Sewage smell, also how do you clean your tanks?

I am pretty sure something like a rat climbed up there and expired. I've had the same "musty" smell in the past in a shed, found a decomposing critter.

Well my saga continues. I spent about 6 hours yesterday pulling everything I had out of my basement storage, cleaned every surface I could. Wiped down, cleaner, wipe again, Lysol wipe, Fa-breeze. I left everything sit out and air dry for hours, opened every window in the rig. It looked like I was have a giant trailer trash garage sale :)

After airing out nothing smelled. No critters in my sleeping bags or anywhere else. The smell is localized to the front passenger side of my trailer but I still can't identify it. It smells more animal to me than sewage. I had a friend take a look and he thought it smelled "musty". I even cut into some of the ceiling backing paper because that's where it seemed to come from, looking for critter carcass or scat, but nothing. In my front generator/battery storage area there was some moisture and it smelled but I thought it might be from all the rain the last ocuple weeks just getting in or our drive in the rain. However, I suppose it could have been left there by a furry friend marking or something.

I don't know, I cleaned it all up and the surface where it was no longer smells but the odor still remains somewhere. I've identified the area and have checked every crevasse I can get into but can't find the source. The only thing left to do is drop off the under layment corrugated board and check up near the tanks and stuff but I'd rather not unseal that. I had it rip off driving in high winds during last years trip and just had it all replaced and sealed up.

I'm hoping something was marking territory or maybe something small died and the odor will pass. After my cleaning it's certainly better than yesterday. We'll see if it continues to get stronger or if it lessens. That will probably determine whether I start pulling down the covering or not.

I guess I needed something to do while I'm holed up south of Seattle waiting for the bumblers in DC to open Olympic NP back up :(

Interesting that you said battery because I thought the smell was emanating from my front battery compartment. However, when I get really close to the battery I don't smell anything.

It's really weird, I cleared everything out, wiped every down, sprayed, lysoled, fabreezed and then let it air out. So now I'm trying to find the source, where it still smells. It seems like the very front corner of the RV is the only part that still smells. Between my front storage and the propane tank on the top right. But there is no empty space in there, no gap between floor and wood, no place I can see any evidence of critters, nothing. This is starting to make me go fruit loops.

There was some liquid, just a bit near that area that smells but it's been raining like the days of Noah up here in WA for about 2 weeks and I have a couple places that have a little moisture. I cleaned it all up and when I drove out to get some stuff at the store I smelled the smell on my hands. It makes me believe it is something I was wiping/cleaning and not just an odor coming from the tanks or something that would just be a smell in the air.

There is some black insulation type tape in the ceiling of that section and I'm going to split it with a razor knife and see if anything squeezed up there. If not I am at a complete loss and don't know what to do. I may have to keep the windows open and just let it air for a couple days and hope it's something that is holed up somewhere, died, and the smell will pass. Not a popular plan with my wife, especially considering it's been in the 40's at night.

"Hey sweetie, you know that smell that's driving you crazy and making you want to throw up? Well I can't figure out what it is. I think I'm going to leave all the windows open in the 40 deg weather tonight and try to air us out some"

I'll be lucky if I'm not sleeping outside tonight :)

love4god wrote:
We had a long drive yesterday so before leaving we dumped everything. I ran the cleanout hose for about 20 minutes and it was running clear when we were done. Filled the grey/galley tanks again with some soap and dumped again. By the time we left I had my nose in the drains and couldn't smell anything.

When we arrived at the new campground last night still no smells inside. Then I opened my basement door and the smell poured out. I think my smell may not be sewage, I'm guessing I'm going to find something dead in my basement. It was pouring rain and dark so it was too late to do anything last night.

I'm finishing up work in a couple hours and then I'm going on a carcass treasure hunt to see what I find and what it ruined before it died. Fingers crossed it's not any water/hydro lines like the last time. Maybe I'll get away with it being burrowed in one of my cheaper sleeping bags. Ugh. I'll update if I find something.

Thanks for all the suggestions though. I'm definitely going to try a couple just to get my tanks nice and clean. It would be nice if I could get my sensors to actually work for once.

Check your batteries.....boiled batteries can smell awful.

Good luck on your search!

We had a long drive yesterday so before leaving we dumped everything. I ran the cleanout hose for about 20 minutes and it was running clear when we were done. Filled the grey/galley tanks again with some soap and dumped again. By the time we left I had my nose in the drains and couldn't smell anything.

When we arrived at the new campground last night still no smells inside. Then I opened my basement door and the smell poured out. I think my smell may not be sewage, I'm guessing I'm going to find something dead in my basement. It was pouring rain and dark so it was too late to do anything last night.

I'm finishing up work in a couple hours and then I'm going on a carcass treasure hunt to see what I find and what it ruined before it died. Fingers crossed it's not any water/hydro lines like the last time. Maybe I'll get away with it being burrowed in one of my cheaper sleeping bags. Ugh. I'll update if I find something.

Thanks for all the suggestions though. I'm definitely going to try a couple just to get my tanks nice and clean. It would be nice if I could get my sensors to actually work for once.

powderman426 wrote:
Rinsing the tanks and adding chemicals isn't going to solve the problem. If you have an odor inside it because something in the system isn't working properly. Because you are using the rig I think we can rule out a dry P trap. So the next place to look is under the sink or counter for a vaccumm breaker that is malfunctioning. Just follow your nose and you should be able to find the source of your problem.

x2

powderman426 wrote:
Rinsing the tanks and adding chemicals isn't going to solve the problem. If you have an odor inside it because something in the system isn't working properly. Because you are using the rig I think we can rule out a dry P trap. So the next place to look is under the sink or counter for a vaccumm breaker that is malfunctioning. Just follow your nose and you should be able to find the source of your problem.

The one possibility I can think of in terms of P-Traps is the shower drain. When camping, we generally use the campground shower facilities, so the shower is unused. It could be the original poster does the same and the shower P-Trap is dry. Probably more likely the vent valve mentioned in this thread, but may as well check the easiest things first.

I jus picked up two new AVS's from Home Depot. They were about $3 each.

Bull Rider wrote:
The AAV is a component of the gray water system. The gray water system is completely separate from the black water system. So, how can a plugged black water vent "kill" a component on the gray water system?

I've read, in other posts, that this can happen, but I don't see how it's possible.

My bathroom sink drains into the black tank, so its AAV is a component of the black water system.

I had a failure of the valve by the sink just last week. It stank horribly. I took off the valve, covered the openings with electrical tape, screwed it back in, and the smell went away totally in MINUTES.

I've been convinced that this valve needs to be replaced, and I will, but I've towed another 1000 miles since this happened, dumped a couple of times, and still NO odor issues.