Black tank smell

[tuckerfamily]

Some good advice here. We upgraded to a roo after our popup was stolen. The popup never had this problem (coleman highwall w bathroom) probably bc it was a small tank. I have the vent on the whole time bc tank stinks. I think i have been doing the process wrong the whole time even w the popup. My process is to add the blue packet when we setup. Then when we leave, dump the black then gray water. And go home. I have never flushed out the tank nor added another packet after emptied. We went camping two weekends ago and the bathroom smelled esp when flushing, so i thought, we need to add something more to tank. I had the fan on bc it smelled. That probably made matters worse i guess but at the time it smelled. Its not a methane gas type smell, just stinks esp when flushing. I will try the solution to reduce the smell. Thank you everyone for your advice! Im new to the roo family

[rockfordroo]

Running the bathroom vent fan will just pull odors up out of the tank. Turn off the fan.

You might want to check the roof vent for the black tank. It might be blocked.

Some folks have found the manufacturer installed the vent pipe all the way down at the bottom of the tank so when it got some water in it, it blocked the vent. Not sure a good way to check for this, though.

Many of us follow "The Geo Method" and find it works very well. Here's the official website:

https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

[syogerst]

Are you smelling your toilet or are you smelling that rotten smell from the fresh water? Have you bleached out your tanks?

[Summer2Go]

My brand new camper had a stinky bathroom. I finally figured out that the toilet wasn't holding water. After the season was over, I scheduled a variety of work to be fixed under the warranty, the toilet seal being one of them. Turns out there was a loose fitting that was not keeping pressure on the seal, and that was why the toilet seal was not working. Does your toilet hold water? Or does it all seep through into the tank? The water acts as a barrier to prevent the black tank odors from escaping into the camper!


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[tuckerfamily]

Its coming directly from black tank and toilet holds water.

[ebemis]

my guess is you already now know where your odor is coming from. Turn your vent fan off just when you are flushing and when done you can turn it back on. Find yourself a dump station where you can have some "extra time" and fill that black tank up, THEN dump it, then REPEAT at least 2 more times. Chemical or GEO is really just personal preference but you MUST put something back into that tank when you are done (with dump valve closed of course) so that while you are stored/parked it wont get rancid in there. Since you say you never flushed the tank out, you might want to consider getting one of the toilet/tank "wands" that you use to insert inside the tank from the toilet side and it sprays water around whirly fashion to break up any solid mountains you may have inside. When you turn your water supply (&/or pump) off and hold the toilet flush ball valve open, shine a flashlight inside your tank straight down...when clean you should just see the bottom of the black plastic tank, if you see other "delights" then reset your counter and flush flush flush again until you do!

Me personally, I have grown to love the Aqua-Kem Blue liquid option, too simple to keep a box on hand and simply pour a bottle with about a gallon of water behind it into the tank...that blue stuff seems to help the bio-degrade process run well and it clearly helps minimize the odors. In the Florida summers, I simply add a new bottle when we get setup at the campground to "help" aid whatever was left in the tank while it was stored and have never had an issue.

There was one thread on these boards, ill try and find it and paste a link, about recalls on the Dometic 300 series toilets that had bad seals in the assembly....all it took was reaching out to Dometic and sending them a picture of the Serial number from the toilet and they would send you a new replacement toilet lickity split, that MIGHT be a possible point of concern for you if all your tank flush/cleansing efforts fail.

[ebemis]

here you go... it is a LONG thread but well worth the read, may give you some other idea's of things to consider as well, enjoy!

Dometic model 300 odor problem and replacement - Forest River Forums

[wicked1]

I use the these and when I leave the campsite I flush my tanks 3 times until water runs out clear then fill it with 5 gallons of H2O and drop one of these in there, never have an odor unless the RV has been sitting in the sun for days but mild when it does smell, try not to use the vent with the toilet ball valve open causes the vent to pull air out of the black tank







2014 F150 FX4 Crew 4X4 EB
2015 Roo 23IKSS

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[TURBS]

This is all you need.
http://www.bluestreakchem.net/

Every time you flush chemical is added.
One bottle a year.


2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"

[ebemis]

As I have notice previously....TURBS HAS AWESOME answers! I have used the packs like "wicked1" showed before too, and still do from time to time so my thought is any of the retail available chem's should do it for you. But now that TURBS has shown something even cooler...i'm thinkin THAT mod has just jumped to the top of the "gotta do that" list in rapid fashion! VERY COOL thanks for sharing!

[Marine3038]

Research "the Geo method" - works like a charm....

[Tommy Joann]

Originally Posted by TURBS

This is all you need.
Chemical Dispensing Systems for RV & Marine | Blue Streak LLC

Every time you flush chemical is added.
One bottle a year.


2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"

I love this forum! Learn something everyday!

[campnqueen]

We have been using "Odorlos" for years. Works well!

Odorlos, Dry, 6 lb. Tub - Valterra.com | Valterra.com

Use lots of water when you flush. One big problem a lot of people have. They do NOT use enough water because they do not want to fill up their black tank.

Keep water over the toilet neck valve. That helps keep the smells from coming up into the bathroom.

Good luck

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Tommy Joann

I love this forum! Learn something everyday!

Great product!


2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"

[SkipnTerri]

Campa Chem liquid (not sure if it's 6 or 8-oz.) Anyway, we use two when temps get above 80 degrees and don't have any problems. That, and a Fantastic Fan works wonders.