Black Tank odor - gone.

[louiskathy]

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Product Features
Non-corrosive. Essentially non-toxic LIVE ACTION bacterial formula
Certified free of gram-negative bacteria (i.e. salmonella and shigella)
Eucalyptus odor counteractant Digests organic odors at the source
Removes organic waste odors on carpet and water-safe, colorfast fabrics; such as clothing, drapes, upholstery, etc.
Counteracts urine odors that hide in cracks and crevices Excellent ready-to-use drip system refill.

OdoBan Professional Eucalyptus BioOdor Digester - 1 Gallon

Note the word... DIGESTER. (Not a disinfectant or a cleaner)

We have not moved our class A since October 2011. It's not easy to keep a black tank clean that is not slooshing around at least once every six months. Our internal strayer died in CA when we didn't filter the water to the sprayer. Sand clogged it. When we dump our black tank, we use a hose down through the toilet. It's not pleasant. At all. I needed SOMETHING to kill the smell when I had to have that flush valve open to hose out the tank.

I'm not looking for advice... I'm telling you what just WORKED. It totally knocked out my black tank odor. I've tried pine-sol now and then (don't like to use it weekly). I've tried the GMO method. I've tried Orange granules. I think I've tried them all.

I've even tried that RV DIGEST IT.. which touts that you don't have to hose the black tank out after flushing because you want the base of stuff left in the tank for the next week for it to work properly. Some things helped better than others but until I tried this stuff... nothing really killed the odor.

The first time I tried this stuff, we dumped the black tank as we normally do. Closed the black valve and added water to the black tank, as we always do. I put about 2 cups of this new stuff into the toilet and filled the bowl up with the hand sprayer. I let that sit in the toilet bowl for awhile before I let it go into the black tank. (I like to see how it cleans/deodorizes the bowl just as a test for what it might be doing for the tank.) Did okay. I'm not sorry I put in 2 cups of it the first week. I think that was a good decision. I also let the black tank get completely full. It was coming up the tube and the toilet would give that air bubble indication of a FULL black tank.

I noticed right away that during the rest of the week there was no smell when I flushed the toilet. None.

Our black tank fills up in about 8 or 9 days. If I remember right, it's a 65 gal black tank according to the spec sheet that came with the rig... 2001 Winnebago Adventurer. I don't skimp on water when we've got FHU...and I wanted to make sure to keep things stirring up really good to give this stuff a chance to get into all the right places.

When it came time to dump... there was no smell what so ever as I hosed it out. None. Hubby said that there were no chunks coming thru when he opened the valve up either. We have a clear plastic piece between the valve and the hose that allows us to see what's coming down the pike.

So this week I only put in 8 oz of this stuff - we'll see if it does as well. Once the temps get above 80 deg... that will be the real test. I'm in the NW btw.

[allen8106]

I have found that as long as I rinse the tank really well at the dump station I never have any odor and I never put any chemicals of any kind into the tank.

[Rvpapa]

One thing to remember When your dump valve is open and depending on wind direction, when you open the toilet flapper you just may be acting as a vent for the campground sewer system.
Best when doing this is set a power vent (Fantastic) to blow full bore IN. That will keep the smell where it belongs.
Art.

[3oaks]

rockhillmanor wrote:

louiskathy wrote:
OdoBan Professional Eucalyptus BioOdor Digester - 1 Gallon Note the word... DIGESTER. (Not a disinfectant or a cleaner)

RV DIGEST IT.. which touts that you don't have to hose the black tank out after flushing because you want the base of stuff left in the tank for the next week for it to work properly.

:E
It's a "holding tank", NOT a septic field. And should be dumped clean and only plain water left on the bottom between dumps.

BTW: OdoBan is the most horrific, nasty smelling FARM and KENNEL cleaner. If you or your family have any breathing problems it will put you in the hospital. And if you don't have breathing problems you WILL after being around this cleaner. AND the stench of this product lasts FOREVER.

I would not even let a sealed bottle of this stuff near my RV.

Yes, and some people think perfumes really stink and also cause some people severe breathing problems. :R Oh well.

[louiskathy]

lanerd wrote:
The OP indicated that they only get the odor when they have the garden hose down the toilet to flush it out.....not at any other time.

Obviously ANY rv will get the odor when the toilet bowl flapper is wide open and your putting water down there. With the water going in, the air has to come out, and will do so up the toilet as well as the roof vent.

