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sandybrv's avatar
sandybrv
Explorer
May 24, 2013

smelly galley tank

Any product that help clean the galley tank. My tank really smells. I empty it regularly and keep the valve closed so not sure why it smells so bad.
  • Rotten food, grease and bacteria have a pungent odor. You can try putting some fabric softener down your traps and see if that doesn't help.

    WoodGlue
  • WoodGlue wrote:
    Rotten food, grease and bacteria have a pungent odor. You can try putting some fabric softener down your traps and see if that doesn't help.

    WoodGlue



    Minimize the food particles and grease going down the drain and your smell will go away. We wash dishes outside in a collapsible tub a little bigger than the sink after wiping out everything we can with paper towels. It's easier and eliminates this issue.

    If that doesn't work for you, Do the same thing I do for the black tanks. After you dump the tanks, throw about a half a cup of Clorox down the drain and a cap full of the cheapest liquid water softener you can find and then put a couple gallons of water in there. Leave it in for the ride home to slosh around and it coats the tanks and your water level gauge and keeps it from stinking. Also recoats on the trip back to your next campsite and then gets dumped when you dump the tanks. Then Repeat.
  • I'm not a clorox person. I do pour white vinegar into the traps every now and then and then flush with hot water.

    For health reasons I'm juicing veggies / blueberries every day and cleaning the food processor is a mess. I refuse to put that down the sink without straining it.

    I do my dishes in a plastic dish pan so I can lift it and carry it outside or pour the water through two sets of strainers before it goes down the drain. One strainer is a basket type that sets in the sink and the other strainer is a very fine mesh that rests on top of the basket strainer. Between the two of them, they catch everything that would cause problems.
  • We switched our drain strainers out for the mesh type can not believe the amount of small particles it catches. We also use Happy Camper for both black and grey tanks. Also helps to lube the valves
  • Look under your sink for something that looks like this



    It's what most (all that I've seen) RVs use to provide a proper vacuum brake for the P-trap. They get old and fail letting odor into the area under the sink.

    Link to the Home Depot version

    They're cheap and rightfully so, we had one that was bad right out of the box. After replacing all the ones in our coach we now have no smells at all, even traveling with the roof vents open and the negative pressure in the coach doing so causes.
  • daveshan wrote:
    Look under your sink for something that looks like this



    It's what most (all that I've seen) RVs use to provide a proper vacuum brake for the P-trap. They get old and fail letting odor into the area under the sink.

    Link to the Home Depot version

    They're cheap and rightfully so, we had one that was bad right out of the box. After replacing all the ones in our coach we now have no smells at all, even traveling with the roof vents open and the negative pressure in the coach doing so causes.
    x2
  • My TT's bathroom used to smell really bad. Especially after every flush - where the tank's "stank" smell would float up the open pipe. For my TT's setup, I simply installed a 12V power fan over its roof top vent pipe. Stolen the idea from - click here -

    Since the company no longer makes this "store bought" roof top power vent anymore, I simply made my own roof top vent - using 12V computer fan and some ABS piping. Very simply DIY task. For picture, surf: - click here -

    Ever since installing my own 35+ CFM 12V fan over the roof's vent, my TT's bathroom area has been odorless. And, I don't have to use chemicals either IMO, this power vent should be minimum build on all RVs / TTs.

    Perhaps creating / installing a 12V power vent is the solution for your TT's stink as well? Works for me...
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    daveshan wrote:
    Look under your sink for something that looks like this



    It's what most (all that I've seen) RVs use to provide a proper vacuum brake for the P-trap. They get old and fail letting odor into the area under the sink.

    Link to the Home Depot version

    They're cheap and rightfully so, we had one that was bad right out of the box. After replacing all the ones in our coach we now have no smells at all, even traveling with the roof vents open and the negative pressure in the coach doing so causes.


    X2, look for a bad "Cheater Vent" as plumbers call them. You can get them at home centers for a few bucks. Replaced my cheater vent a couple years ago. They normally just unscrew unless some numbnuts put glue on it.
  • As mentioned, if your traps are full and vents working properly you shouldn't smell anything in the camper. You don't smell anything in your house, the systems are basically the same.

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