Holding Tank Treatments?

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Please never use Bleach. It kills all the beneficial organisms in septic systems needed to digest wastewater

Depends on how much bleach you use -- Household Chemicals and Septic Systems.

beemerphile1 wrote:

brianosaur wrote:

...Most rv holding tank treatments state they break down waste and paper....

You do realize their goal is to separate you from your money? ;)

Exactly!!! Complete waste of $$...

You can't possibly add anything that will speed up the decomposition process fast enough to help anything. If it does, where's the scientific test evidence. Why add bleach that kills the bacteria in effluent that breaks it down.

It's all about the water. Add a few gallons before each use of the tank (black), don't skimp on water when flushing and fill the tank as full as you can before opening the dump valve. Then rinse well. Makes a big difference.

As for the smell, get over it! If you have a strong odor then you've got a failed AAV for the grey tank or other problem. It can help to shut off the roof fan so odors won't get sucked out of the tank. If you want to know how bad odors can get, try an outhouse in the summertime.

Oh, and don't forget ya gotta buy the "special" RV toilet paper to prevent tank clogging. Available at your local Home Depot for only $12 a roll.

brianosaur wrote:
Most rv holding tank treatments state they break down waste and paper.

I do not know if it is "MOST" or not but I do agree with Many, and Many do not, they only claim to control odor, and there are still many which contain nothing other than a preservative (Formaldehyde) which we really need to keep out of our sewage systems.

But as I said. Water seems to do the job less it's a long, long time between dump stations.

I use Happy Camper and have been very pleased with it so far. You use it in both the grey and black tanks.

mitw44 wrote:
It's a holding tank, not a treatment tank. Use lots of water. Or, if you want to get fancy, use some dihydrogen oxide.

Could use dihydrogen monoxide, hydrogen hydroxide, hydronium hydroxide or even hydric acid.

All are readily available, fairly inexpensive, odorless, colorless and is one of natures best solvents


I highly recommend its use

Please never use Bleach. It kills all the beneficial organisms in septic systems needed to digest wastewater

“and the black tanks go 8 to 10 days before needing to be dumped,“

Depending on tank size and number of uses, sure. But not OP’s issue. You missed it...”odor elimination and decomposition”

brianosaur wrote:

...Most rv holding tank treatments state they break down waste and paper....

You do realize their goal is to separate you from your money? ;)

Poop and water still stinks...maybe not in your RV, but the stink comes out your roof vent and stinks outside!..."Happy Camper" works great in my small black tank where I use as little water as possible cause I dry camp all the time. If I had full hook-ups maybe I would just use a lot of water.

Bessie-Hunter wrote:
I use Pure Power Blue. Have full timed for the past 18 months now and the black tanks go 8 to 10 days before needing to be dumped, have never had an odor and really breaks down TP and solids quickly.

X2 After trying many different brands. This stuff works great!