cchristanis wrote:
Hi all. i have one of those rinse/sanitize hookups for the black tank and was just wondering what the proper procedure is.
As you've read, there are many ways.
Whenever possible, after dumping the black tank, I rinse the tank two or three times with a lot of water. Typically, RV black tanks have more solids than liquids (unless you add dish water, etc), so I think it's a good idea to flush as much as possible.
Sanitize? I don't think it's necessary to bleach the tank
every time you dump it. But I do bleach the black tank before storage.
Does bleach harm the black tank, plumbing, or the environment?
No, unless you have an older RV with
polybutylene plumbing. Most likely your RV has ABS, PEX, and polyethylene holding tanks and plumbing -- none of these plastics are affected by bleach.
Some folks claim the bleach harms the "seals". I assume they're talking about the flexible gasket in the black tank waste gate valve. Most likely these gaskets are made from Santoprene, also not affected by bleach.
Also, bleach breaks down pretty rapidly into salt and water, so it should have no or little impact on a septic field.
