I need some guidance on odor problem UPDATED!

[dspencer]

I need some guidance prior to taking my camper to the RV shop. I have a 2013 Graywolf 26BH that we bought new. This problem just started this year, we're having a bad sewer smell. I use a good quality tank deodorizer and always flush with lots of water and never ever flush toilet paper down. This smell just started this year, we have never had this problem before this year.

This year we have are getting a pretty bad odor not sure if its from the gray or black tank. I will tell you i always rinse the black tank at least twice after each use and don't appear to have any blockage or anything. Any suggestions on what this may be or any suggestions on correcting this problem would be appreciated.

[covered_wagon]

Mine smelled bad when new. I looked under the plumbing vent caps on the roof.....sure enough..... caps sealed out the rain but under the vent cap the pipe was not sealed to the roof so stink was going right into the cabin around the pipe because they drilled the holes too big for the pipe size going thru the roof.

It helped to add a straight coupling to make the pipe larger diameter and then seal with sealant.

Just look under the vent caps..... you'll find it.

[dspencer]

I appreciate everyone who shared there thoughts. It turned out to be something very simple and what a lot of you suggested. It was just the gray tank needed a good flushing. I poured Pine sol down all the gray tank drains and ran hot water in it and drove to our campsite about an hour away and flushed it real good. All the odors are gone and have't came back at all. Thank You all for your help.

[trailerbikecamp]

midnightsadie wrote:
and it could be your batteries ,boiling away. ever check the water level? out toilet did smell one time it was the rubber seal on the slide gate.

This happened to my BIL this year. Thought it may be black tank. Tried everything to eliminate the odor from the tank.

Opened the front storage compartment, and smell was even stronger. Batteries were giving off the smell.

[rockhillmanor]

I had my black tank vent cover on the roof 'unknowingly to me' knocked off by low branches at CG sites. Its only held on by clips. No vent cover on stack, will send whiffs of black tank stink too.

[Bobbo]

Double post

[Bobbo]

1. bad AAV
2. toilet not holding water after flush
3. sink or shower trap empty
4. bad seal between toilet and floor
5. blocked/dropped holding tank vent

(Over the past 10 years, I have personally had all except #2, pun, pun, and #3)

Be sure to check these for the gray tank too. It smells just as bad as the black tank.

If the plumbing system is working as designed, no "deodorizers" are needed. No plumbing smells will get into the RV (except when you open the toilet's seal to flush it with the exhaust fan running). If the plumbing system is NOT working as designed, no "deodorizers" will work.

[wa8yxm]

Most folks blame the Black Tank for the Gray Tank's odors.

[myredracer]

Another possibility is that if you're not using your shower or haven't in quite a while, the P-trap could be dry. Pour a little water down the drain and see what happens. We've had to replace both our AAVs after a couple of years or so. One replacement even failed in short order and then I installed a commercial grade Oatey one.

[donn0128]

Do you leave roof vent in the bath room open? Had the same problem finally figured out that if I had the bathroom roof vent open I got sewer smell. Close the vent and open the window, no problem.

[rockhillmanor]

dspencer wrote:
First off yes i thought about the battery and it is okay in fact it's a brand new battery like less than a month old. Truthfully i didn't know about the air admittance valve, i will find that and check it out this weekend. The odor appears to be coming from back in the rear of the trailer where the bathroom and sink is located. This weekend i put about 15 gallons of hot water with detergent and fabric softener and drove about an hour to the campsite and dumped and rinsed thinking it might have been the black tank. I flushed it good and everything came out and pretty much clear.

I did notice however when draining the gray water this weekend it was pretty cruddy with a lot of junk draining out so it may very well be the coming from the Gray tank.

Gray tanks can smell just as bad as the black.

1. Buy a bottle of lysol lemon cleaner. Comes in a quart bottle from grocery store.

2. Drain gray, addd bottle of lemon cleaner, and fill up tank with water. If you can leave it over night all the better and then dump.

3. I add one bottle of liquid lemon cleaner around twice a month more if it is hot outside as a maintenance. Lysol, MrClean, The Generic brand Costs about one whole dollar!

I do NOT as many others do to, let food stuffs and/or grease go down into my RV's gray tank. Grease especially should never go down the drain into a holding tank.

Also check your sink in the bathroom.
If you are not using it often and it is hot weather the water in the p-trap evaporates very quickly in an RV. Many RV's bathroom sink dumps into the black tank. No p-trap water in the pipe and look out.

P-trap water dries out in sink and you have a direct link to the black tank and the sewer stank comes right into your coach. Been there done that when I was down in Florida during the summer. Whew!

OP

always flush with lots of water and never ever flush toilet paper down.

P.S. Let that toilet paper go right down the toilet into that black tank! OMG there is absolutely NO need to store dirty TP along side the toilet in an RV!!! Let it go down in the flush with the rest of the stuff! :B

[Grit_dog]

^ Wnder if that’s what I got goin on.
Typically have no black tank issues, but seems if I drive a good distance with a relatively full black tank, it stinks up the camper until dumped No problem if half full. Toilet seal always holds water. Once dumped though odor is gone.
It’s not the gray tank, confirmed.

[wildtoad]

Could be air admittance valve or the back flow preventor valve used by the black tank flush system. Usually under a bathroom sink.

[wgriswold]

My old trailer, a 2001, had an overflow design on the toilet. There was a hole just below the place where water entered the toilet bowl. The theory was that the if the water did not turn off the water would drain there and not into the trailer. There was a water trap (U shaped) in that drain system. If it dried out or somehow failed fumes from the black tank could get into the trailer.

Unlikely, but worth checking. I don't know if newer toilets have this design.

[dspencer]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
But 'tank deodorizers' are suppose to 'cure' that problem

SORRY ....being a bit sarcastic


Where is odor concentrated?
Have you checked if smell is coming from an Air Admittance Valve?
(On kitchen/bathroom sink drain lines after the 'P' traps---if stay open grey tank smells come back inside rv. Grey stinks as bad/worst then black tank)

Have you checked battery....over charging/boiling etc can stink like rotten eggs

First off yes i thought about the battery and it is okay in fact it's a brand new battery like less than a month old. Truthfully i didn't know about the air admittance valve, i will find that and check it out this weekend. The odor appears to be coming from back in the rear of the trailer where the bathroom and sink is located. This weekend i put about 15 gallons of hot water with detergent and fabric softener and drove about an hour to the campsite and dumped and rinsed thinking it might have been the black tank. I flushed it good and everything came out and pretty much clear. I did notice however when draining the gray water this weekend it was pretty cruddy with a lot of junk draining out so it may very well be the coming from the Gray tank.