What chemicals to use

What chemicals: Water (but see note)
IS bleach a good product: NO one of the worst in fact.

Notes
There is an entire industry (Chemical) designed to empty your wallet.. They talk about the Stink and how our chemicals eliminate it, Digest the waste and so on.. There is a slight truth to the 2nd claim in some cases (Rid-Ex for example) None to the first. ONE time I've had stink issues.. Turns out that in some parks the underground plumbing is very stinky (The park I'm in for example) and I left the gray valve open, the stink was backing up from the septic system. Closed valve, stink gone, Like magic.. Had same thing happen in the office I used to work with,, People complaining of stink in restroom,, I poured water into the floor drains (Renewing the water trap) Stink gone, Like magic.

Waste Digesters however.. Those actually work... S*L*O*W*L*Y.

A good biological waste digester (RId-EX for RV claims to be one, Have not tried,m have used a few others) IF your rig seems to fill swiftly you may have the dreded POOP PYRAMID,,, (A pyramid of dried poop) You can break it up using a valterra Master Blaster or home made equal.. Or you can try adding lots of water (fill tank like 2/3 and some Digester and letting it sit for a month, Dump and repeat. Dump and repeat. May or may not work. Again, This is theory I have never tried it. I've watchewd them use a master blaSTER, THAT WORKED.

Or from High School Chemistry class.

TechWriter wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Bleach is OK for sanitizing, but you really want to flush it out and not sit. It will deteriorate your slide valves and rubber if left alone.

And you know this how?

Been there, done that on my first camper. That's how!

Thank you to all that have taken the time to reply I think I will go with Geo method and repeat as needed.

Thank You All

2012Coleman wrote:
I'm not sure how ice and water from melting ice combined with "driving over bumpy roads" does anything but waste time and money - and ice better used to chill beer. When you clean something, you are using an abrasive and scrubbing it, and the resulting friction helps to clean the surface. I don't think there is much friction created by slippery ice running over the surface of hard poop. And if you put lots of ice in, it won't move at all. I'd take the advice above and soak it. Clean it with the wand and repeat if necessary.

You can get a clear elbow to check the color of the water coming out.

Good luck!

"Good tip" to see if there is still more stuff to come out and to continue filling and dumping until it runs clear of the stuff.

I'm not sure how ice and water from melting ice combined with "driving over bumpy roads" does anything but waste time and money - and ice better used to chill beer. When you clean something, you are using an abrasive and scrubbing it, and the resulting friction helps to clean the surface. I don't think there is much friction created by slippery ice running over the surface of hard poop. And if you put lots of ice in, it won't move at all. I'd take the advice above and soak it. Clean it with the wand and repeat if necessary. You can get a clear elbow to check the color of the water coming out. Good luck!

Go and buy the chemicals that were designed for Recreation/Marine black tanks. AND have been around for years and work. THEY actually 'break down' waste. All the others just perfume it and the rest of the hokus pocus ones are nothing more than a water softener. And think about the size of your tank and just how much ice you would need for it to even make a difference.:R

Buy a box of Campa Chem from Walmart. Make SURE you buy the one labeled POWERFUL ODOR CONTROL there is a box labeled similar for the greenies that does not work at 'breaking down' waste. Also Look on the label for 'breaks down waste' to make sure you buy the correct one.

I would put a little over half a tank of water and 4 bottles in. Either let it sit or drive around. And repeat if necessary. If you can hook the fresh water up to warm water all the better.



That said. You mention you just bought a new to you RV. Does the bathroom sink drain into the black tank?

That might be the difference from your other RV. So you are seeing the new one filling up faster from the added water from a sink.

Mine does and when I am boondocking I do NOT use the bathroom sink to brush teeth or even wash hands. Makes a BIG difference on how quickly the black tank fills up especially if you have several people on board the RV.

Good luck I hope you get to the bottom of the problem. Especially if it is a mountain of poop from the previous owner! :W

jplante4 wrote:
The Geo Method

Excellent method to use.

One thing you might check since your black tank fills up quick is to see if one of your gray water pipes is plumbed into the black tank.Some trailer manufacturers did that because their gray tanks aren't that big.

I also vote for using the geo method for cleaning the tanks.

DutchmenSport wrote:
Bleach is OK for sanitizing, but you really want to flush it out and not sit. It will deteriorate your slide valves and rubber if left alone.

And you know this how?