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love4god's avatar
love4god
Explorer
Oct 02, 2013

Sewage smell, also how do you clean your tanks?

I have a pretty bad sewer smell in my RV, nothing we've ever had before. I thought maybe I needed to dump so I dumped the tanks, put new chemical in, everything is just about empty but it still stinks. Not completely over powering but it's there and we really don't want it to be :(

We are at a campground in WA hooked up to the sewer so i thought maybe it was the sewer filling up with the tons and tons of rain we've got the last 2 weeks. Maybe this was pushing smell up into the RV? My son had left the kitchen tank open (connected to sewer) so I thought that was definitely the issue. However, I closed it yesterday, opened all the windows, cleared the air. It smells again today. We're hooked up but the tanks are closed.

I was also thinking of cleaning the tanks out. My black tank has a rinse I can hook the hose up to, going to do this. However, my bathroom grey and galley do not. How do you clean these tanks? Something I can pour down the drain and go on a long drive?

26 Replies

  • Sometimes the bad odor can spew from the tank roof vents and blow down into the coach thru a vent or window.

    We've been doing the old white vinegar thing in the tanks with a couple gallons of water after dumping for the drive home for about 19 years.
    Citrus cleaner helps also.

    Also something like Tst keeps odors down from the black waste tank especially during hot weather.

    Hope you get things taken care of.
  • love4god wrote:
    My black tank has a rinse I can hook the hose up to, going to do this. However, my bathroom grey and galley do not. How do you clean these tanks?
    Most folks don't bother.
  • I use my rv about 1 week a month and keep it at an RV park. When I leave I dump the black tank, refill it and then dump it again. Then I pour some pinesol in the tank and fill it again, then dump it again. Then I fill it with about 8 to 10 gallons of water and add the chemicals. For the grey water, I dump it after cleaning the black tank and refill it with Pinesol added, then dump it again and refill with about 8 gallons of water with some Pinesol. I also add some Pinesol in each of the sink/bathtub drains. Using this method I have had no black/grey tank oders in the two years I've owned it.

    For your situation, I would attach the hose to the black tank rinse and get it as clean as possible. Then add some Pinesol and rinse it again. Then add fresh water and chemicals. The grey tank I would fill and dump it several times and then add the Pinesol to the tank and drains.

    This is the task that takes the longest for me before I leave and go home, but I never leave anything but fresh water and appropriate chemicals in the tanks when I leave and it has worked well for me.

    Good luck.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Don't rule out one of your ceiling exhaust fans may be pulling sewer smell up thru your pot.

    That happened to me one time...

    Roy Ken
  • Dump your tanks then fill them completely with fresh water and dump again. If they still smell, put a few gallons of water in them, a genrous amount of dishwashing liquid, take the camper out for a drive so the soap can slosh around real good. Park again and dump.

    If you cannot drive the RV around, you're only option is to fill the tanks and dump. If you use a bleach-water solution, make sure you rinse well to completely dilute any bleach so the bleach won't eat away at your valves.

    You might look for breaks or cracks in your pipes too.

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