Toilet smell while stored

[Mammoth]

Hello all, let me start by saying this is my first camper with a toilet so I'm still learning. Here's my problem.

We went camping about a month ago and used the toilet no problem. Dumped the tank before were left for home. Today I was getting the trailer ready for our trip this week and noticed the toilet had an odor. So I stepped on the lever and a nasty odor got me. So am I doing something wrong? Should I be putting water in the black tank when it's parked for a while? Should I put an additive in the black tank? Should I keep some water in the bowl over the seal?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Homebrew]

Water or antifreeze over the seal all year helps.

[amullis]

Originally Posted by Mammoth

Hello all, let me start by saying this is my first camper with a toilet so I'm still learning. Here's my problem.

We went camping about a month ago and used the toilet no problem. Dumped the tank before were left for home. Today I was getting the trailer ready for our trip this week and noticed the toilet had an odor. So I stepped on the lever and a nasty odor got me. So am I doing something wrong? Should I be putting water in the black tank when it's parked for a while? Should I put an additive in the black tank? Should I keep some water in the bowl over the seal?

Thanks in advance for the help.

A little water and some tank treatment additive if you are storing it for a long time. If I were you, I would fill that black tank up to nearly full, and let it sit for a few hours to loosen up whatever is still stinking the tank up. Then, dump the tank. It should clean it out!

[Crusadernoob]

If you have FHU I would put 10 gallons in it, let it slosh around on your trip and dump when you leave. After I clean our tank I always put water back in the tank so it is not dry, about 5-10 gallons just to slosh and keep everything loosened up.

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by Crusadernoob

If you have FHU I would put 10 gallons in it, let it slosh around on your trip and dump when you leave. After I clean our tank I always put water back in the tank so it is not dry, about 5-10 gallons just to slosh and keep everything loosened up.

Thanks that seems to be the general consensus. So I just put in 5 gallons of water and 2 scoops of happy camper. Ok let it slosh around during my 7 hour drive Saturday.

And I when I get back it will sit for another 3 weeks before my next trip so should I put a little water in the tank and bowl?

Lastly how would I know if the vent is clogged? How do you check that?

[Crusadernoob]

Originally Posted by Mammoth

Thanks that seems to be the general consensus. So I just put in 5 gallons of water and 2 scoops of happy camper. Ok let it slosh around during my 7 hour drive Saturday.

And I when I get back it will sit for another 3 weeks before my next trip so should I put a little water in the tank and bowl?

Lastly how would I know if the vent is clogged? How do you check that?

7 hour trip will loosen everything.

Yup, just put some water in the tank and I do leave some in the toilet, it'll keep the seal soft and odors down.

If the vent was plugged the toilet would bubble when you go to flush.

[Life Without Whine]

Happy camper is a probiotic right? The black tank is a holding tank, not a septic tank unless you carry it with you.
I believe in water & chemicals in my black tank ...3 gallons every time after we dump & then the additive to keep it smelling fresh. Also keep water in the toilet (often with a box of baking soda) to keep the gasket clean / odor free in between outings.

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by Life Without Whine

Happy camper is a probiotic right? The black tank is a holding tank, not a septic tank unless you carry it with you.
I believe in water & chemicals in my black tank ...3 gallons every time after we dump & then the additive to keep it smelling fresh. Also keep water in the toilet (often with a box of baking soda) to keep the gasket clean / odor free in between outings.

I'm not sure, the rv dealer recommended it because it wasn't a harsh chemical and didn't have that chemical toilet smell. Like I said I'm very new to this so I went with what the dealer recommended. And just followed the directions on it

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by Life Without Whine

Happy camper is a probiotic right? The black tank is a holding tank, not a septic tank unless you carry it with you.
I believe in water & chemicals in my black tank ...3 gallons every time after we dump & then the additive to keep it smelling fresh. Also keep water in the toilet (often with a box of baking soda) to keep the gasket clean / odor free in between outings.

This is from the happy camper website. Is this not a good product? Is there something else I should look into?

