How can I rid my grey tank of the rotten egg smell when I dump; it smells worse than the black tank sometimes. Any help will be appreciated. P.S. I am presently in rv park for 4 months so putting ice in tank and the driving is not an option.

I take it you have a full hook up site if so run water till the tank is full then leave 1-2 faucets running and go out and pull the dump handle and let the tank empty and leave the handle open for a bit the same way you do with a black tank flush. Then refill the gray tank again but add about a pint of bleach as you fill the tank and let this set overnight. Then when emptying it again leave a couple faucets running inside to act like the black tank flush. Then ib the future try to prevent ANY food waste from going down the sink drain, this is where your nasty smell is coming from is the food waste. You can't just rinse the food scraps down the drain like you do at home.

I sort of like We Cant Wait's method, except we use PineSol instead of bleach. A cup or so of PineSol poured down the sinks, a few ounces in each sink and shower. Then run fresh water to fill the grey tank...DO NOT GO FOR A WALK, don't ask. Stick around and watch the gauges to reach a full tank. Since you can't go for a drive, let it sit for a couple of hours...now you can go for that walk. Then flush the grey. Most of the odor is probably from fats stuck in the traps, these break down into butyric acid and similar stuff, some might be from the tank. Just for the heck of it, check your batteries, they can be exhausting gasses, but I doubt it since it happens when you dump, Also check the back of the propane frig, if you see yellow powder you have a problem, and the smell is the Ammonia gasses from the coolant, again, probably not, but check anyway. Oh, one more thing...make sure somebody has not set up a nest in the grey water vent pipe on top of the coach. A nest, or leafy trash will block the air flow and cause the vapors to back up. Good Luck.

We have never had strong odors from the gray water so I wonder what you are putting in the system. You can put the black tank treatment of your choice in the gray tank.When I thick of sulfur (rotten egg) smell my first thoughts go to a boiling battery and secondly to an LPG leak.

beemerphile1 wrote:We have never had strong odors from the gray water so I wonder what you are putting in the system. You can put the black tank treatment of your choice in the gray tank.When I thick of sulfur (rotten egg) smell my first thoughts go to a boiling battery and secondly to an LPG leak.Agree about the rotten egg smell, and I'll add check for a bad air admittance valve for the kitchen or bathroom sink.Fred

rotten egg smell | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jan 19, 2017
wa8yxm wrote:
beemerphile1 wrote:
When I thick of sulfur (rotten egg) smell my first thoughts go to a boiling battery and secondly to an LPG leak.

DITTO

Been there did that too. :(

Everyone was convinced the rotten egg smell was from my gray tank and I should call RV repair for a new vent.

I sat waiting for Rv Repair. THANK GOOD with all the windows open!

It WAS a propane leak. When I moved from one venue to another I just threw my storage tubs up against the stove.........the top one when traveling fell forward up against the stove and pushed the stove knob to the on position.

Propane seeks the lowest spot and the lowest spot was the sink. Making it seem like the smell was coming from the gray tank. And since the propane found the sink as the low spot it did not set off my detector. Closet I've been to meeting my maker. :C
Pipeman
Explorer
Jan 17, 2017
I found the same thing as above re; the hot water heater. I drain it, flush it & add as much bleach as I can get in via the drain hole. Fill it up and let it sit for a few hours run it through the water lines and them empty, flush and refill and as they say, you know who they are, voila. I usually can smell it in the water when I take a shower and it's not sulphur water. Doesn't happen often and usually happens when on well water.
Clarryhill
Explorer
Jan 17, 2017
Nvr*lost wrote:
The hot water tank will produce a rotten egg smell as bacteria grows. How long has been been since you drained the hot water tank?

This was my first thought. Draining and flushing the water heater tank at least a couple times a year is a must.
TechWriter
Explorer
Jan 17, 2017
Kennyg wrote:
How can I rid my grey tank of the rotten egg smell when I dump; it smells worse than the black tank sometimes. Any help will be appreciated.
P.S. I am presently in rv park for 4 months so putting ice in tank and the driving is not an option.

Bleach -- fast & cheap.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jan 16, 2017
beemerphile1 wrote:
When I thick of sulfur (rotten egg) smell my first thoughts go to a boiling battery and secondly to an LPG leak.

DITTO
doxiemom11
Explorer II
Jan 16, 2017
Sulfur, egg smell is not usually your grey tank. Check your battery.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jan 16, 2017
I don't care if the grAy water stinks when I dump.
Nvr_lost
Explorer
Jan 16, 2017
The hot water tank will produce a rotten egg smell as bacteria grows. How long has been been since you drained the hot water tank?
Kennyg
Explorer
Jan 16, 2017
Thanks to all; will use the PineSol method and check results.
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jan 16, 2017
I too would check your battery.
If your battery is on the same side as where you dump it could be that that is the only time you are smelling it. Rotten egg smell can = boiling battery.

I'll step up and raise my hand and admit that when I kept getting whiffs of rotten eggs outside my RV and I wrote it off to the smell of the CG well water.......well, and it turned out my battery was boiling so bad it could have exploded. :(