How can we clean our tanks while driving?
We are not beginners, but thought this might be a good place for this question. We are about to take a 16 hour trip and would like to thoroughly clean our black and grey tank sensors. Both tanks ha...
Forum Discussion
My holding tanks are a bit smaller, but I do the type of cleaning you are talking about all the time. The important thing is to get enough water in the various tanks so the water actually sits in the bottom of the tank. Remember, 2 or even 3 gallons of water can fill the drains from the bottom of the tank to the slide release valves. So as long as you have enough water to fill the drain pipes, all you need is a couple inches or so of water on the bottom of the tank.
The secret is not so much the type of chemicals you put in the tanks, it's the amount of water that is allowed to slosh and beat the sides and top of the tank, including the sensors. Movement inside the tanks is what you need.
For the size of your tanks, perhaps 10 gallons or less will do the trick. Add your choice of chemical (if that be bleach, or laundry soap, or valve lubricant, or dishwashing liquid). It's the pulverizing of the water while the trailer is bouncing down the road that will do the cleaning.
The cleaner you can get the tanks BEFORE hitting the road, the better this will work too. So if you have full hook-up, fill the black tank a couple times completely, and flush it. Use a tank wand, use your black tank flusher, or anything you can do to get rid the inside of all "nasties" before hitting the road. This is probably more important than the type of "chemical" you use.
Once the tank is flushed as good as you can get it, then add the water, a bit of "chemical of your choice" and hit the road.
Personally, I use just bleach, and once I reach home or the next destination point, I make sure I flush the bleach out, so it won't harm the slide valves by sitting long term. My tanks never smell, and my sensors (seem) to work pretty good ... in all 3 of my campers, and my current camper is now 4 years on the road with us.
The secret is not so much the type of chemicals you put in the tanks, it's the amount of water that is allowed to slosh and beat the sides and top of the tank, including the sensors. Movement inside the tanks is what you need.
For the size of your tanks, perhaps 10 gallons or less will do the trick. Add your choice of chemical (if that be bleach, or laundry soap, or valve lubricant, or dishwashing liquid). It's the pulverizing of the water while the trailer is bouncing down the road that will do the cleaning.
The cleaner you can get the tanks BEFORE hitting the road, the better this will work too. So if you have full hook-up, fill the black tank a couple times completely, and flush it. Use a tank wand, use your black tank flusher, or anything you can do to get rid the inside of all "nasties" before hitting the road. This is probably more important than the type of "chemical" you use.
Once the tank is flushed as good as you can get it, then add the water, a bit of "chemical of your choice" and hit the road.
Personally, I use just bleach, and once I reach home or the next destination point, I make sure I flush the bleach out, so it won't harm the slide valves by sitting long term. My tanks never smell, and my sensors (seem) to work pretty good ... in all 3 of my campers, and my current camper is now 4 years on the road with us.