"Happy Campers is highly concentrated water-activated mineral blend. It works similarly to bioactive treatments. It is formulated to eliminate odor (not cover it up), break down paper and sewage, and because it withstands extreme hot and cold temperatures, you don't have to add more before dumping."

[Parrott_head]

If your unit has a black tank flush connection used it from time to time when dumping.

I put a liquid enzyme product in mine after I dump and add a few gallons of water then store it like that until the next time I use it. Since I've been doing this the smell has not been present. Actually smells a bit like some sort of soap.

[ManlyMan]

Originally Posted by Mammoth

So am I doing something wrong? Should I be putting water in the black tank when it's parked for a while? Yes, you should always have a few gallons of water in the black tank. Should I put an additive in the black tank? I always put a chemical additive in the black tank to control odors. I buy my chemicals from WalMart. Should I keep some water in the bowl over the seal? ABSOLUTELY! If you don't keep that seal wet then over time it will dry out and crack and will no longer hold water. Over the winter pour RV antifreeze in the bowl to keep the seal wet.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Best of luck RVing.

[BGKirkham]

Originally Posted by Mammoth

This is from the happy camper website. Is this not a good product? Is there something else I should look into?

"Happy Campers is highly concentrated water-activated mineral blend. It works similarly to bioactive treatments. It is formulated to eliminate odor (not cover it up), break down paper and sewage, and because it withstands extreme hot and cold temperatures, you don't have to add more before dumping."

I use Happy Camper and it works great. I can flush my toilet with the ventilation fan running and get no smell coming from the tank. And, yes, you should keep water in the bowl.

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by ManlyMan

Best of luck RVing.

Thanks for the clarification. Good to know the right way to store

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by BGKirkham

I use Happy Camper and it works great. I can flush my toilet with the ventilation fan running and get no smell coming from the tank. And, yes, you should keep water in the bowl.

Ok thanks I'll keep using

[mblee21]

I had a similar thing happened to me when I bought a used camper. I did the extreme clean with the happy camper. I dump the whole can in there and filled the tank full. Let it sit in there like that for 2 or 3 days. I never had a problem after that. I only use happy camp, that stuff is great and no smell.

[Mammoth]

Originally Posted by mblee21

I had a similar thing happened to me when I bought a used camper. I did the extreme clean with the happy camper. I dump the whole can in there and filled the tank full. Let it sit in there like that for 2 or 3 days. I never had a problem after that. I only use happy camp, that stuff is great and no smell.

Thanks. It a good to hear people have a positive experience with it. I'll be sure to store my black tank correctly from now on

[Scrapper]

Put 1/4 cup of Dawn dish soap in the black water tank along with your choice of chemical and at least 5 gallons of water. Not only do you need to keep water or RV antifreeze in the bowl to keep the seal moist, but the dump valves need to stay wet too. Dawn dish soap will help keep the holding tanks clean and lube the seals at the dump valves. Do the same with the gray water tank.

[D W]

Originally Posted by Homebrew

Water or antifreeze over the seal all year helps.

X2. It acts as a gas trap. Also keeps the flapper seal from drying out.

[twoclaws]

Originally Posted by Life Without Whine

Happy camper is a probiotic right? The black tank is a holding tank, not a septic tank unless you carry it with you.
I believe in water & chemicals in my black tank ...3 gallons every time after we dump & then the additive to keep it smelling fresh. Also keep water in the toilet (often with a box of baking soda) to keep the gasket clean / odor free in between outings.

Ditto!!!!!

[Rvdixie]

For the last two years I have used a capful of laundry detergent, a capful of Calgon water softener and about 1/4 cup of bleach every time I dump. Supposedly the Calgon makes the sides of the tank slippery so that paper doesn't stick to it so easily. I'm not going to attempt to explain the chemical reactions etc. but I can tell you it works and we full time for at least 5 months of the year. Occasionally I will get a bad reading from the sensors in the tank in which case I drive from one location to another with a half tank or more and let it slosh around. Does the trick every time. We also have a tank rinse built in which I use every time we dump. I also have a Valterra reverse flush unit which I used every couple of months, which goes on where the sewer hose would normally be hooked up and reverse flush all my tanks. I have had virtually no problem with any of my tanks using this system.