Empty Black Tank

[Jz5g52]

Newbe question, camped for the first time and packing up I emptied and cleaned my black tank. Should I leave it empty or always fill it a little after emptying?

[Oakman]

I always keep 3 or 4 gallons of water treated with chemicals in the black tank. The only time I keep it emptied is during winter storage and even then there is some antifreeze in the tank.

[jeff64]

'Dunno, I've always rinsed and left it empty. Can't think of any reason to want anything left in it, except when I winterize, that little bit of RV antifreeze left in there keeps the seal on the terlit and dump valve from getting sticky when you want to getter thawed out in the spring

[clr]

I like to put a couple of gallons of water in the black tank after I dump and packing up to hit the road. I feel the sloshing of the water in the tank while driving helps to clean out anything that did not dump. In fact I also dump about a 1/2 cup of dawn down the toilet to help with this.

[Canonman]

We use the "GEO" method for keeping the black tank clean. After the double/triple rinse, We add 1 cup powdered detergent and 1 cup powdered water softener in a gallon or so of water down the commode. The idea is for the mixture to slosh around and coat the walls with a film that, when used next time, keeps the solids and paper from sticking to the sides of the tank. Easy, economical and effective.