If they used Dawn dish detergent to clean the oil from the animals and birds when the Deep Horizons covered the Gulf of Mexico with oil. Then why couldn't it be used to clean the sensors in our holding tanks in our RV's ? The price of a bottle is way cheaper than a bottle of sensor cleaner.....which does not work....

If you look up the Geo Method of black tank odor control, you will find detergent in there. It may not be Dawn, but it is still about the same stuff.

I use Dawn in my black tank all the time! Dump the tank at the dump station completely. Flush it out if you have the time. Close all the outside valves, add about 4 gallons of water to the empty black tank, pour about a 1/3 cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid down the toilet, and drive away!It cleans the tank, cleans the sensors, and keeps it smelling good. At your destination, you don't need to drain the dawn, just use your toilet until the tank is full. Contents will just "slide" right out. No fuss.Not traveling, put some Dawn in the black tank anyway. Use your toilet as normal. When full, drain, and do it again. I've been doing this for the last 14 years.Dawn is a great grease cutter.The first time I ever used Dawn was when I worked at McDonalds in Morganton, NC (about 1980 ish). I was the maintenance man (glorified janitor). One day we ran out of the McD's floor soap and the manager had someone run over to the grocery store across the parking lot. He came back with Dawn, add it to the mop bucket water and proceeded to mop the floor. It cut all the grease, and left the floor spotless! That was the first time I'd ever, even heard of Dawn.It's fantastic for washing motor oil and motor grease from your hands, clothing, and pets. It's great for removing bug goo on from the grill of your car or truck and from your camper nose. Although it does strip the wax. Any kind of grease, oil, cooking or motor, slime, sludge, goo, or poo, it cuts through it all.OK. Do I sound like a commercial now! Anyway.... I've been using Dawn since at least 1980, and I'm STILL impressed what all it can do.Edit Edit:Check this out: Click here.

Try it, but Dawn is useful for cleaning OIL from wildlife, depending on your diet it may have a lesser effect on human waste. I worked the Exxon Valdez spill and we used dawn extensively as a dispersant. As a dispersant it chemically reacts with oil and makes it sink to the bottom whereas oil normally floats. In wildlife it breakes the bond to other items as it tries to let the oil seperate and eventually sink. For a holding tank I have no Idea how it will work, but will offer one point of caution Be prepared for bubbles and foaming, you could end up with a trailer full especially if you have a black water flush.

One problem with using Dawn....if you are one of those who waxes the inside of your black tank, Dawn will also remove the wax....

downtheroad wrote:One problem with using Dawn....if you are one of those who waxes the inside of your black tank, Dawn will also remove the wax....That is an awesome post. I can think of many posters that will need to heed this extremely important warning!

Dawn Dish Detergent | Good Sam Community

Ron3rd
Explorer III
Oct 30, 2017
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Ron3rd
Explorer III
Oct 30, 2017
Bob Vaughn wrote:
If they used Dawn dish detergent to clean the oil from the animals and birds when the Deep Horizons covered the Gulf of Mexico with oil. Then why couldn't it be used to clean the sensors in our holding tanks in our RV's ? The price of a bottle is way cheaper than a bottle of sensor cleaner.....which does not work....

Sensor Cleaner is simply Dawn that has been cut and then marked up 500%. Hint: surfactant is surfactant and not rocket science
Bird_Freak
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2017
If your vent pipe is blowing bubbles, you used to much!:B
RinconVTR
Explorer
Oct 30, 2017
May be cause if you dont rinse the tank well, or use too much Dawn, foam bubbles will tickle your arse or spew out the vent and make for good entertainment? Just a thought.

Personally, I learned from my Grandpa decades ago; Dont bother trying to clean the black tank beyond a generic flush. And the sensors can never be relied upon no matter how clean your c r a p tank is.

Odor problems are NOT related to the black tank not being flushed!!!
westend
Explorer
Oct 30, 2017
brianseay1 wrote:
Never heard of waxing of the blackwater tank. What exactly is this procedure ? We have been having from time to time an odor in the coach after it has sat for awhile. Looking for ideas on how to remedy this.
If you have a strong odor inside, there maybe a problem with the tank vent, a trap that isn't holding water, leaking toilet seals, or an air admittance valve that has failed.

You can try softening the smell by adding soaps or softener in the tanks but that is a cover-up for a problem.

Dawn is good soap but, take it from an old USMM Tankerman, "dirt can't hide from intensified Tide". Basically, any soap or surfactant will help break the bonds of oil and dirt on surfaces and makes water "slippery". I've found that cheap laundry softener masks a lot of smells and works as well as the best Calgon.
brianseay1
Explorer
Oct 30, 2017
Never heard of waxing of the blackwater tank. What exactly is this procedure ? We have been having from time to time an odor in the coach after it has sat for awhile. Looking for ideas on how to remedy this.
paddykernahan
Explorer
Apr 29, 2017
downtheroad wrote:
One problem with using Dawn....
if you are one of those who waxes the inside of your black tank, Dawn will also remove the wax....

I should be good, I switched to 303 UV Protectant Spray a few years ago for the inside. I still wax the outside of the black and gray tanks though.
down_home
Explorer II
Apr 29, 2017
gbopp wrote:
K3WE wrote:
downtheroad wrote:
One problem with using Dawn....
if you are one of those who waxes the inside of your black tank, Dawn will also remove the wax....

That is an awesome post. I can think of many posters that will need to heed this extremely important warning!

X2. One of the best responses I've seen in a long time. :)

I have a toilet wax that comes in a ring. Is that what it is for?
Heck of a time putting it on and getting a good polish in the toilet.
monkey44
Nomad II
Apr 28, 2017
HA - this is beginning to sound like a commercial ... :)
doxiemom11
Explorer II
Apr 28, 2017
True story. In a small town in MI they were building a new bridge next to the existing bridge across the river. When the new bridge was ready to open, they demolished the old and were supposed to be able to slide the new one into place with cables etc they had rigged up. Wouldn't work --- they then put DAWN dish detergent along the slide mechanism and it slid right over into place and road was re-opened. Dawn to the rescue.

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