Phew It Stinks

[2oldgypsies]

A few weeks ago we purchased used 2007 Komfort 27Ft. with all the goodies. The unit is in extremely good condition. However on our first trip for 7 days everything was fine until we dumped the sewer upon leaveing the campground and when we got home the sewer odor is awful inside the trailer and it never was before we dumped it. The guage inside says it is still 2/3rds full, but who trusts those? I feel that the tank was completely emptyed We are sure the unit had not been used in a long time, maybe a couple of years. Anyone know where I should start to solve this stinky mess.
Thanks All
Don

[RoadXYZ]

I am still wayne_tw wrote:
Water, water, and lots of water. Did I say add lots of water? Fill the tank with water. Let it sit for several days. Driver around and let it slosh. Then drain and repeat. What has happened is there is significant residue left in the tank. Check to see that there is water in the toilet bowl. If not, fumes is coming from there. Some RVs have a one way vent to the black tank somewhere under a cabinet. It could be allowing fumes into the RV.

Add a bag of ice cubes also .. at least that is what we had to do, then drive around ...

And the tank should empty right away ..

[DiskDoctr]

When you dumped, you 1) Dumped the black tank, 2) lifted the drain hose to make sure all the stuff run out of it into the dump, 3) You CLOSED the black tank valve BEFORE opening the gray water dump valve.

If you have both valves open at the same time, bad stuff can back up into your gray lines.

[2oldgypsies]

Thanks everyone for your GREAT replys!
Don

[dadmomh]

Odo-Ban!! We have never had odor problems but that is a dandy idea to keep in mind. Well, I say "never", but this doesn't count the times we've fixed something fishy for dinner and the water went into the grey tank. Ooh, nasty. But for those times, I now just use the lemony grey tank treatment. Odo-Ban fixes a multitude of things...can't believe I never thought of it for either the ROO or Rocky. Thanks for mentioning it.

Also, available at Sam's for a much better price. When you have a number of doggies, Odo-Ban is your BFF.

[coolbreeze01]

The OP's unit came OE with a Sani-Flush.........

[fairfaxjim]

Definitely put water in the traps and check them out. Gray water can stink so bad!! I was surprised at how bad the gray can smell. We had that problem ONCE! Now we put a little water in the traps each time we dump. We add Odo-Ban to the water and have never had another problem with smells. Odo-Ban is a Eucalyptus scented disinfectant/cleaner that is available in gallon bottles from Home Depot in the cleaning supplies department.

I too use the Flush King. It allows me to fill the tanks full before dumping without using a wand. It also makes it easy to back fill them with fresh water to flush them clean. It does take some time to fill and dump two 50 gallon tanks though. If there is a line at the dump station I skip the backfill/flush step, but seldom have to.

[nhshep]

Good idea is buy a King Flush if you don't already have one.
They have a hose connector to allow you to back flush water into the sewer holding tank. At the end of each camping trip disconnect the main water hose. Fasten on a spare (sewer use only) hose and fill the tank up to read full then empty. Do that half dozen times. It helps in cleaning the tank out.

good luck.

[beemerphile1]

RV daytrader wrote:
pour some water into your traps, they may have drained somehow when you dumped.

Yep, first step is to make certain the traps have water in them.

[pappy437]

We always put the stoppers in the drains in the sinks and shower before dumping and traveling.This help keep the water in the traps and the stink from coming up the if the water gets out of the trap.Works for us no more smell.

[RV_daytrader]

pour some water into your traps...they may have drained somehow when you dumped.

[I_am_still_wayn]

Water, water, and lots of water. Did I say add lots of water? Fill the tank with water. Let it sit for several days. Driver around and let it slosh. Then drain and repeat. What has happened is there is significant residue left in the tank. Check to see that there is water in the toilet bowl. If not, fumes is coming from there. Some RVs have a one way vent to the black tank somewhere under a cabinet. It could be allowing fumes into the RV.

[Old-Biscuit]

You used it all week and no smells....just after dumping

Check under the sinks for an air admittance valve.

If they stick open you have a direct line to grey tank.....grey tanks stink also.


The AAV's are on stub pipes after the 'P' traps...just screw on.
Inexpensive.....most any hardware store.

[gbopp]

If your vent is clear and working properly, consider trying The Geo Method.

[Verne]

One of the first things I'd look at would be the sewer roof vent. You said it hadn't been used in a while and it could be clogged up for any number of reasons. As you're probably already aware, it is supposed to "vent" the holding tank to the outside. As for the gauges, you're probably right in that they seldom can be relied.