Quote: There is no P trap in a toilet and if there were it would collect TP and other lumpy stuff and what a problem you would have. There is an odor trap in the bottom of the toilet bowl which, if you look, has water in it which would stop any back-flow of sewer gas. Sewer gas is made up mostly of methane, which is combustible, but is in far too low of levels for that to happen, especially in an RV waste tank that is properly vented. The odor comes from hydrogen sulfide, which is poison if concentrated, but you can small it at levels as low as 1 part per billion and it takes at least 100 ppb to become dangerous. Since both of these gases are lighter than air, if the tank is vented the amounts of sewer gas in the tanks will be very low.
When you small things from your tanks it is usually due to venting problems. The most common source of sewer odors in RVs is from the plumbing vent that is located under each sink in the RV. They are designed to allow air into the tank but not from the tank but the do need to be replaced if they start to leak. You can learn more about the plumbing vents and see pictures of them at this link. Replacements for plumbing vents can be found at any Lowe's or Home Depot.
All RV waste tanks have odors in them because of what people put into them, no matter what you do. The problem is not what is in the tanks but the venting of those tanks properly. There is a pipe from each tank that goes up through the roof of the RV with a cap to prevent rain from entering the tank. All RVs have these vents.
Actually, toilets have s-traps which means the discharge pipe goes down vertically after the trap instead of horizontally as it does in a p-trap. Unless it's a toilet with a wall outlet, then it does have a p-trap.
Toilets do get plugged up with toilet paper and "lumpy stuff" which is why every house has a plunger.
WyoTraveler wrote: Had some dear friends that had 18 cats in the house. They didn't smell either. That is what they thought. They just got used to that odor after a while. I never mentioned it because I didn't want to embarrass them. I just never visited them much.
I did deliveries for Best Buy for 2 years. I probably went into 12 houses a day for 5 days a week. There was only one house in all that I was very surprised to see a cat, I couldn't smell anything cat related at all. With all those houses, there were some stinkers!! Sorry off topic.
On Topic, I use the geo method. Calgon water softener and laundry detergent. I guess they are chemicals but they are not harsh by any means.
I have looked everywhere and can't find the calgon water softener...in California. Where do you buy it?
Try Walmart or go to Amazon.com or Walmart.com. Our local Walmart does not have it but I was about 30 miles from home and just happen to stop at a Walmart and they had it in stock. I grabbed a few bottles.
I put a cap full along with about a cup of bleach in every time I dump the black tank. I top it off with about a gallon or two of water to make sure the bottom of the tank is fully covered in water. A little more water if I know I wont be using the camper for a few weeks or a month. I also make sure I have the valve in the toilet covered with water to make sure it doesn't dry out and to give a good seal between the holding tank and the bathroom/camper.
As long as I don't forget to shut the vent prior to hauling the camper anywhere (I gave max air covers and usually leave them open to help keep it cooler inside), I have no smells.
2011 Silverado Crewcab 4x4
2012 Passport 238ML
Hope your travels are safe and the friendships made camping are lasting.
WyoTraveler wrote: Had some dear friends that had 18 cats in the house. They didn't smell either. That is what they thought. They just got used to that odor after a while. I never mentioned it because I didn't want to embarrass them. I just never visited them much.
I did deliveries for Best Buy for 2 years. I probably went into 12 houses a day for 5 days a week. There was only one house in all that I was very surprised to see a cat, I couldn't smell anything cat related at all. With all those houses, there were some stinkers!! Sorry off topic.
On Topic, I use the geo method. Calgon water softener and laundry detergent. I guess they are chemicals but they are not harsh by any means.
I have looked everywhere and can't find the calgon water softener...in California. Where do you buy it?
Try Walmart or go to Amazon.com or Walmart.com. Our local Walmart does not have it but I was about 30 miles from home and just happen to stop at a Walmart and they had it in stock. I grabbed a few bottles.
I buy it at my local Dillons/Kroger grocery store. It's in a white bottle by the laundry detergent.
Sometimes I use a drop in lil' baggie and sometimes not. If it is just my immediate family, chances are we don't use one. If we have company, which is usually most of the time, then if it needs a drop in a day later, then so be it. Sometimes, I forget and nothing is used. If it needs it, use it. If you can hang with the smell of full blank tanks, it is no one else's business!
For me, after dumping, I drop a bit of Pine Sol with gallons of water in the tanks and then drive to storage. I try to keep water in the bottom of the tanks at all times. I like the hint of Pine that leaks out from all the splashing during the drive. It also cleans the walls if anything is stuck. Nothing should be stuck since I have tornado tank cleaners installed on each tank. When I dump, I am that guy that sits there for several minutes and let the tornado cleaners do their job. I have 4 tanks so I do take a while. I try to dump really early in the AM or later in the PM to avoid the long lines.
Back to the original question. Do what is right for you!
lagreca wrote: My holding tanks do not smell, and I flush them out with water a few times a year.
Should I still be putting chemicals in them and why?
Why add more chemicals to the environment? We stopped using them over a year ago and no smells from the tanks in our RV. We do flush the black tank well after dumping it. Also, you don't need that special overpriced toilet paper. Use the better quality TP.
A good thing to remember is not to dump the black tank until it's almost full, but even then a lot is left behind. We found through experience the best way to get all the "solid matter" out of the black tank was to stick the hose down the commode and let it blast at full power. You'll see plenty come flushing out the stinky-slinky. The flush thing on the side of our TT, meant to flush the black tank, doesn't work as well.
* This post was
edited 08/29/12 02:32pm by WandaLust2 *
Before you waste money pouring Calgon into your waste tanks, why not contact them and ask if they see any value to putting it into the waste tanks? I did and you might be a little bit surprised by their answer. It was pretty emphatic.
If you feel that you must spend money on your waste tanks, there is a very easy way to do that and still harm nothing. Water is the important part of any waste system so you could just buy bottled water, thus harm noting at all and still feel good about buying something to pour into the tanks!
After 12 years on the road and 40 of RV ownership, I am constantly amazed by the effort some make to pour money down their toilets.
Good travelin! ........Kirk
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