and dump it down toilet, then use a "bottle brush" to clean up bowel as necessary. Never have had any odor or clog problem.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Oct 11, 2016
We keep a toilet brush right next to the toilet and every time it gets used, the toilet gets brushed out. It's always clean! This is the emphatic rule in our camper. Do it or die! No exceptions!

With that said, the bowl is always clean, no smells. And any "liquids" spilled get wiped up immediately. If YOU made the mess.... YOU clean it up! Even my 4 year old grand daughter is required to brush it out when with us!

Second. If you dump your black tank regularly, you won't have smells coming from the black tank. The worse offender is pushing the peddle and the odor from the toilet hole comes permeating upward!

We keep a bottle of Dawn Dishwashing liquid in the camper all the time. After dumping the black tank, I pour about 2 inches from the bottle into the black tank. Yea! This REALLY does keep odors down.

If traveling, put a few gallons of water in the black tank and a couple inches of Dawn. It will clean the tank real nice. No need for any kind of deodorizers or anything.

If you are not traveling, fill the tank completely with water, till it comes up in the neck of the toilet. Then dump. This will clean everything out, but does take a lot of water.