The comments on not a holding tank or only using plain water is irrelevant to this posting.

Ron

Thank you, Ron.

As far as the other postings.... how many of you are living in rigs that have not rolled their wheels in over two years and do not have a working internal black tank sprayer?

As far as this stuff being hazardous...I've seen more warnings posted on insect spray bottles. Just saying... use everything with care.

It has a fainter scent of Eucalyptus than I expected. Eucalyptus scent is known to keep insects away. I've had dried flower arrangements in the house (when I had a stix & bricks) that had a stronger smell to it.

August 2013 I bought a gallon of RV Digest It for $49 ... worked fine through the winter but once summer temps arrived... Not so good.

I found DrainBo in a local Ace Hardware store last fall. 1/2 gallon for around $11. I tried it and thought it worked better than the RV Digest It. A couple of weeks ago I got my first whiff of summer. I went online to hunt for the stuff I remembered using on my floors in the 90's when we had pets having puppies... couldn't find it exactly but came across this stuff. I've only tried it for ONE dumping. I'm very happy with it. I'm sharing that information. It's cheaper... 1 gallon for around $16 with free shipping.

Gotta be honest though... most of the time when I think about sharing anything... on this forum... I just know what's coming.

Ron, members like you are a breath of fresh air.

[Wishbone51]

Raften wrote:
I haven't used the same product as OP but have used one with the same properties. Worked well even when I had to leave a tank nearly full tank for months.

When camping I just use water. When it's at home, the toilet is used on occasion and can sit for months. I use a similar product (RV Digest-It) when it's sitting. When dumping it actually smells better the longer it sits due to being broken down.

[Raften]

I haven't used the same product as OP but have used one with the same properties. Worked well even when I had to leave a tank nearly full tank for months.

[thirtydaZe]

putting it in my amazon wish list regardless.

[lanerd]

The OP indicated that they only get the odor when they have the garden hose down the toilet to flush it out.....not at any other time.

Obviously ANY rv will get the odor when the toilet bowl flapper is wide open and your putting water down there. With the water going in, the air has to come out, and will do so up the toilet as well as the roof vent.

The comments on not a holding tank or only using plain water is irrelevant to this posting.

Ron

[Oasisbob]

We use H2o exclusively with a good flushing. No worries or odors

[lazydays]

fla-gypsy wrote:
And here we have diversity in full view. It's either the best product ever or the worst product ever depending on your perspective.

And that's why I take everthing posted on this site with a grain of salt. I'm lucky that I have alot of camping buddy's that We can bounce ideas of each other. I pretty much come to this site due to bordom and only trust the people I personally know.

[rockhillmanor]

I guess my overzealous comments on that stuff was really meant to be a heads up to anyone that was going to rush out and buy it, not knowing about the very strong odor and the inability to remove the smell of it once applied. Especially if used in the small confines of an RV. :C

To the OP: A gray tank can smell just as bad. You might be attacking the wrong tank! And/or the water in the p-traps in the bathroom sink went dry from sitting and your blank tank smell if coming up from there. Same thing with the kitchen sink p-trap if dry also.

20 years here of one bottle of blue stuff per tank. Dump, fill with water, dump again. No hosing no hockus pocus treatments, p-traps always full. and NO smell in the RV. Just saying.

[fla-gypsy]

And here we have diversity in full view. It's either the best product ever or the worst product ever depending on your perspective.

[rockhillmanor]

louiskathy wrote:
OdoBan Professional Eucalyptus BioOdor Digester - 1 Gallon Note the word... DIGESTER. (Not a disinfectant or a cleaner)

RV DIGEST IT.. which touts that you don't have to hose the black tank out after flushing because you want the base of stuff left in the tank for the next week for it to work properly.

:E
It's a "holding tank", NOT a septic field. And should be dumped clean and only plain water left on the bottom between dumps.

BTW: OdoBan is the most horrific, nasty smelling FARM and KENNEL cleaner. If you or your family have any breathing problems it will put you in the hospital. And if you don't have breathing problems you WILL after being around this cleaner. AND the stench of this product lasts FOREVER.

I would not even let a sealed bottle of this stuff near my RV.

[SCVJeff]

There is a garbage truck yard just off the freeway in N. Los Angeles. Never been there but you can tell when they are washing them out from the Eucalyptus smell coming from the yard.