Water treatment when hooked up to sewer

[esox07]

When I have my TT hooked up to sewer, should I still be using the treatment pods in the blackwater tank?

[esox07]

Last week was the first time I ever camped at a spot with full hookups. I only have a 19 footer and we as a rule never even go #2 in it anyway. We always have used the camp facilities for that.

That is why I come here and ask questions when I am unsure.

[Sprink-Fitter]

KMLsquared wrote:

old guy wrote:

esox07 wrote:
LOL.

Can a guy just put a half cup of bleach in the tank with some water?

that's a big no. bleach will cause the acid in the urine to give off a bad odor and it's not good for your lungs

I find this interesting as I work in a waste water treatment plant that uses thousands of gallons of bleach to treat waste water everyday.

X2, I also find it interesting that the op has been here since 2012 and does not know to leave black tank valve closed.

[KMLsquared]

old guy wrote:

esox07 wrote:
LOL.

Can a guy just put a half cup of bleach in the tank with some water?

that's a big no. bleach will cause the acid in the urine to give off a bad odor and it's not good for your lungs

I find this interesting as I work in a waste water treatment plant that uses thousands of gallons of bleach to treat waste water everyday.

[downtheroad]

I like the additive that makes it smell like you pooped in a lemon tree.

[Jayco-noslide]

I leave both the black and grey waste valves closed, put in chemical treatment and dump into the sewer when I think they are close to full. My theory is that method keeps them flushed out and the grey water is needed to follow the black and help flush. I think the chemical helps with odor mostly.

[coolmom42]

esox07 wrote:
So, I should keep the blackwater tank closed even when we have sewer hookups? And then simply open the valve and dump it every so often while camping?

Yes.

If you leave it open all the time, the liquids will drain out continually and leave a big solid pile. If the tank is full when you open the valve, there is enough flow to carry out most of the solids. I recommend you dump only when close to full, and then re-fill the tank with clean water, through a hose or flush valve, and dump again.

Also, never leave the tank totally dry...add at least a couple of gallons of water so the bottom is covered.

[ScottG]

MitchF150 wrote:
I don't even hook up my sewer hose until I'm ready to dump.. I'm a little bit different in my dump tank usage than the majority of others here, so this just works for me...

Good luck!

Mitch

Same here!
The way we do it we'll only have to handle the slinky once!

[hbrady]

Valves closed and a daily scoop of Happy Camper in each tank. I never notice a stench even when dumping.

Went to look at a camper a few years back which the owners had on a seasonal site. He opened the door and the stench was like a roundhouse kick to the head. Turns out he forgot to close the grey valve when he was last there two weeks earlier. The traps had dried out and a the septic system was now venting into the camper.

[wildtoad]

esox07 wrote:
So, I should keep the blackwater tank closed even when we have sewer hookups? And then simply open the valve and dump it every so often while camping?

YES! Wait until the black tank is 2/3 to 3/4 full before dumping, and if not at these levels when you are ready to leave and need to dump, add water until it is. You need plenty of water to better assure all the stuff flows out, but in fact it never gets it all.

I would suggest that you NOT keep the grey valve open all the time either and only open it when required or when washing clothes if you have a washing machine. While many say it’s only grey water, but there is stuff in the water such as soap, food, hair that if allowed to dry could cause some issues. Rare, but it does happen.

[esox07]

Thanks everyone. I will keep the valves closed until it is dump time and I will stick with the RV treatment stuff.

[BarabooBob]

The bottles of toilet chemicals only cost a couple of dollars. Is it worth saving $2 and having a poop problem? I will dump my chemicals in and use the toilet as designed and not suffer from black tank constipation.

[old_guy]

esox07 wrote:
LOL.

Can a guy just put a half cup of bleach in the tank with some water?

that's a big no. bleach will cause the acid in the urine to give off a bad odor and it's not good for your lungs

[MitchF150]

I don't even hook up my sewer hose until I'm ready to dump.. I'm a little bit different in my dump tank usage than the majority of others here, so this just works for me...

I use the little blue pods in my black tank and in the end, my grey tank reeks more than than my black tank...

Good luck!

Mitch

[#15]

IMO, keep both black and gray closed until ready to dump. If you don't like to pull the valves often, get electric valves installed and push a button.