How to Get the Stink Out of Bathroom

TechWriter wrote:

Geobiker wrote:
Do those after market newer sewer vents (Cyclone Sewer Vents, etc.) really work and if so, any recommendations? Mind you, the odor isn't terrible, but something we would like to do without.

I use Lil' Stanker for a black tank vent.

Otherwise, if it stinks, pour some bleach down the black (and dray) tank. Then look for the bad odor "cause".

I would not put Bleach into either the black or the grey... Not in any quantity that would help kill the smell. It will damage things you don't want to replace.

I've used PineSol on occasion in a quantity to kill odors in the tanks. (Like 1/2 a gallon and a tank full of water. Let it sit for a couple of hours and drain... put another 1/2 gallon in the tank with five gallons of water, use normally and flush when the tank is more than half full.) In 10 years I've done that twice. The rig was stored and not used for six months during the summer. Even though I put plenty of water in the tank with chemicals, it still had odors.

I use Simple Green on a day to day basis to clean the toilet seat and bowl.

I stopped using Orange and Green tank chemicals. I tried Digest It for a few months - went through a gallon in about four or five months and I was not impressed.

What I have used for about a year now is DRAINBO Rv & Marine tank treatment. I get it at our local Ace Hardware.

If you hold the toilet valve open for any amount of time and have a ceiling exhaust vent going... you will pull odors from the tank up into the coach. Everyone has already told you to check your vents in the tank system to make sure they are not clogged... and keep water in your bowl.

When I flush the black tank, I put the stopper in the bathroom sink and fill the sink 1/2 full. SHUT ALL YOUR CEILING VENTS OFF. Maybe even close them if the winds are blowing outside. I use a hose through the bathroom window to put water down into the black tank through the toilet to churn things up and fill up the tank to where you can see the water coming up the pipe. DO NOT FILL THE PIPE. Take your foot off the flush lever and then FILL THE TOILET BOWL 3/4 FULL. (That makes it impossible for air to get into the tank through the bathroom sink or the toilet while you are emptying the tank.) THEN , on the outside, close the gray tank valve and open the black tank valve... The contents of the black tank will start to flow for a bit and then it will stop as it seeks air. The only place it can pull air from is through the vent pipe going from the black tank to the outside at the top of the RV. Might take 20 seconds before you hear a gurgle and a WHOOSH as that air comes down the vent pipe and the flow gets going with authority. Just be patient and give that air a chance to pull down through that pipe. If it doesn't... leave the black tank valve open... go inside and pull the stopper on the bathroom sink and flush the toilet and hold the flush lever down so air can get down into the tank. The black tank will drain but it wont' be pulling solids from the bottom like it would have if your vent worked right. That would pretty much show if your black tank vent was working or not. If it's not working, it's either plugged or was never installed correctly.