Forum Discussion

grey_aria's avatar
grey_aria
Explorer
Jul 06, 2013

Cleaning out the septic holding tank w/Campa-Chem Naturals

Hello. My mother lives in a 25-30 year old fifth wheel full time in an RV park & she's asked me to come over while she's out of town to clean out the septic tank.

She bought a box of Campa-Chem Naturals holding tank deodorant a couple years ago but has since lost the instruction sheet that came in the box. She says that she's done this before & she thinks the instructions said that the tank needed to be filled w/40 gallons of water & one bottle of the deodorizer, left to sit for 24 hours, then drained.

The septic tank is typically hooked up directly to the park's sewage hookups, so I'd need to close the valve on the tank, which I know how to do.

There are directions on the bottles, but all they say 'To deodorize up to 40 gallons of waste, pour 8 oz. of Campa-Chem through the toilet into the holding tank. Add approximately 1 gallon of fresh water.'

I looked on Thetford's website for any instructions, but I couldn't find anything.

I don't want to ruin her tank by doing this incorrectly, & since I can't find the instructions, I thought someone here might be able to help.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I hope this is in the correct forum. If it's not I'll be happy to move it.
  • robsouth's avatar
    robsouth
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2013
    First and foremost, the tank on the camper is NOT a septic tank. It is simply a holding tank used to collect waste until it can be dumped into a septic tank or a sewer system. Water (and lots of it) are usually all that is needed in the holding tank. Some use a chemical deodorant such as what your mother bought to help with the smell of tank, which should not be there in the first place if enough water is used when using the holding tank, and the tank is emptied often. The valve on the holding tank needs to be left closed all the time except when emptying the tank, otherwise liquids will drain off and solids will build up. You need to rinse the tank thoroughly with a hose, a rinsing wand, etc and hope the build up is not too bad and will break down and rinse away. Be sure that she understands to leave the tank closed except to empty it as needed.
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2013
    First of off it is not a septic tank; just a holding tank until it is dumped.

    Next thing is the tank will not dump right unless it is part full, (no rush of water otherwise) so don't leave the valve open while on hook ups. Wait until the tank is say 3/4 full and then pull the valve to dump it, and start over.

    Next thing is you don't need that nasty blue smelly stuff to stop the stink. Just use some laundry soap (two cups of liquid soap) after every dump. Once in a while, (every two dumps?) use some water softener ( a cup or two of powder) like "Calgon" to smooth the sides of the tank so it dumps better.

    That blue stuff stinks worse than the "real" stink! :(
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2013
    Better hope mother doesn't leave the black tank valve open all the time or you'll need to bring a jackhammer.
  • ksg5000's avatar
    ksg5000
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    IF your mother is going to be gone for a few days I would go down to the hardware store a buy a bottle of septic tank cleaner. Close the gate valve of the black water holding tank - pour in the septic tank cleaner - fill up the black water tank with water. The septic tank cleaner will dissolve any accumulated crud in the tank (given enough time).
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2013
    Like was said above, if you use enuff water, you don't need nuthin in the tank,
    and there won't be any build up, period !

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