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Kennyg's avatar
Kennyg
Explorer
Jan 15, 2017

rotten egg smell

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.

17 Replies

  • I would try some Rid-x, doubt it would hurt anything.

    FWIW, I had issues once using something that would cut grease. It also worked on the lube of the valve. The dump valve got harder and harder to pull/push until I regreased it.
  • After every time I dump my gray water tank, I use 4 of the dishwasher pods of soap. Little dissolving packets. These soaps do not suds up and are designed to cut grease just like they would on your dishes in the dishwasher. As I then fill the tank during use, the soap does it's thing and keeps the grease emulsified so it doesn't collect on any thing. When I drain the gray water tank, I also refill it and flush it once. Then 4 more packets for the next trip and to keep things fresh smelling until then.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.