black tank overflow and smell in living space

[donjeanne]

I accidentally left the black tank clean out hose on and went away for a number of days. Black tank valve was closed so water filled black tank and with no other place to go went into kitchen sink and onto floor of living area. What can I do to get the odor out. Have cleaned surfaces with bleach but not much help. My plan right now is to have carpets cleaned. Not sure that will be enough. Any thoughts?

[MFL]

I am going to disagree with you Grit. I'll add that I have had several enclosed snowmobile trailers, still have a 7x23 all aluminum enclosed, finished walls/ceiling. Just not a fair comparison, as our sled trailers have high grade marine plywood floors, and not much to keep water from draining out quickly. I also use a high quality oil base stain on my sled trailer floor. Many RV trailers do have particle board flooring, and carpet with foam pad, insulation in walls. This trailer was soaked for a long period with waste water, not something most will want for future use.

Jerry

[badsix]

it's the smell that's the problem, if there was any sewage in it you'll never get rid of it.
Jay D.

[Grit_dog]

If it makes the nay Sayers feel better, I have enclosed trailer that gets flooded (literally) every time I pull 5 snow machines into it packed full of snow and they melt off and water runs out the back like a faucet!
If the trailer was dried out well after the leak it's not trashed, presuming it didn't fill up like a bath tub and ruin walls, electrical, etc. OP makes it sound like its perfectly serviceable still.

[Grit_dog]

Wow, that stinks! Literally and figuratively.
Don't be so quick to assume your rig is totaled? Seriously. Do they tear down a house if the water leaks.
floor shouldn't be particle board so it's not going to disintegrate. And presume you dried it out and it didn't sit wet for weeks or months.
Rip out the flooring/carpet, check for any rotting (not likely, but if cabinets are particle board they may have gotten soft on the bottom, whatever, not the end of the world and pretty easy to remedy. Paint the floor with Killz after cleaning it with TSP trisodium phospate. Put some new carpet and turn the TV on!

Or it's a good excuse to ditch the rig to the insurance company if that's more beneficial to you than fixing it.....if they even would total it.

[downtheroad]

donjeanne wrote:
snip...I accidentally left the black tank clean out hose on and went away for a number of days. My plan right now is to have carpets cleaned. Not sure that will be enough. Any thoughts?

I'll be blunt but respectful: Flooding you rig for, "a couple of days," ... from black or gray tanks, whatever?
Cleaning the carpets is just not going to do it. You are realistically looking at a major tare-down and rebuild.

[Cummins12V98]

jplante4 wrote:
My bath sink is plumbed to the black tank. I don't know why they would plumb a kitchen sink tot he black tank unless it was a shorted piping run.

I have heard of bathroom sinks being plumbed into black but NEVER heard of kitchen sink being plumbed into black tank.

[jplante4]

My bath sink is plumbed to the black tank. I don't know why they would plumb a kitchen sink tot he black tank unless it was a shorted piping run.

[Cummins12V98]

ScottG wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
WHY would the black tank STUFF come out in the sink???????

Hey, I didn't even catch that one!
Maybe it shares it? I dunno.

OP, in the end, it doesn't really matter. Even if it were good clean water the rig is saturated and rusting, rotting and coming apart.

Sorry but it's done for.

I had to read it a few times before I posted.

I had visions of STUFF shooting thru the roof vent NOT into the sink.

[ScottG]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
WHY would the black tank STUFF come out in the sink???????

Hey, I didn't even catch that one!
Maybe it shares it? I dunno.

OP, in the end, it doesn't really matter. Even if it were good clean water the rig is saturated and rusting, rotting and coming apart.

Sorry but it's done for.

[Cummins12V98]

WHY would the black tank STUFF come out in the sink???????

[Cummins12V98]

If you have insurance file a claim most likely they will total it. Bio Hazard!

[FLY_4_FUN]

If you had been present and saw the mistake happen you might have been able to minimize the damage. Because it was running for days, the sewer has destroyed the rig from the inside out...and the water running unchecked will have penetrated every nook/cranny including heat ducts, electrical wiring etc.

Im sorry for the bad deal, but I believe folks are right that insurance may be the only way to safely fix this mistake.

[Old-Biscuit]

"Hello........Insurance Company. I NEED to file a claim"


Sorry but as suggested by above posters this is a major problem.

[Farmboy666]

I think the smell might be the least of your worries. That’s a lot of water and everything must be saturated. Your going to have mold, rot, rust and corrosion.

[larry_barnhart]

This happened to a MH where we winter. The MH was totaled and had to towed out of the resort to a flatbed to never be used again or driven. I saw the whole deal with my eyes. worst part of this story was the maintenance man was the cause.

chevman