Do you sanitize your black tank?

Once you use the tank, it will never be sanitary again.

There are lots of opinions about maintaining the tank (I flush it out and refill with a few gallons of water plus Dawn and Calgon), but I doubt you'll ever find a consensus.

In any case, there's no way to sanitize it.

Some people will use a bleach solution to help keep bacteria from producing "that' odor. I don't but I do rinse very well when I wont be using it for a few weeks. Heat and bacteria are friends and it will produce sewer stench and in a closed trailer that isn't used for even a few weeks can get stunk up quick. No need to sanitize in my opinion, just rinse well.

When we dump we use the factory installed flush line to add water to the tank until there are no significant pieces of "stuff" seen exiting in a clear pipe section. That's it. We add NO CHEMICALS OR ANYTHING ELSE to the tank. . . ever. We boondock often as well as keep the Bus in full service campgrounds for portions of the year. When at home the Bus is stored in a fully enclosed building and we have never had any odor problems. We have over 110,000 miles on the Bus and it is over 8 years old.

About a year ago, I needed the black tank dump valve replaced.
Found a mobile mechanic that would do the work.
He said his rate would depend on how "dirty" he got and gave the price range. He could not come out for several days.
I had the "rotary spray nozzle" that had been plugged up for several years.
The RV at that time had a straight shot down thru the toilet to the tank.
I had the wand that one sticks down thru the toilet. Just hadn't used it in a few years.
So, I flushed and flushed with the trailer tongue as high as I could get it and as low as I could get it.
I had crystal clear water coming out of the black tank.
So, I filled the tank up one more time.
When the mobile mechanic showed up, I dumped the one last time and he was very happy to see clear water in the line.
There was still a mild odor in the tank.
To wrap things up, that wand puts out a lot of pressure and easily reaches the roof, sides and all 4 corners of the black tank. I doubt the rotary rinse can compare.
I do add product that does help with the smell.

Let’s be fair. Our entire life we have heard about people who’s poo does not stink. They have an image to uphold.??

Sanitize? No.

Rinse to reduce the buildup of paper and solids? Maybe 1 in 5 dumps.

Deodorizer? More often for a longer stay and time between dumps I might drop in a packet. Not for short stay or frequent dump like full hookup site.

Keep the black tank from smelling? Yes.
Sanitize the black tank? Can't imagine that. In fact I'm not even sure how one would go about it.

Those of us that store the RV indoors don't want a tank getting ripe, so I flush well and use chemicals.

Guy Roan wrote:
I don't have to worry about it any more.
We don't dry camp, so I had it removed and a residential toilet installed.
I still have the gray tank and it's valve is always open as is the black tank valve

Back when we had it; We used the proper chemicals and dumped once a week. Then I would flush it with ten gallons of water.
When not in use I would keep a few gallons of water with the chemicals in it.
Never had a problem doing that with three different trailers over a 30 year span

Guy

How do you know you are not getting a dreaded "poop pyramid" ???

I don't have to worry about it any more.
We don't dry camp, so I had it removed and a residential toilet installed.
I still have the gray tank and it's valve is always open as is the black tank valve

Back when we had it; We used the proper chemicals and dumped once a week. Then I would flush it with ten gallons of water.
When not in use I would keep a few gallons of water with the chemicals in it.
Never had a problem doing that with three different trailers over a 30 year span

Guy