Did I create a "pyramid problem"?

[MN Snowbird]

I apparently had a dementia moment recently and left my black tank drain "open" for 7 days. Upon discovery I immediately flushed the tank with factory installed "flushing device" and the water ran clear after a few minutes. Then I closed the drain and have been using the toilet since. I am assuming that a pyramid has developed inside the tank and am wondering what are the consequences of this lapse in concentration. Surely this has happened before and I am wondering if anyone will "fess up" and inform others here on the forum what possible problems I will have in 4 days when it is time to drain the tank. I am a snowbird presently in Mission, TX and plan the annual north migration at the end of the month. Your thoughts?

[NO3putt]

Fill with water, let sit over night and do it again the next day. Might take several times over multiple days for it to break down.

[MtBiker]

Towing it with a fair amount of liquid in it will free things up. Don't tow with the black dry.

[SpringerPop]

Keep at least four or five gallons in the tank at all times, and you shouldn't have that problem. If the tank currently doesn't have any appreciable amount of liquid, add some.

Don't dump your black tank when you leave camp, and the turbulence during your drive home should break up anything to a slurry with negligible solids.

Find a dump station close to home to dump and rinse, and then put those four or five gallons back into the black tank through the toilet. If you're going to use any chemicals, that would be the time to add them.

Pop

[SeaDog]

if you toilet is a straight drop open the ball valve with the water turned off and use a flashlight to look inside and see what you have. If there is a mound use a garden hose with a high pressure nozzle to break it apart or a wooden dowel. If you have the curved drop do the fill and dump filling full each time I would also use hight strength tank cleaner to help bread things down. One other thought is you may be working about nothing if things are working as they should.

[retiredcamper47]

When ready to travel, dump a couple bags of ice into the black tank. This should provide some "scrubbing action" in the tank to help break up any poo piles.

Bob

[GerryReviea]

An ounce of Dawn dish soap with a few gallons of water will also help agitate the problem out.
Don't go crazy with a whole bottle like a friend did.
Suds for hours LOL!

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by GerryReviea

An ounce of Dawn dish soap with a few gallons of water will also help agitate the problem out.
Don't go crazy with a whole bottle like a friend did.
Suds for hours LOL!

lol if 1 oz is 28 will be better!!

[ben31]

Get one of the black tank wands and use that. It provides a more direct water pressure, while cleaning. The wand attaches to a hose and goes in through the open valve, while flushing. I'd suggest turning off the water inside the RV, while doing this, or you may be splashing water all over the place!

Do like others have suggested above. Fill the tank and let it "soak" for a day or two. Then, when dumping, use the wand to really clean the inside of your tank. The wand does wonders, as will also clean off the sensors, etc. move the wand around, back and forth, etc. Really hit the bottom of the tank.

I haven't found ANYTHING that will beat it.

[tankroady]

On the bright side......Your at the top of the pile this time,go for a beer,enjoy. SORRY had to do it. Is camping season coming soon.

[Brendon37]

you could also try putting hot water in the tank with all the other sugestions

[jkoenig24]

Buy and add an ENZYME based tank additive. That will add the "good" bacteria that will eat/breakdown the solids. Follow label directions.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by GerryReviea

An ounce of Dawn dish soap with a few gallons of water will also help agitate the problem out.
Don't go crazy with a whole bottle like a friend did.
Suds for hours LOL!

Sort of DITTO. Depending upon tank size so I would say about a quarter full of water and more like 8 ounces of dawn or other good consentrated dish soap. Never have had suds as an issue. The poop defeats the suds when its that bad.

[DreiHunde]

Originally Posted by tankroady

On the bright side......Your at the top of the pile this time,go for a beer,enjoy. SORRY had to do it. Is camping season coming soon.

[DSurette]

When I had a poop pyramid problem I cleaned as much as possible and then dumped three bags of ice in as Retiredcamper47 said. I drove to the next campsite and the scrubbing action of the ice worked wonders.

[sgtlm17]

Like others have suggested always keep water in it. But as mentioned above a good enzyme such as Tank Techs and a good soak will eat everything all up

[wahoonc]

I would say you have a 50/50 chance of having built a pyramid. If you are Egyptian the odds might improve.

In my experience and observation it takes a long time to build one that doesn't get washed away fairly easily. The suggestions for adding lots of water, and some sort of detergent is a good one. We use the Geo method for keeping the tanks clean and free. I add a five gallon bucket of the secret mix before every trip to the black tank and the gray tank a couple of times a year. So far so good and I am going on 35 years of RV's and have never had a pyramid in any of mine.

Aaron

[MN Snowbird]

Hats Off, to those that replied to pyramid thread. I can, and will, bring all suggestions to bear. Will try the ice cubes and dawn detergent tricks as we
migrate north at end of month, albeit 1 at a time. Don"t think I could get much results with dawn detergent with all the ice down there. Ice cold water could keep the suds down. So, I will try ice.....empty at next stop.....Dawn with about 8-10 gals hot/warm water and hope for terrific outcome. Thanks again for all suggestions. This forum has a wealth of information, you just have to ask!

[weatherguru1]

My wife has a great deal of information at the ready. I never have to ask. I do have bad hearing though.

[cincia]

I will admit to forgetting to close the black tank valve and getting the pyramid one time. Lots of water and a dowel stick to loosen up the stuff. Luckily we have a straight shot to our tank and the pyramid wasn't dry (plenty of water is your friend). I would close the valve, run a bunch of water in using the black tank flush, then try to "stir" the pile through the toilet, open the valve and empty tank, repeat. it took me the better part of an afternoon but I got it all out. Good Luck! - cincia